Affordable Housing on Ferncliff

I stepped into my office this morning and picked up the Review and flipped to the article about the affordable housing plans underway on Ferncliff. http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/bir/news/39174104.html
This project screams "Bainbridge" and "community." Designed by local architect Julie Kreigh, slated to be built by local building contractor Fairbank Construction, and most amazing of all, the land is donated by a most generous Bainbridge resident.

I read some of the objections in the paper (too much density, traffic impact). I would like to introduce these objectors to the people I meet on a regular basis who cannot afford to buy a home on Bainbridge. Often, these are people who grew up on Bainbridge - their families may have lived here for generations. I've heard people say that, "well, that's just too bad" or "not everyone can afford to live here - they'll just have to buy somewhere with lower housing prices."

Prior to moving to Washington, I lived in a very well-heeled community in Fairfield County, Connecticut. All of the jobs that kept the community running (police, firefighters, grocery clerks, teachers, store clerks, etc.) were held by people who could not afford to buy, or even rent, in the town they worked in. The town had a very "us and them" feel. I hated it. Never felt at home there. Never felt connected. (Note: I didn't grow up there, it was just a stop on my way to my true home on Bainbridge!)

One of the things that has always struck me about Bainbridge, and I would say this is true of the Northwest in general at least as compared to where I grew up (New England) is that people are not defined by what they do, but rather by who they are. Conversations are not started by asking "What do you do?" (Translate: do you make a lot of money???).

Sure, there are compromises to be made to have affordable housing on Bainbridge. I wholeheartedly support those compromises in order to keep Bainbridge a place where people of lots of different incomes can afford to buy a home and continue to make the fabric of this community rich in ways that cannot be measured on a bank statement.