Ron Kolanowski and Donna Jolly are driving around Hebron in Jolly鈥檚 SUV on a winter morning, surrounded by snow.
鈥淵ou got the right car for this. Better than my little Elantra,鈥� Kolanowski said.
They point out where crews will dig a well large enough to support a new housing development.
in Hebron will have dozens of apartments at different rates.
The housing will be on land owned by St. Peter鈥檚 Episcopal Church. Kolanowski is the rector, but most just call him Father Ron.
鈥淲e own all this land on this side of the street,鈥� Kolanowski said. 鈥淗ow are we using this huge resource for mission and ministry? What is God calling us to do, to actually use this?鈥�
The land is located close enough to Hebron鈥檚 town center to utilize the limited municipal sewer system. It鈥檚 a town where many homes rely on well water.
Jolly, who serves on the board of , a group that pushes for more affordable housing in Hebron, said the group is lucky the development can use the municipal sewer system.
鈥淚n a city, those are just givens. There may be some other issues, like lack of space. I mean, we have this beautiful space, but these are our challenges,鈥� Jolly said.
黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 housing crisis could be eased with the creation of about 100,000 more affordable homes. But, some towns in rural areas say creating housing is a challenge, pointing to limitations with sewer and water service. Others see them not as limitations, but opportunities.
鈥楢 good-faith argument鈥�
Large portions of 黑料吃瓜网, , have no town-wide municipal sewer systems, and operate mainly on septic systems, or tanks buried in the ground to process sewage.
Some say the lack of sewage or water infrastructure creates a barrier for apartment complex construction.
That鈥檚 sometimes used as an excuse, according to Hugh Bailey, policy director of housing equity nonprofit Open Communities Alliance.
鈥淭hey don't want to have housing, and so they come up with reasons,鈥� Bailey said.
But the lack of infrastructure is a chance to rethink construction, Bailey said.
鈥淭his is a legitimate, good faith argument why it can't always be done,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淭he reason is, is that it's so expensive. Sewer hookups, sewer lines, you talk in millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars.鈥�
Communities can have municipal water without sewer, and a lot can be accomplished on a well system, Bailey said.
鈥淵ou can build duplexes. You can build missing middle housing. You can do a lot of things on our current system,鈥� Bailey said.
Zoning law changes considered
In recent years, legislation proposed to address sewer infrastructure and capacity concerns have fizzled at the state legislature.
Too often lawmakers and others against bills that would increase housing production focus on large apartment complexes, according to Open Communities Alliance Executive Director Erin Boggs.
It鈥檚 OK to work with existing infrastructure, building two or three family homes, Boggs said. Passing laws that would push rural communities to consider various options is the first step in determining the best way to increase housing stock.
鈥淓ither it will prompt a conversation about solutions in a town, or it will sort of unearth serious impediments that a town is facing,鈥� Boggs said.
Sewer infrastructure is once again up for debate during the current legislative session. Several proposals, including a housing bill dubbed 鈥�,鈥� would change zoning to make it easier to create more housing statewide.
Environmental concerns
Republican State Sen. Jeff Gordon, who represents several small towns in northeastern 黑料吃瓜网, known as the state鈥檚 鈥淨uiet Corner,鈥� questions pushing construction and housing mandates before ensuring the right infrastructure is in place.
Gordon said it鈥檚 like putting the cart before the horse.
鈥淵ou can't be pounding a square peg into a round hole, no matter how much you may try and hope that it works,鈥� Gordon said. 鈥淭here's a big dose of reality, but it's not because the towns don't want to do things. They just need that partnership.鈥�
Gordon is also concerned about the environmental impact.
鈥淲hen we're talking about building things out, especially in parts of the state that depend upon septic, that have well water, lots of farms, open space, lots of rivers and water bodies, you don't want to do anything that's going to be environmentally harmful,鈥� Gordon said.
Sewer infrastructure with a national lens
Nationally, Congress passed rural water and sewer infrastructure funding in the . The legislation is up for reauthorization later this year and there are calls to increase the funding.
Back in Hebron, Ron Kolanowski, the reverend behind the affordable housing construction, said developing the church鈥檚 land will also result in a well that鈥檒l be used by the town center.
鈥淭his new community well system, it'll give 黑料吃瓜网 Water the capacity it's going to need to serve other ways in the community,鈥� Kolanowski said.
Housing advocates are praising Hebron for its housing push. Kolanowski and other housing advocates in town say they hope other towns across 黑料吃瓜网 join them in finding creative ways to create more housing.
