January 29, 2010 - Confronted by a huge loss of young professionals and demographic projections of a dangerously shrinking labor pool, state and municipal officials, educators, developers, business executives and other experts focused Jan. 27 on policies to increase the supply of housing that Connecticut workers can afford:

(1) preservation of existing affordable homes,
(2) removal of regulatory and zoning barriers to creation of new homes, and
(3) incentives for employers and municipalities so they foster new housing creation.

“Housing and The Workforce” at The Lyceum in Hartford was the first of five forums in the 2010 “Housing: The Hub of Public Policy” series sponsored by The Partnership for Strong Communities, the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.

Nearly 120 invited guests and members of the public heard DECD Commissioner Joan McDonald, CHFA President and CEO Timothy Bannon and Partnership Executive Director Diane Randall underscore the housing burden many workers in Connecticut face: they are either homeless, perilously close to homelessness, spending so much on housing that they have little income left for necessities and purchases to fuel the economy, or have the financial wherewithal to leave Connecticut for states where jobs are more plentiful or the cost of housing is lower.

Connecticut State University Chancellor David Carter and UConn Provost Peter Nicholls were among educators who said housing for staff and faculty was needed and graduates would leave the state without affordable homes. Yale University Vice President Michael Morand said employers could follow Yale’s lead and provide down-payment assistance and other housing subsidies to staff.

Meanwhile, state and municipal lawmakers talked about incentives, such as Massachusetts’ Commonwealth Capital Program, to move municipalities to create housing. The Housing Policy Series Continues Feb. 24 with Housing, Transportation and the Environment: The Convergence of Transit, Green Building and Brownfield Remediation.

For more information, contact Shelby Mertes, shelby@ctpartnershiphousing.com, 860-244-0066 or go to http://www.housingpolicy2010.org.