Archive: Around Town

A free public summit at the end of this month will bring together people who work or live in Tompkins County to examine this area’s growing shortage of housing, its effects, and how we can work together to develop community-based solutions to this problem.
 
The Tompkins County Housing Summit:  “A place for all of us.  Housing by choice or by chance?” will take place November 30-December 1, and everyone is invited to join in taking an intensive look at the county’s housing shortage and how we can address it.
 
“Building on the results of the recently completed Housing Needs Assessment, the County will be looking to gain additional input and perspective toward the update of our County Housing Strategy,” notes Tompkins County Commissioner of Planning Ed Marx.  “The Summit will seek to identify ways to overcome community barriers that may exist to providing housing for all segments of our community.”
 
The Summit is presented by the Tompkins County Housing Summit Committee, a group of community members who have come together to engage the community in a discussion of housing solutions.  “This event is for everyone who lives, works, studies, builds, or desires a home in Tompkins County,” says Tompkins County Legislator Martha Robertson, Summit committee chair.  “The Summit title, 'A place for all of us. Housing by choice or by chance?', expresses our commitment to be an inclusive, welcoming community, and our desire to be proactive and deliberate about solving this problem.”

The free kickoff session is scheduled for Wednesday evening, November 30, at Ithaca High School’s Kulp Auditorium, 1401 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca.  Joined by local experts, Christopher Coes, executive director of Smart Growth America’s LOCUS, will share insights on how those in the community might collaborate to develop innovative housing solutions.  Results of our local housing studies will be shared and possible solutions discussed.  Doors will open and refreshments will be available at 7:00 p.m., and the program will begin at 7:30.
 
The free day-long Summit the next day, on Thursday, December 1, will explore the local housing shortage in-depth from all points of view, through panel discussions, question-and-answer, and interactive activities. It will take place 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at The Space @ Greenstar, 700 W. Buffalo Street, Ithaca.  Participants will see examples from other communities, share their housing experiences, and make suggestions for the future.  Breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon reception will be included.
 
Reservations are required for these free events.

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