FEATURED ARTICLE

Bryan Wyatt, head of the Seacoast Workforce Housing Coalition and executive director of The Housing Partnership. Amy Root-Donle photo

Portsmouth this year became one of the first communities in the Seacoast to change its zoning ordinances to create incentives for work-force housing. But it is, in the words of Mayor Steve Marchand, just the start. "We're looking for market-based solutions," he says, "not mandates."

Work-force housing is a phrase distinct from low-income housing, notes Bryan Wyatt, executive director of The Housing Partnership, which is making the first use of Portsmouth's ordinance in connection with a project in the Atlantic Heights section of the city. He is also head of the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast, a business-led effort.

Work-force housing encompasses condos, townhouses, apartments and single-family homes that area workers can afford. There are no uniform income guidelines to define or characterize the type of housing. Those in need of the housing include teachers, firefighters, municipal employees and others in essential services, such as health care, manufacturing and retail, according to the coalition.

Wyatt hopes other municipalities consider the Portsmouth ordinance as a model. It allows developers to build additional housing units if they meet a certain income criteria associated with the so-called work-force housing. Its creation was partly in response to the city's master plan, which long has identified the need for greater, more diverse housing opportunities.

"I think things have improved in public perception and acceptance, but that's about it," Wyatt says.

The business community, however, is paying plenty of attention. It stems in part from demographics, says expert Peter Francese. The absence of work-force housing is to blame for driving young people away -- the region's future labor pool, he tells Ventures.

It is a noticeable economic challenge, according to several people who testified in support of the city ordinance change earlier this year. A representative from Portsmouth Regional Hospital, who spoke in favor of it, said many people had turned down positions due to the high cost of rents and real estate in Portsmouth. Dick Ingram, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, said it made good business sense. The Portsmouth Housing Authority also endorsed the new ordinance.

The issue is a priority for Gov. John Lynch's Jobs Cabinet, notes Michael Power of the New Hampshire Workforce Opportunity Council, along with education and training.

Marchand sees the housing challenge as an offshoot of Portsmouth and the Seacoast being a great place in which to live, work and play. And the new ordinance is a silver BB, not a silver bullet to a limited supply of housing.

"We're not saying this ordinance is going to solve all the problems," Marchand says.