There are statistics that illustrate the lack of available housing in New Hampshire, as highlighted in the piece in our March 17 issue about discriminatory housing policy.
There’s the 3.9% increase in housing units between 2010 and 2020, which didn’t even keep up with the 4.6% population increase during that time. There are the statistics from the NH Coalition to End Homelessness showing that the annual point-in-time counts of unsheltered homeless people on a single day in January 2020 increased 21% from 2019. There are the 28% of residents who are renting, half of whom are spending up to half their monthly income on housing, in a state with a 0.6% rental vacancy rate.
According to Mary Loftis, a former Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter board member and current volunteer who writes the “Finding A Home” column for the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, the average stay in the shelter is longer than it was a decade ago due to a lack of affordable options for people who complete the program.
There’s a fix, and it’s building more housing, particularly affordable housing. Gov. Chris Sununu has shown a willingness to help, proposing various initiatives in his State of the State address to encourage multifamily housing, expedited permit processes and updated local regulations.
But the leadership required to truly make a difference must come at the local level. Zoning rules, such as minimum lot sizes, setback requirements, restrictions on multi-family buildings and density requirements are a major factor. But rules can be changed if local officials are willing to propose changes and residents are willing to support them. It will be hard work, and it will have to overcome NIMBY, or “Not in My Backyard,” a perspective that often emerges when housing developments are proposed. While some concerns over the character of the area or traffic may be real, many worries are unfounded or can be dealt with in the development plans.
The lack of housing is one that can be solved, but people will have to sincerely want to solve it, and not think of additional housing as a good idea as long as it is somewhere else.