According to stories in the Current Issue of ShorewoodNow (http://www.shorewoodnow.com/) , the Shorewood Village Board is contemplating a new loan program targeting residential housing.
As reported by Dave Fidlin -- staff writer :
" outlined in a draft document, the village would disburse as much as $360,000 in loans to nearly 40 home owners if the program is enacted. Applicants must own and live in the homes to qualify for improvement loans.
Loans would be offered in one of four categories: down payment assistance for a single family or duplex, a loan for converting a duplex to a home, attic improvements and exterior maintenance.
Trustee Margaret Hickey said at a board meeting this month that a good target population for the loans would be elderly residents on fixed incomes who sometimes find it difficult to obtain bank loans.
"It's going to be a pilot program," Trustee Dawn Anderson said. "We're going to have to have some faith that the eligibility requirements will work." "
The Loan Program as described above, in my opinion, is seriously flawed, and will result in the loss of a lot of affordable housing in Shorewood, and will adversely affect the enrollment in the Shorewood Schools.
There is no question that Shorewood needs to work on improving its housing. When I ran for the Village Board in the last election, I made this issue a prominent point in my campaign. I especially decried that the Village Board was focusing on the "business environment" in Shorewood --- including a Business Loan Program that would provide up to $50,000 in unsecured loans to businesses....
Unfortunately, at the time, my opponents Phinney and Eckman, and other Village Board members such as Anderson and Hickey did not agree, preferring to concentrate on ineffective business programs, and large grandiose expenditures, such as the multi million dollar Streetscaping.
An obviously logical question would be, if I was proposing housing improvement programs just a few months ago, why am I criticizing the program that is now being floated out for consideration ?
The program that I proposed would "enhance" the existing housing stock, making it more efficient, up to date, and appealing for both buyers and renters.
But I did not propose that we change the character or nature of the housing that currently exists. Encouraging the transformation of existing duplexes to single family homes, will drastically reduce the population of Shorewood, and make Shorewood more un-affordable for young families - especially the kind that have school age children.
The program I proposed concentrated upon the infrastructure of the existing housing, which is rapidly becoming obsolescent - with outdated electrical, plumbing and heating.
The program being touted now by the Village Board, concentrates on cosmetics and attics --- not the features, in my experience as a Realtor, that are of the greatest concern of school age families.
Encouraging the transformation of duplexes (which Shorewood has more of per capita than any other community in Wisconsin) into single family homes, will price most families with school age children out of the market !
Over the next week or so, I will be making postings that examine the affordability of housing in Shorewood , and the differences in costs and demographics in relation to renters and buyers of single family homes and duplexes.
