To The Editor:

At the November 6th Planning & Zoning meeting, I spoke about a concern many residents share but rarely articulate: Newtown doesn’t have enough attainable housing for the people who make our community work.

When we discuss affordable housing, we’re not talking about strangers or state mandates — we’re talking about our neighbors. The trade apprentice who fixes our homes but can’t rent here. The recent graduate who wants to return but not to her childhood bedroom. Restaurant workers, firefighters, and early-career professionals who serve our town every day. Retirees who want to downsize without leaving the community they’ve shaped for decades.

A key reason we keep facing leveraged, controversial apartment proposals is because we don’t have a proactive plan. Reacting case-by-case under mounting state pressure serves no one. Without a clear strategy, we’ll continue losing young adults, workers, and seniors — not because they want to leave, but because they can’t stay.

Newtown needs a comprehensive housing plan that protects our character while making room for people already part of our story. Affordability is not about compliance; it is about long-term sustainability. A town that cannot house its workforce, volunteers, young adults, and retirees is a town losing its balance. We have an opportunity to choose thoughtful growth instead of forced reaction. I hope we take it.

Christine Updegraff

Newtown