Recent discussions about proposed housing off Loring Avenue have been heated and sometimes confrontational. I applaud Mayor Jonathan Labonte for his repeated reminders to be respectful. I have multiple concerns about the project. In particular, I’m concerned about traffic in a quiet residential neighborhood and possible impacts on what is really a piece of rural farmland in our backyard.

However, one issue that has been repeatedly raised troubles me — the idea that the project will bring “trash.” For several speakers who used the word, it sounded like they weren’t talking about garbage cans, they were talking about people.

That is more than unfortunate.

The proposed housing units would target working people who need a “hand up, not a handout.” No person in need, no child hoping to live in a neighborhood with a backyard instead of concrete to play on, should be called “trash.”

In my part of New Auburn there are more rentals than single-family homes. It’s not just owners who often have amazing gardens and say a friendly hello when I’m out walking. These are great neighbors to have.

It’s clear that what really troubles many people is their tax bills — an understandable concern in a community with many fixed incomes and no economic growth on the horizon.

As one person at Walton on Tuesday night put it, until the city can attract more non-residential sources of revenue, we will be stuck having conversations that are driven not by a sense of possibility, but by stereotypes and fear.

Jane Costlow, Auburn

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