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Branford Getting “Incentive Housing”

by Diana Stricker | Oct 6, 2011 8:33 am

(3) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Housing

File Photo Branford’s Planning and Zoning Commission is seeking approval for an “incentive housing” pilot program, even though the monetary incentive promised by the state has disappeared.

The program would provide affordable homes for low- to middle-income families. A developer, who has not been identified, has already expressed interest in the proposed program and hopes to build 12 condominiums on at the corner of Mona Avenue and Route 1 on the western end of Branford. Three of the units would be deed-restricted as affordable housing.

For example, a family of four in Branford earning less than $57,000 would be eligible for the program, based on 2009 figures.

The housing program was initiated by the state in 2007 as an incentive for towns to develop new affordable housing regulations. The state was supposed to reimburse towns $4,000 for each unit built under the new program. However, the economy bottomed out and the state money never materialized.

“No town has ever actually gotten the money,” Town Planner Shirley Rasmussen told the Board of Selectmen at a recent meeting.

She said the state initially planned to offer the monetary incentive as a “carrot rather than a stick” approach to encourage towns to build affordable housing. She said the plan was to provide reasonably priced housing to help stop the exodus of 25- to 30-year-olds who are leaving the state because of lack of jobs and the high cost of housing.

“They want to try to make Connecticut more affordable for the younger workforce,” Rasmussen said in regard to the state’s intentions.

In recent years, Branford and other towns received grants from the state to update zoning regulations and to develop incentive housing regulations. Rasmussen said some towns accepted the grants and updated their regulations, but never developed any incentive housing programs.  Branford’s P&Z labored for months to revise the zoning regulations, which went in to effect June 1, and also to address the incentive housing proposal.

The state program specifies that a new zone must meet certain criteria, including access to public transportation, in-town location, and appropriate infrastructure such as municipal water and sewers.

“This town has all along tried to encourage appropriate housing in appropriate places,” Rasmussen said.

Following Rasmussen’s presentation, the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved her request to apply for state certification for the incentive housing program. If the state approves the application, the P&Z would hold public hearings on the issue before approving the program and a zone change for the Mona Avenue location.

According to state regulations, an incentive housing zone must include deed restrictions on at least 20 percent of the units, which would be in effect for at least 30 years. The units must be priced so that people who earn 80 percent or less than the town’s median income would pay no more than 30 percent of their annual income for housing. The homes could be owned or rented.

Rasmussen later discussed the parameters of the program with the Eagle.

She said that based on 2009 figures, a family of four in Branford with a yearly income below about $57,000 would be eligible for affordable housing and the incentive housing program. She said the median annual income in 2009 for a family of four in Branford was $71,348.

Median means there is an equal number above and below that income figure. The state program does not use a town’s average income, which could be skewed because of a significant number of wealthy or poor families.

The actual cost of an affordable home is calculated by a complex formula from the state which includes variable factors such as mortgage costs, heating bills and down payment.

As for the proposed project at Mona Avenue, Rasmussen said no pricing figures have been given yet, but she said the homes would be “fairly modest” in price. The property in question is about one-sixth of an acre.

According to figures from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center Inc. (CERC), there were 102 home sales in 2009 in Branford, with a median selling price of $315,000. The county median was $246,000, and the state median was $265,000.

The P&Z formed an advisory committee more than two years ago to discuss housing needs in Branford, especially affordable housing.

“Some of their ideas were incorporated into the zoning regulation update,” Rasmussen said. “They gave us a lot of insight into the specialized and general needs in Branford.”

The committee recommended the town develop housing diversity and a long-term housing strategy. It also stated that some of the objectives were not under the purview of the P&Z.

Rasmussen said the incentive housing zones would be a step in the direction outlined by the committee. She said the program would benefit the town’s residents, even though the money benefit from the state is nonexistent.

“The money [from the state] is just not going to happen,” Rasmussen said. “It was too good to be true.”

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Comments

posted by: nhteaparty on October 6, 2011  4:34pm

Mean, median, and mode are ALL types of averages.

Pet peeve: If you are going refer to a specific type of average please don’t also use the generic term at all in the same piece.

I don’t know why in the world they would build more housing;  there are plenty of empty houses all over the place.

posted by: rukiddenme on October 6, 2011  10:16pm

“No town has ever actually gotten the money,” Town Planner Shirley Rasmussen told the Board of Selectmen at a recent meeting.

Am I the only one that finds this entire thing hypocritical???  We spend $20 million + on the Tabor mess and now are proclaiming to be all lined up with this plan??  It is all too laughable.  Shirley, Mac - I think even the average taxpayer is on to the two of you -and anyone else involved with this ridiculous charade.  Let’s enter into this - but remember: NO town has ever actually gotten the money…”  So how much money has gone into pursuing a plan that the town in all likelihood never see a dime for?  I must be missing something here…......

posted by: Branford Citizen on October 7, 2011  5:39pm

@rukiddigme-  Reading comprehension is a lost skill.  Paragraph #1 - there is no state money. This fact is also repeated in the penultimate paragraph.

So let us think this thru.  The developer is building these condos.  The developer will sell or rent these condos.  Must be the developer who is taking the “loss”.  The property is one sixth of an acre in an area that is not an exclusive residential area.  The developer must have thought that this use of the property would be profitable. 

The town must have thought that this use of the property would be beneficial to the town.

Sounds good to me !

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