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PART X -- HOUSING.
The Northeast Kingdom has a well preserved assortment of towns and villages
unspoiled by contemporary sub-divisions, commercial strip developments and high
traffic roads. Add to this a large inventory of older (pre-1940) homes that
still remain affordable to working Vermonters.
The village and town centers are distinguished by an array of historic landmark
buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th century. These landmarks are still
in use and help the area to preserve its sense of place and community life.
However, high unemployment and low wages continue to make it difficult for many
Northeast Kingdom residents to meet their housing needs. Additionally, landmark
buildings pose a challenge for upkeep and meeting code requirements, including
the American's with Disabilities Act. Heating expenses, especially for older
homes and poorly insulated manufactured housing, can be beyond the means of
low income residents, forcing utility cut offs.
1. Housing Organizations.
Gilman Housing Trust is a 15-year old private non-profit housing corporation
based in Newport and serving all three counties with the development of multi-family
housing, management of affordable housing, and expansion & retention of
affordable home ownership. NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center of Vermont
- Northeast Kingdom is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilman Housing Trust
that provides home buyer education, housing counseling, technical support, financial
assistance, and foreclosure intervention to home buyers. Habitat for Humanity
is a non-profit volunteer organization based in Greensboro that performs housing
rehabilitation in the summer in the Northeast Kingdom. Northern Community
Management Corporation (NCMC) is a property management company specializing
in management of affordable housing for seniors, families and persons with special
needs in northern Vermont and New Hampshire. NCMC is based in St. Johnsbury
and is jointly owned by Gilman Housing Trust, A.H.E.A.D.,Inc. of Littleton,
N.H., and by Housing Vermont of Burlington.
2. Home Construction Training.
The Vocational Technical Programs at Canaan Memorial High School, North
Country Career Center, and the Applied Technology Center in St. Johnsbury
build projects for non-profit developers like Gilman Housing Trust for resale
to low and moderate-income home buyers. The Lyndon Institute Technology Center
also has a home construction program.
3. Public Transportation.
Rural Community Transportation works with Gilman Housing and other housing
providers to identify transportation access issues and help find solutions.
Our towns and villages are places populated with a diverse community of mixed income families, citizens of all ages with expanding opportunity for safe, decent, affordable housing, with goods and services close at hand as well as social, cultural, educational and economic opportunities. Our communities retain the historic features lending a sense of place unmistakable from all others. Our public buildings, housing, streets, commercial establishments and public spaces are cared for, used, and indicate a vital, desirable community. Our housing options include affordable, well maintained rental apartments, single family homes that remain within economic reach of working families, senior housing that meets the social and mobility needs of our aging population, and barrier free housing for those of us with restricted mobility. No person needs to be without shelter.
1. Preservation of Village and Town Centers as Center of Community Life.
Vibrant village centers, with schools, stores, cultural, social and residential
uses make ideal places to live, shop, work and function as a residential community.
The community must also have room for all residents with housing opportunities
for low and moderate income families, for senior citizens and for our residents
with special needs. About 81% of the low income residents surveyed agreed
that the lack of safe, decent, affordable housing was a critical problem in
the area; and 85.5% believed there was a need for programs to assist in the
rehabilitation of existing housing.
2. Housing for Senior Citizens and Residents with Special Needs.
Senior Citizens and others with special needs would like the option to live
in the general community, with access to shopping, entertainment, medical services
and transportation. According to the 1990 census, the region had 1,312 mobility
impaired persons, 997 of whom were over the age of 65. Approximately 86.8%
of the low income residents surveyed felt there was a need for programs which
help the elderly remain in their own homes for as long as possible.
3. Home Ownership
The most common barriers to homeownership are credit problems, high debt, and
lack of savings for down payment and closing costs. Nearly all of the homes
located in the Northeast Kingdom's 23 mobile home parks are owned by leaseholders
(85% in Caledonia and Essex Counties and more than 95% in Orleans County). (Gilman
Housing.)
4. Repair and Rehabilitation of Single Family Homes.
Gilman Housing Trust has experienced a consistent stream of inquiry from families
located throughout the Northeast Kingdom in need of funds to repair or rehabilitate
their single-family homes. Most of these inquiries are from households with
incomes below 80% of median, with no equity in their homes and unable to obtain
affordable financing from area lenders. Gilman Housing Trust has insufficient
resources to provide the loans necessary. Alternative financing from credit
cards, finance companies, and home improvement companies have left many households
saddled with high interest debt, jeopardizing continued home ownership. A windshield
survey of housing needs was conducted by Gilman Housing's Rehab Specialist during
the month of February, 2000. Forty-five percent of the homes viewed received
a "poor" rating, meaning they had three or more substandard conditions.
5. Meeting Housing Expenses.
Many low income residents have difficulty heating their homes and paying for
electricity. The predominant heating source is fuel oil, followed by wood heat.
6. Rehabilitation of Mobile Home Parks.
Affordable home ownership is often a mobile home on a rented lot in a private
park. Many of these parks were built prior to developed standards for water
quality, sewer & septic design standards, and have jury-rigged electric
systems. Public attention and resources will be necessary to maintain this type
of home ownership opportunity for low and moderate-income residents.
7. Homelessness.
There are no designated homeless shelters in the Northeast Kingdom. Families
and individuals currently stay in hotel units.
8. Lead Based Paint.
The presence of lead paint in units occupied by very low and other low-income
households is significantly higher in the Northeast Kingdom (41.4%) than in
any other region in Vermont.(VT Department of Housing and Community Affairs,
estimate based on 1990 Census). In 1999, the Department of Health tested 765
Northeast Kingdom children of whom 52 had elevated blood lead levels of 10 ug/dL
or above.
Preservation of Village and Town Centers as Center of Community Life
Housing for Senior Citizens and Residents with Special Needs
Home Ownership
Repair and Rehabilitation of Single Family Homes.
Meeting Housing Expenses
Rehabilitation of Mobile Home Parks.
Homelessness
Lead Based Paint