Portsmouth residents call out ‘urgent’ need for middle- and low-income housing

Several residents praised the work done by the Portsmouth Housing Authority to create affordable housing. Here, PHA’s director Craig Welch, shows off Ruth Griffin Place. (Courtesy photo)

A number of residents stressed the need for immediate action to address the lack of middle- and low-income housing in the city.

The residents spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people gathered in City Hall last Thursday (Feb. 22) night as part of the Portsmouth Listens 2024 Housing Dialogue.

Janet Polasky was one of a group of people who reported on what members of their study circles group said about the lack of affordable housing in Portsmouth. Her group’s members shared a “common vision” for “a more varied and affordable housing supply to accommodate the diversity of residents who would call Portsmouth home.”

Like others who spoke Thursday, she noted leaders and residents have been talking about and working on the issue of housing for two to three decades.

“We don’t want to add to the pile of reports already weighing down the shelves at City Hall,” Polasky said. “Now is the time to act, no more reports on shelves.”

Her group called for the removal of “structural barriers in the planning process. The city must do all in its municipal power to encourage the development of more diverse housing.”

Her group also suggested making changes to some regulations, including “requiring parking for all units.”

Too many naysayers prevent progress, some Portsmouth residents say

Resident Linda Daley said her group pointed to the “lack of affordable housing for both middle- and low-income individuals and families” in Portsmouth.

Her group acknowledged the impact of “market force” on the housing problem, stating that Portsmouth is “a very desirable town.”

What that means is “when the music stops, the low and middle are priced out of the market,” she said.

Daley’s group, like others, believes “zoning and regulations are a real barrier” to the development of affordable housing.

“Too many naysayers” are showing up at Planning Board meetings while the city needs supporters of workforce housing “in their own backyard,” her group believes.

“We believe that middle- and low-income housing should be the priority,” Daley said.

Her group credited the Portsmouth Housing Authority for its work to address the issue.

The group pointed specifically to the development of the Ruth Griffin housing project, which offers below-market-rate apartments with 64 units in downtown Portsmouth. It opened in 2022.

“But they can only do so much,” she said. “We need to engage others in making middle-income housing available in the city.”

She also referenced news about the proposed redevelopment of the now-closed Christmas Tree Shops retail space into more than 360 market-rate apartments.

But she said she was “surprised and disappointed” that the development proposed does not include any workforce or affordable units.

“I feel like that’s a real missed opportunity and hope that that can be something to be addressed before that is approved,” she said.

High-end housing developments the norm

Portsmouth has gone through a boom in housing development over at least the past decade, but most homes and apartments rent or sell at market rates, with few workforce units.

“I drive around Portsmouth and look at the new developments, they’re all high end,” Daley said. “Why can’t we have seniors and the workforce and the rest of us all living in the same communities?”

“It would only enrich all of us to do that,” she added.

Dagan Migirditch, a city resident and co-founder of Liar’s Bench Beer Company, spoke for 10 residents in his study circles group.

They believe that “the character and economic health of the city is increasingly jeopardized by rising housing and living costs.”

Those costs, his group shared, “is increasingly squeezing out or excluding all but the most fortunate” Portsmouth residents.

Like the other groups, they called for more housing options for low- and middle-income residents, along with the “political will” to make the changes to achieve that.

“Past successes like the Ruth Griffin house should be championed, and we should collaborate on more demonstration projects that not only provide but destigmatize workforce housing,” he said.

All of his group’s members “were alarmed” by the lack of affordable housing is impacting Portsmouth,” he said.

“Now is the time to address this crisis with the sincerity and conviction that it warrants,” Migirditch said. “As history has shown us, if we continue on our current trajectory affordability will come to Portsmouth, but what will be left of our city when it does?”

Andrea Pickett, a member of the Portsmouth Housing Authority staff, said her study circles group was made up evenly of renters and homeowners.

“We were able to talk about how there’s a sense of loneliness as we watch people we love and care about have to migrate out of the city,” she said about her group.

They believe “there’s an urgent need for a clear pathway and action,” Pickett reported. “Action needs to follow these conversations.”

Her group pointed to a “moral imperative to enable people who work here to live here,” she said.

In terms of solutions, Pickett’s group pointed to the need to “prioritize zoning changes to create solutions such as enabling multi-family housing in single-family neighborhoods.”

Her group also cited the need to leverage city resources to address the housing shortage.

Portsmouth Listens keeps housing conversation going

The Portsmouth Listens 2024 Housing Dialogue meeting was hosted by members of both the City Council and Planning Board.

Portsmouth Listens“works at the local level to support civil, public deliberation of complex issues affecting Portsmouth residents’ everyday lives,” the group said on its website.

City Councilor John Tabor said Portsmouth Listens “has convened dialogues to help make Portsmouth the best place to live, work, and play” for more than 20 years.

The study circles groups did their own research and reached their own conclusions, Tabor said.

“With more than 150 participants, we’re into many thousands of hours of combined work,” he said about the 2024 Housing Dialogue.

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