CREATING MIXED INCOME COMMUNITIES IN GLASTONBURY
Erin Boggs, Esq. For TALK and Community Partners August 27, 2019
CT IS ONE OF THE MOST SEGREGATED STATES IN THE NATION Shaped by multiple factors: -
Zoning
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Subsidized housing locations
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Limits on housing authority jurisdiction
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Disinvestment
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History of intentional segregating policies 2
IMPACT ON OPPORTUNITY
Education Opportunity Score
Economic Opportunity Score
Housing/Neig hborhood Score
Final Opportunity Score (Map)
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WHERE DO WE LIVE? OPPORTUNITY BY RACE AND ETHNICITY IN CT
% of People by Race & Ethnicity Living in Lower Opportunity Areas Blacks: Latinos: Whites: Asians:
73% 73% 26% 36%
OPPORTUNITY DETAIL AND RACE
Very Low
Low
Moderate
High
Very High
White
9%
17%
22%
23%
29%
Black
52%
21%
13%
9%
5%
Asian
14%
2% of the land area of the 21% 19% 20% state.
Hispanic
50%
22%
12%
9%
25% 7%
OUTCOMES Disparities in educational outcomes by race and income – CT has one of the largest “educational achievement gaps” in the nation. Disparities in unemployment rates by race. (Typically Black and Latino unemployment is double white unemployment.) Disparities in Black/white (x6) & Latino/white (x12) incarceration. Health disparities: Life expectancy: Hartford census tract – 74 years Glastonbury census tract – 87 years
Asthma – Asthma rate is 40 times higher in one Hartford census tract compared to one Glastonbury census tract. 9
ROLE OF HISTORY
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THE ROLE OF ZONING Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. In 1926 the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed local zoning power to design zoning schemes that designated zones for certain types of buildings and dictated restrictions on lot and building sizes. The court upheld a municipality’s right to use zoning to block multifamily development. 12
ZONING AND RACE
Source: Hall, Eliza, Divide and Sprawl, Decline and Fall: A Comparative Critique of Euclidian Zoning, pg. 923, University of Pittsburg Law Review (2007). Available at http://lawreview.law.pitt.edu/issues/68/68.4/Hall.pdf.
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The core argument of [The Color of Law] is that African Americans were unconstitutionally denied the means and the right to integration in middle-class neighborhoods, and because this denial was statesponsored, the nation is obligated to remedy it. - Richard Rothstein
1966: BUSING REJECTED
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1977: RESIDENCY PREFERENCE LITIGATION
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1978: FEDERAL SUPPORT DENIED DUE TO HOUSING RECORD
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1979: GLASTONBURY REJECTS UNITS AND PULLS FEDERAL GRANT APPLICATION
90 units on Nye Road
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1980: US V. GLASTONBURY At issue: 71 units in River Meadows and 90 units on Nye Road.
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1999: CHRISTIAN ACTIVITIES COUNCIL 28 units on Hebron Avenue
Glastonbury the “need” for affordable housing should only be the local town need, not the regional need. Court sided with Glastonbury. This was fixed legislatively.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING PERFORMANCE Â Total Housing Units Avon 7,112
% Multifamily
% Affordable
% Subsidized
16.94%
3.76%
1.93%
Farmington 10,992
22.06%
7.96%
3.03%
Glastonbury 13,499
13.56%
5.46%
4.16%
West Hartford 25,813
24.30%
7.79%
2.19%
Wethersfield 11,380
17.16%
8.39%
6.63%
67.36%
37.89%
20.11%
Hartford 54,632
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SOLUTIONS
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TWO WAY STREET SOLUTION: (1) ENSURE CHOICES IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOCATION AND (2) INVEST IN STRUGGLING COMMUNITIES 23
WHAT CAN WE DO HERE? Increase the percentage of Open Choice students. Make sure our schools are welcoming and educating students about the history of our country, broadening understanding of other people and cultures, training global citizens. Undertake a concerted plan for a beautiful mixed income community.
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THE CONCEPT Work together to design a project. OCA would acquire the land with help from a foundation, land donations or a CDFI. We would partner with a respected developer who shares our mission. We would together undertake a public education and awareness campaign with faith-based partners addressing some of the myths around affordable housing and addressing concerns.
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WHAT DOES AMI REALLY MEAN? Size of HH 1
Fed Poverty
50% AMI
60% AMI
80% AMI
100% AMI
$ 12,490
$ 34,265
$ 40,680
$ 54,824
$ 68,530
2
$ 16,910
$ 39,160
$ 46,500
$ 62,656
$ 78,320
3
$ 21,330
$ 44,055
$ 52,320
$ 70,488
$ 88,110
4
$ 25,750
$ 48,950
$ 58,080
$ 78,320
$ 97,900
Median Income in Glastonbury: $80,660
WHAT COULD A MIXED INCOME COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE?
Percent of Units
Percent of Area Median Income
Lower Income
10%
30% or below
$
26,247
Workforce
20%
50% or below
$
48,950
Market Rate
70%
100% or above
$
97,900
Population
Dollar Figure Max
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MYTHS TO ADDRESS: CRIME Case Study: Mt. Laurel, NJ 140 Units
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Built 2000-04
Op en to low - and mod erate-income fam ilies (10% to 80% AM I).
Outcomes C r i m e : “We co mpared trends in…crim e rates…in Mount Laurel before and after 2001 w ith a matched set o f nearby townships and found no statistical differences [in crim e rates].” N e i g h b o r s : “A third of nearb y residents did no t even know that an affordab le housing develop ment existed in the im med iate area.” E d u c a t i o n : “Children…w ere 33% m ore likely to report having a qu iet place to study and they spent twice as m any ho urs studying or d oing homew ork. P arents said the relative tranquility of their surroundings allow ed them to d evote tim e to the sup ervision and edu catio n of their children.” Despite attending m ore com petitive schools, students’ g rad es were slightly higher. I n c o m e : “Welfare use w as reduced b y 67%, em plo yment rose by 22%, and incom e increased by 25%.” 28
MYTH: AFFORDABLE HOUSING DECREASES HOME VALUES R e s o u n d i n g F i n d i n g s : Mixed income units with some affordable units – and even with 100% affordable units – in low poverty areas have zero impact on property values. M t . L a u r e l : “We compared trends in home values, crime rates, and tax assessments in Mount Laurel before and after 2001 with a matched set of nearby townships and found no statistical differences. Even neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the development experienced no apparent effects on property values.” Mixed-Income Housing May Even Increase Property Values: “Properly maintained affordable housing developments, designed and built with sensitivity to the architectural and aesthetic standards desired by the community, may even increase property values.” (See Oak Park) 29
MYTH: AFFORDABLE HOUSING WILL RUIN OUR SCHOOLS Affordable housing typically does not bring as many children as the community anticipates But regardless, diversity is good for our kids – Improving learning for all students Closing the educational opportunity gap Creating a better, more tolerant, future Becoming college-ready Preparing for the workforce
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WHAT’S NEXT? Advise us! What do we need to think through? Sign up!
To To To To
get updates host a presentation at your home or with a group you are part of strategize about obtaining land be involved in creating a vision for this community
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Maps provided courtesy of Professor Stefanie Deluca of Johns Hopkins University.
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8 years later
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Erin Boggs, Esq. Executive Director Open Communities Alliance 75 Charter Oak Avenue Suite 1-210 Hartford, CT 06106 Tel. 860.610-6040 eboggs@ctoca.org Check us out and join the coalition at: http://www.ctoca.org
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