Where should Portsmouth create below-market-rate housing? City Council candidates respond

PORTSMOUTH — There was almost uniform support for the city to work to create below-market-rate housing among the 17 City Council candidates asked how for their views.

But the candidates' responses to a Seacoastonline and Portsmouth Herald questionnaire regarding the best site for such a housing development resulted in a wide variety of answers, including the former Sherburne School, the lower parking lot at City Hall and the former Christmas Tree Shops location.

Some candidates did not provide a site in responding to the question.

Portsmouth voters: Read City Council candidates' views here and meet them at forums

First-time City Council candidate Kevin Coyle, who served multiple terms on the Rockingham County Commission, offered a different view on the issue.

Coyle stated “per capita, the city of Portsmouth has the most below market rate housing in Rockingham County. The other towns in the county need to step up and contribute to the needs of moderate and low income citizens.

“Portsmouth has done its share, and until other communities step up, I wouldn’t support further below market rate housing.”

Living the housing crisis

Incumbent City Councilor Josh Denton stated he has “lived our affordable housing crisis,” including when he waited tables after returning from serving active duty in Iraq with the U.S. Army.

“While Portsmouth should continue encouraging developers to create affordable housing with building incentives, the single largest recent increase in affordable housing stock came from the Portsmouth Housing Authority (PHA) building Ruth Griffin Place on Court Street,” he wrote. The best way to build 400 units of affordable housing “without becoming a landlord is deeding city property to the PHA with affordable housing covenants."

In terms of a location, his “strong preference” for the first project with PHA would be the lower parking lot at City Hall.

“Not only is it a short walk from downtown, the library, and many recreational amenities, studies show that communities with mixed affordable housing alongside affluent housing prosper the best together,” Denton wrote.

Christmas Tree Shops site

Former city councilor and current candidate Paige Trace stated the city should try to create below market rate housing.

But she doesn’t believe “the city should be involved in the real estate business.”

“The city would be much better off creating the framework to better facilitate and incentivize below market housing in discussions with developers,” Trace wrote.

In terms of a potential location, she stated that “currently the best site would be the privately owned property behind Whole Foods, housing the now defunct Christmas Tree Shop and Bed Bath and Beyond.”

The site, Trace stated, has city water and sewer, and “it’s close to shopping, restaurants, and drugstores.”

Candidate Petra Huda, another former city councilor, wrote “keeping in mind the city is not in the development business, the best site, if there is such a thing, is a location that is easily accessible to the basic services such as grocery stores, transportation and medical/dental services.”

She named the same location as Trace.

The Sherburne School site

Incumbent City Councilor Andrew Bagley pointed to the “success of the PHA Court Street Workforce Housing” project and added it’s “something our city should celebrate and aim to replicate.”

Bagley believes the former Sherburne School “stands out as the most suitable” site for below market rate housing “for a variety of reasons.”

“While the original ambitions for the project may have been too hasty in terms of size, scope, and timeline, it's now time to move forward pragmatically,” Bagley wrote. “A phased build-out could start with transforming the school building into 12-18 housing units, followed by the construction of 40 additional units in the field behind it.”

“This approach would serve the community effectively and continue the momentum of successful housing initiatives,” he added. “This should be a priority for the next several council terms.”

One site won’t solve all affordability issues

Mayor Deaglan McEachern pointed to what he sees as the city’s “long history of partnering with the Portsmouth Housing Authority to create below market rate housing, most recently at the Ruth Griffin apartments.”

In terms of sites, he maintained “Robert Lister Academy likely presents the best option to pursue below market rate housing specifically for Portsmouth’s workforce and by involving the community.”

“I am confident we can create something everyone is proud of,” McEachern wrote, while cautioning that “one site won’t solve our affordability issues and we should continue to look at all available sites, including existing PHA developed sites for expansion.”

Competing community needs

Incumbent City Councilor Vince Lombardi stated “creating below market-rate housing is a primary goal of the current City Council.”

“If the city seeks another site, the selection process will have to balance competing community needs,” Lombardi wrote. “I think that the Sherburne School property has great potential as long as the concept and design fit within the local neighborhood and transportation issues are resolved.”

