Housing in Easton: Taking Stock

On a Wednesday in mid- February, over 60 people showed up at Queset on the Pond for Easton’s Affordable Housing Fair, sponsored by the Easton Affordable Housing Trust.  People came to hear about homeownership and affordable rental opportunities, energy efficiency options, and Easton’s home repair and down payment assistance programs.  Eleven housing-related organizations were in attendance to provide information on their programs and to answer people’s questions.  The Trust and Planning Department staff were overwhelmed by the response.   This was obviously an event that was needed and one we plan on hosting again in the future. 

The message from the fair appears clear, and it has at least two parts. First,  Easton is a desirable place to live. People and families enjoy living here because of Easton’s location, character, school system, community assets, open spaces, history and more.  Many who do not currently live here but would like to find  Easton attractive for the same reasons.  This is a really good thing!  Of course the trick is, the more desirable a community is, the more valuable (and expensive) housing becomes.  Higher property values are great if you own property, but not if you are looking to get into the market.  Housing downturns, like the one we are climbing out of now, make housing more affordable for those looking to buy. But if you own, the bad news is often that YOUR house is now more affordable. A weak housing market leads many to look at renting, either by choice or by necessity and greater demand for rental housing results in higher rents.

The second part of the message is this- there is demand for quality, affordable housing in Easton.  Because Easton is such a desirable community, all sorts of people want to live here.  Young and old, families and singles, wealthy and working class.  This is a good thing too and in many ways, Easton has many housing options- large, single family homes, smaller starter homes, condominium units of various sizes, and some multifamily rental housing here and there.   Maintaining this type of diversity in housing options allows people to live here through various stages of life- single college graduate, family provider,  empty nester, etc.

A question for us to consider as a town could be:  How can we ensure Easton remains a desirable Town in which to live while helping to ensure that those who want to live here are able to?

Recently, the Planning and Zoning Board met with members of the Zoning Board of Appeals to discuss the issue of duplexes, or two-family homes.  Members of  both boards expressed having a diversity of housing options in Easton is a good thing and there is a place for duplexes in Town.  They provide a more affordable option for some families, and have the potential to provide a steady income stream to others.  The main concern of the members present expressed was that duplexes, and all housing, should fit in with the character of the neighborhood and should be well-designed, enhancing that existing neighborhood character. There are some areas of town where alternatives to single family detached homes makes sense, and some where it probably does not. 

My family is currently looking to buy a home in Easton.  We want to here because of all of the assets mentioned above.  My wife and I already love this town and we want to raise our kids here.   As with most families, there are some areas of town we can afford and some we cannot. Luckily for us, the areas we can afford are those where we want to be!  We do look forward to making an investment in our home both as a place to live and as an asset that will hopefully accumulate value over time.   In the coming years, other families like us will be looking to establish roots in a great community, as will couples and single people.  These could be our children, our grandchildren, or simply people who find Easton as attractive as we do.  Will we have what they are looking for?  Will they be able to find the kind of housing they are looking for at a price that works for them? 

As the master planning process rolls along, housing will be one of the issues the steering committee will ask the community to focus on.   The process will offer a starting point for developing a community vision and a plan for implementing that vision.  In this case- What do you think about housing in Easton? How can we continue to offer the great quality of life we have become accustomed to while ensuring that those who want to live here are afforded that opportunity?   Of course we all will have different answers to these questions, but recognizing the importance of how we choose where to live could be a start.