For over the past three years, a dedicated and passionate group of Media residents has been working with Borough Council on the issue of affordable housing. Key members of the Affordable Housing Group – Judy Fowler, Jeanne Wordley, Adeline Ciannella and Karen Vesely (pictured above) sparked in-depth discussions with Council about a nationwide problem that is felt locally, and those discussions have proven to be productive. Borough Council commissioned a large-scale study of our zoning code to address the problem two years ago.
The study, now completed, identified barriers to more affordable housing in our community and recommended specific changes and additions to the zoning code to address the barriers. Borough Council is on track to adopt these changes to the code as early as this April. In addition, Borough Council included funds in the 2023 budget specifically for a follow-up study, the goal of which is to identify other potential barriers to more affordable housing in our community, and ways to surmount them.
With Media’s success have come challenges. One of these is an increase in housing costs, as demand has greatly outpaced supply. But continued success and affordable housing are not incompatible. The targeted approach of our zoning code consultant, which encourages greater housing density where that makes good sense, is evidence for that. We are excited to see this type of private/public partnership between residents and their elected officials. Working together effectively to reach a common goal is a big reason why Media is such a special place. Thanks, Judy, Jeanne, Addie and Karen!