No perfect location

Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley pointed out “housing is always one of the top, if not the top, concern of our residents.”

But residents need to realize “that there is no perfect location,” Kelley wrote. “Any additional housing of any kind will have an impact on a neighborhood but that does not mean it doesn't belong or that we shouldn't do it."

Kelley referenced the Sherburne School location, but did not directly endorse it as a site.

She noted that if the site is developed, that “would disrupt the softball field” there.

“It would only be logical to make sure to have a replacement field already lined up,” she added.

PHA property near Atlantic Heights

Former City Councilor and council candidate Peter Whelan stated “the city has identified several areas for below market rate housing.”

“The area in Atlantic Heights where Portsmouth Housing Authority has a building and owns property makes the most sense to me,” he said. “Portsmouth should continue to work to help create more below market rate housing. The private sector landlords are feeling the pressure with the rise in taxes.”

Sherburne School and Community Campus

Incumbent City Councilor John Tabor stated Sherburne School and Community Campus are “logical sites if consensus can be achieved.”

Tabor also pointed to an initiative previously used in Montgomery County, Maryland, with housing projects that are “50 percent market rate, 50 percent affordable.”

“The private sector has an appetite for these, feeding off federal tax credits,” Tabor said.

Former mayor Rick Becksted, who is running to return to the council, pointed to the “four acres out at Community Campus” as a potential housing site.

He added too that “we have always worked with Portsmouth Housing Authority in the past.”

Many variables to consider

Incumbent City Councilor Rich Blalock believes despite the city-owned property identified as potential sites, “the options are limited and there are many variables involved in this process, including issues from existing residents near these sites.”

“We are going to continue to listen to neighbors and hopefully someone will eventually be able to call Sherburne School home, only If the process involves both the community and the city,” Blalock wrote, adding “compromises will have to be made.”

Blalock, who lives in Pannaway Manor nearby, stated the process should include input from neighborhood residents.

A call to continue to evaluate

Incumbent City Councilor Beth Moreau believes “the city should continue to evaluate all property.”

That should include, she wrote, “not only within our city, but to continue conversations in our region as to how as a community we can find the best places to build additional long term affordable housing.”

Moreau did not name a specific site for a housing project, but said, “The Land Use Committee has a list of several city owned properties that should continue to be evaluated.”

Several housing options

Candidate Esther Kennedy, who has served several terms on the council, said the city has options to address affordable housing.

They include creating a task force to address the issue at a regional level, adding “housing is a Seacoast problem not just a Portsmouth issue.”

The council could also amend city zoning laws to either mandate or “ask for financial support” from developers to build affordable housing.

Lastly, Kennedy, who did not name a specific location, stated another option is to “give property owners tax incentives to offer lower rates to renters.”

A public campaign

Council candidate Kathleen Soldati supports “the work of creating below-market-rate housing to meet the needs of our more vulnerable population, as well as to provide adequate housing for the entire workforce.”

“We have the resources to address this need. We have the brainpower and connections with federal and state partners, and we have an engaged community which loves Portsmouth, so it’s clear we can be innovative,” she added.

Soldati did not name a site for a housing project but suggested launching “a public communications campaign to engage our residents … to determine the best sites.”

A community investment

First-time candidate Andrea Pickett stated “affordable housing is an investment in the community.”

“The people who make up the workforce fuel our economy by supplying services and spending money dining out or shopping at our local businesses,” she wrote. “Economic diversity is something to be valued and encouraged.”

She did not endorse a specific site for a housing project, but also referenced “several city-owned parcels of land” that “are being considered.”

Housing on 4 city-owned sites?

Incumbent City Councilor Kate Cook stated the council “already started the process to find locations where the city can partner with a public housing authority to build additional workforce housing.”

The Land Use Committee also made recommendations as to the best city-owned sites, she said.

Cook did not identify a specific site but said she will “continue to support a process to identify a site and a partner to expand our workforce housing.”

She added that “the need for additional below market rate housing is so great that the city should explore adding public housing on all four identified sites.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Where can below-market housing go in Portsmouth? Candidates weigh in