5/15/2001 AFFORDABLE HOUSING Minutes

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6 • Single-firmly residences account for almost 92 percent of our housing stock as of June 30, 2000, from figures provided by the Planning and Development Office. • Chapter 40B subsidized housing inventory was .90 percent in 1990. As of June 30, 2000 it represents about 2.2 percent. The state mandated goal is 10 percent. Sandwich has the lowest Chapter 40 housing stock of any of the major Cape Towns. ■ Sandwich has a growing senior population of approximately 4,000 residents over age 60 which represents about 19 percent of our population and the housing needs of these citizens is increasing. Sandwich Police and Fire Department contracts require employees to be either residents of Sandwich or to live within very strict geographical proximities to Sandwich. With increasing turnover in these departments expected in the next 5 years due to retirements, new recruits will not be able to find affordable rental housing in our community and will not have the financial resources and income stream to be able to afford home ownership. ■ The estimated median income of Sandwich residents is above Barnstable County's figures and the median sales price of homes in Sandwich is above that of the County in general These two economic realties are contributing to the sad fact that Sandwich is no longer a blue collar community, but is now a "wealthy"suburban community of relative newcomers who are displacing and replacing residents and whose economic profiles are much different. • A community of only one elite economic class forebodes the death of cultural and ethnic diversity. The real wealth of a community is not measured in census data but in how it raises its young in a multi-cultural, economic and ethnic_ climate and how it imparts a vibrancy of many spirits to itself and others. • The Sandwich public schools have approximately 60 teachers with over 20 years of service. Over the next five to ten years, recruiting new teachers to Sandwich and this area in general will be the single greatest challenge for all communities. The starting salary of new teachers, coupled with a high debt load for loan repayment, will make it almost impossible for new teachers to secure affordable housing in Sandwich. ■ The average rent for homes in Sandwich has leaped exponentially over the last two years. In 1998 an average three bed home was renting for $900-1000 per month. Today,the same home rents for$1300-1500 per month. While year round rental rates have increased over 35 percent and more over two years, incomes have not risen accordingly. This "Affordability Gap"has never been higher in Sandwich and it is a real crisis for hundred and hundreds of hard working residents This situation is now Code Red ■ Evidencing the affordability gap and despite the economic prosperity of our community, our state and our nation, numbers of clients serviced at the Sandwich Food Pantry are higher then ever.