The Temple Planning Board is forming a committee to take on the growing problem of the lack of available and affordable housing for young families in town. A problem that is putting the vibrancy of the town and its elementary school at risk, they say. 

“One of the major drivers in this conversation has been the number of kids in the elementary school,” Planning Board Chair Allan Pickman said Tuesday.

Consolidating costs has been a continuing conversation for the ConVal Regional School District, with closing elementary schools becoming a commonly proposed solution. As a school with one of the smallest student populations, Temple Elementary School has been on the chopping block more than once.

Pickman said the conversation around housing affordability is a way to tackle the enrollment problem from a different direction.

“There are young families that would like to live in Temple, but can’t afford it,” Pickman said. “There’s a disconnect between what people get paid and what housing costs.”

Matt Cabana, a realtor with the Bean Group who lives in Temple, said currently, there is only one Temple home on the market priced under $200,000, with the next lowest price point $50,000 above that.

“We still have an inventory shortage,” Cabana said.

Realistically, Cabana said, for most people, housing they can afford, particularly for young people or those starting families, will mean renting rather than purchasing.

“‘Affordable’ to me means multi-family dwellings,” Cabana said.

The Planning Board has been discussing ways to encourage residential development through zoning, including allowing two-family units, which the town currently doesn’t allow, or adjusting its existing planned residential development ordinance.

The Planning Board has yet to discuss any proposed zoning amendments it might put forth for voting next year. Pickman said this will be an ongoing discussion over the summer and the board will likely hold a second community discussion in the fall about solutions to the affordable housing problem.

Cabana said in order to see real population growth or an increase in the demographic of young families, there needs to be options beyond two-story homes. There are ways to build apartment housing and still be compatible with the small-town flavor, he said – which after all is one of the Monadnock Region’s biggest selling points.

“There’s places where things like that can be put around here, where you can have affordable housing and not impact the rural character.”

But waiting for developments is a long-term game, particularly in a small, rural community like Temple, where new homes might be built at a rate of two or three per year.

Temple is also looking at what can be done from a community perspective to make Temple more attractive for families. During its meeting Tuesday, the Select Board approved the Temple Community Planning Ad-Hoc Committee, which will take a macro look at what families want and need in a community.

“We’d like to make housing affordable for first-time families and we’d also like to explore the services that attract them,” Selectman Ken Caisse said Wednesday.

That includes things like recreation options or daycare facilities. “And other aspects to bring more families into the school system so we don’t end up losing our elementary school,” Caisse said.

Residents who are interested in joining the Temple Community Planning Ad-Hoc Committee may do so by contacting the Select Board office at 878-2536 or boardassistant@templenh.org.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.