A tremendous thank you to all who were able to take and help us distribute the public survey. Over 4 months, the public survey to households in the study area has been seeking and receiving public input into where residents live, what they like about their homes now and what they wish was available. We collected over 1,200 responses with the help of 40 volunteer champions from across this region. Residents from all 67 towns took the survey, including renters, owners, and those who are currently homeless.
The results are still being processed, but some highlights are that internet access came out as the second most needed item, next to the cost of the home itself; that older residents want to stay in their homes, but are most concerned about transportation options; that most people think there is a need for more affordable homes in their town, but they are always slightly less supportive about it being in their neighborhood. And while people overwhelmingly support the need for affordable homes, they are less keen on new construction or building in vacant lots as approaches to filling this need.
In order to take a deeper dive, we expect to organize focus groups and are now evaluating how best this can be done safely. In addition, the tri commissions staff is
- Projecting how many homes we might need in 2030
- Actively researching construction, financial and organizational housing models
- Performing a thought exercise on how a site might change to include more homes
- Reviewing how local regulations influence our homes and changes to consider
- Identifying a cloud level view of where new homes are suitable on the landscape
To wrap up for this month, we would like to share a few summary handouts about different types of homes, senior housing, and how transportation plays a part.
View the full newsletter here: June 2020
