Sarah Keitt

 

Yesterday, after an 11.5-hour debate, House Bill 5002, the Housing bill, passed in the House, 84-67. I voted no…not because I don’t think there are good components to the bill and there’s no doubt the state needs more affordable housing stock, but I’m here to represent the 134th District. You spoke and I listened. The overwhelming number of residents who contacted me asked me to cast a no vote. But we as a community need to take a hard look at our housing priorities in Fairfield and Trumbull. The Centers for Housing Opportunity recently conducted a town-by-town assessment of area median income (AMI) and the availability of affordable housing. The results shine a bright light on the housing crisis we are facing. 

 

In Fairfield and Trumbull, the AMI for a single person is $104,230/year or $50.11/hour. A person earning 80% of AMI or $83,384/year or $40.08/hour is considered low-income. This includes someone working as a first-year teacher, a behavioral analyst, or HVAC technician. A general rule of thumb is that a person can afford to spend 30% of their income on rent and utilities. For someone earning 80% of AMI, that means they can afford to spend $2084/month on rent and utilities. Currently there is only 1unit available at 80% AMI available in Fairfield and 3 available in Trumbull. That’s 4 units across Fairfield and Trumbull that are affordable for people earning under $100,000. That’s 4 units for our children who are just starting their careers; four units for seniors on a fixed incomes that want to downsize; four units for that single parent going through a divorce who wants to stay close to their children. 

 

The crisis is real and growing. We need to come together as a community to develop POCDs that address this crisis. We need to support diverse housing developments that are affordable for our working families and our seniors. If we truly want local control over development, we need to step up and take responsibility for addressing this crisis.