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Housing Lopez Summer Newsletter
Jul 28, 2022
By Housing Lopez
More Affordable Housing on the Horizon
On June 23, Housing Lopez hosted a meeting to gather community feedback about our plans to build more affordable, rental housing. We are set to purchase about nine acres in the Village (see map) where we hope to build up to 45 new units in three phases over the next six to ten years.

At the meeting, community members learned the results of our Island-wide housing needs assessment and shared their preferences for the first phase site plan of 15 units. This feedback will ensure that the new homes meet the needs of the new residents and is sensitive to the surrounding neighbors.

More than 450 Lopez households earn less than 60% of the median income for our area. Within this income category, 80% are small, one- or two-person households that either rent or own their home.

The assessment identified 227 senior homeowners who are finding it difficult to maintain their homes and reports that 40% (137) of Lopez households that rent are paying more than a third of their income on housing. Neighbors in this situation may have trouble covering basic needs like food, childcare, transportation, and health care. In the official terms of needs assessments, they are classified as “housing cost-burdened.” For a more detailed analysis of the data, you can find the full report at our website: www.housinglopez.org

Some of the priorities shared by our neighbors include preserving the stand of trees along Fisherman Bay Road, clustering buildings around a common outdoor area, using only low-level ground lighting to reduce light pollution for neighbors, and placing buildings away from the road with landscaping in between. The property has extensive Class IV wetlands which will require mitigation, including enhancing and expanding the wetlands and monitoring the site.