OPINION: I support the 51 South Main Street project

Oct 6, 2022  |  By Katya d’Angelo 

It seems clear that most people can agree that Waterbury lacks enough housing that is affordable. People who are impacted by the high market rents are retail and food service employees, teaching assistants, childcare providers, someone starting out their own small business, farm workers, non-profit employees, and so many more. 

Could you afford to buy your house at today’s prices if you were making $15-20/hour? I sure couldn’t. Almost weekly, posts on Front Porch Forum are practically begging for leads on housing. People stay in substandard places because they are afraid they won’t find another place to live. 

Part of keeping a vibrant community thriving is having new people move to town. As author William S. Burroughs put it, "When you stop growing, you start dying."

Waterbury’s Municipal Plan was crafted with responsible development in mind and it emphasizes the importance of building housing in existing developed areas. Any project the town does should look to the plan as a sort of mission statement. The plan supports increasing housing and higher-density housing in the downtown village. This project does just that.

The property currently does not produce any income for the Town or the Edward Farrar Utility District – no taxes paid, no subscribers to the water and sewer. The addition of new units would provide additional users to help keep utility costs steady for all the rest of us. 

Furthermore, a market analysis and economic development study initiated by Revitalizing Waterbury in 2021 with a community planning consultant firm Main Street Group identified about 25 short-term rentals that could be or were long-term rentals. That's 25 units (now many more) that are off the market. This project of 24-26 units helps to equalize the loss we've had in long-term rentals over the last couple of years. These new units will always be long-term rentals.

I believe the partnership with Downstreet is the best option. Nothing is going to totally satisfy 100% of the voters and no single project is going to solve the housing problem here. But we can start somewhere with this project.

If you’d like to learn more about the project, facts on housing in Vermont and additional information presented at the public meeting on Aug. 31, head to the website yesfor51main.info where all the information has been compiled.

Katya d’Angelo is a Waterbury business owner, an EFUD resident, a former Planning Commission member, and presently a member of the Revitalizing Waterbury Board of Directors.