“Rockland has been a wonderful place to live and work for centuries. As a regional center, we’re fortunate to have a diversified economy with good jobs in healthcare, public service, hospitality, the trades, and small business. People want to live, shop, learn, worship, and work here year-round.

Many people, especially young families with working parents, struggle to afford or locate housing in Rockland. As a hospitality business owner, I know too well how difficult it has become to find and retain staff due to the city’s weak housing supply. That is why I joined Rockland’s Affordable and Workforce Housing Taskforce, which has developed a plan to support the city’s goals of developing new workforce housing opportunities.

The Taskforce, which is comprised of real estate professionals, non-profits, city officials, and community members, has recommended that the City of Rockland pursue a creative financial incentive to attract private investment and stimulate local business: by issuing a housing bond to support capital projects for affordable workforce housing.

This $10 million bond will provide much-needed new housing and longterm economic growth for Rockland. With this bond, the city will be able to provide meaningful support to, among other things, improving infrastructure (such as water and sewer connectivity) that will open new land opportunities for housing, while ensuring the existing stock of housing remains affordable.

This bond has been described as “innovative” in its approach to housing development by bridging the growing gap between housing demand and available state and federal funds. It also equips the city with new tools like affordability guarantees through deed restrictions, ensuring housing can remain affordable for years to come. The Taskforce is also sensitive to increasing the burden to Rockland taxpayers; the program is designed to minimize costs to taxpayers by being revenue neutral in the short-term, and ultimately lower overall tax burdens on longer time horizons. 

Employers want to hire workers from nurses and teachers to police and fire professionals. Small business growth has been seriously constrained by a workforce that can’t grow. With this bond, we can take meaningful steps to help solve our workforce housing crisis.g

On June 10, voters in Rockland will have a chance to support affordable workforce housing by voting “yes” on ballot question 1. It’s a community-based solution to a problem we must all solve together. Please visit www.rocklandaffordablehousing.org for more information and join me in supporting Ballot Measure 1 on June 10.

Eric Churchill lives in Rockland