O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn

Housing in Manchester is too expensive and too scarce. As one of Manchester’s representatives in the State Legislature, I hear this constantly from countless members of our community. Whenever I knock on doors, answer phone calls and emails, or meet with constituents in our neighborhood, the lack of affordable housing is always mentioned.

In these conversations, people share their experiences with trying to find a home they can afford, and there are several themes I’ve noticed. People typically struggle with the lack of available and affordable options near their work and family, or community. It’s often difficult to find a home in their preferred school district. Renters struggle with the anxiety of potential rent increases, and seniors find it increasingly difficult to either stay in their homes or find available housing to downsize to.

Renting in Manchester is often stressful. Too many of our friends and neighbors are wracked by the uncertainty of whether they’ll be able to remain in the community for another year, while trying to keep up with increasing rent costs, which are a direct result of the lack of homes here in Manchester and the surrounding towns. The shortage of attainable housing options for working folks is a policy choice – a choice that has forced young families who grew up here to move away, kept too many stuck in housing situations they cannot afford, and prevented young adults from growing up and moving out.

I was recently lucky enough to purchase my own home here in Manchester, after years of renting and worrying about whether I could afford to stay here. This was a huge achievement for me, but not one without challenge or hardship. My husband and I were outbid on many offers we put in, mostly by out-of-state companies who could afford to make cash offers, or go as high as $100K over asking price. Owning a home has helped to alleviate the constant uncertainty that I faced, and many renters still do, by providing stability and a fixed housing payment. Every person in Manchester deserves this chance.

If we want to bring down the cost of rent, increase the availability of housing, and make homeownership a real possibility for Manchester’s working families, we need to update our zoning ordinances. We need to stop reserving so much of our city only for the most expensive housing option – single detached houses on big lots. When a city zones this much land exclusively for single family housing, it inherently excludes less affluent people.

We can make a different choice as a community. We can choose to prioritize abundance, to create more homes of different sizes and prices, and ensure more community members can continue to live here. This choice can put us on a path for a different, and better, future. Manchester took the first step when the Planning Board released a new zoning ordinance draft. Zoning ordinances determine what can go where in our community – where townhomes, duplexes, and apartments go, where businesses are developed, and where we put industry and commerce. Zoning codes can create the opportunity for new and more attainable homes here in Manchester, but only if we make the right decisions to allow different housing options in more parts of our city.

As Manchester embarks on this process, community meetings will be hosted twice a week from July 10 through September 7. I hope that in addition to listening to what the community wants, the Board, the Advisory Committee, and our Planning Department staff will pay close attention to ensure they’re hearing from all of Manchester’s residents and community members.

Our processes and public participation systems must be intentional and inclusive. We shouldn’t just listen to the loudest voices, but we must also seek out the voices of people who have been excluded. We must hear from renters, people who work multiple jobs just to make ends meet, and people who desperately want to live here but cannot currently afford it. These are the people that I hear from, and those are the voices I hope our city government will seek out, prioritize, and listen to.

New Hampshire has a long tradition and history of governing our communities together. Let’s lean into that tradition by truly making this process inclusive of everyone in our community whether they are young or old, rent or own, are newcomers or life long residents. As we make a plan to determine where homes will go for the next decades, let’s put the voices of people who struggle to afford a home front and center.

Beg to differ? Agree to disagree? Thoughtful prose on topics of general interest are welcome. Send to publisher@inklink.news, subject line: The Soapbox, for consideration.

NH State Rep. Alissandra Murray, D-Manchester, represents Hillsborough District  20.