To the Editor,
We are writing to express our support in the Manchester Housing Authority and The Manchester Affordable Housing Trust’s combined efforts to create affordable housing in the community.
As in many towns and cities, the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea faces a housing crisis and one of the most important actions we can take to address the crisis is to build more affordable units. Reports show a shortfall of both current and future housing needs.
We the Board of Manchester Housing Authority are committed to the expansion of the permanent, affordable housing to meet the need for safe, healthy, affordable places to live for all the members of our community. In addition, we are committed to supporting equity and diversity that reflects the interests of the entire community.
It is known that housing needs are significant and should be receiving priority action. Comparisons of income and housing costs and the availability of housing stock have been confirmed to be inadequate.
Creating the availability of anywhere from 50-70 new units in the proposed project will ensure a safety net for families and restore dignity and security. The safety of housing is a basic building block to a happy and healthy life in any community. The proposed zoning change that would allow senior housing by special permit will be important to getting this project done. We encourage you to support our request and to carefully review it and compare it to the much-needed community needs that it helps to address.
We urge voters to attend the town meeting on November 14 and support these important zoning proposals.
Regards
Elaine Persons, Chairman and the Board Manchester Housing Authority
