nothin New Haven Independent | Reed Seeks Changes in Affordable Housing Laws

Reed Seeks Changes in Affordable Housing Laws

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State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D‑Branford) has introduced four bills to update the state’s Affordable Housing statute. The bills would prevent the statute from being exploited; and would also give Branford and similar communities credit for housing that is affordable even if it’s not on the state list.

The support for these bills is bipartisan and building in strength,” Reed told the Eagle this week. A similar bill passed the House last year, but the legislative session ended before it could be taken up by the Senate.

However, she said there is some opposition to amending the state stature.

Some opponents are developers who have been utilizing it to intimidate local zoning officials. And some well- meaning affordable housing advocates fear that any efforts to refine the statute could threaten its survival. Nothing could be farther from the truth,” Reed told the Eagle. Clarifying the statute will save the statute in the long run by protecting it from the kind of misuse that builds anger, opposition and resistance.”

The bills were co-introduced by Reed and other legislators in January and were referred to the Joint Committee on Housing. A public hearing was held in Hartford last week. In Reed’s written testimony, she stated: As an ardent supporter of Affordable Housing in our state, I am co-introducing four proposed bills designed to protect the integrity and credibility of our Affordable Housing Statute 8 – 30g.”

Her testimony discussed the diverse housing options that exist in Branford. The Affordable Housing statute does not acknowledge, let alone provide appropriate credit for a wide array of domiciles serving so many community needs. The Affordable Housing statute should be clarified and administered in a way that respects and encourages the genuine housing opportunities that Branford and many other towns have been working so hard to provide,” she wrote.

Reed stated that in addition to encouraging a broader variety of housing options, the bills would discourage developers from exploiting the statute.

Affordable housing projects under state statute 8 – 30g do not have to comply with zoning regulations. In addition, developers only have to designate 30 percent of the units as affordable.

Defining Affordable

Amending the statute would enable Branford and similar communities to receive credit for additional types of affordable housing.

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Town Planner Harry Smith (pictured) says Branford has housing options that are affordable but don’t meet the state’s definition.

The state’s affordable housing statute says property must be “deed restricted” or federally-assisted to qualify as affordable housing — which means Branford only has 3.46 percent of qualified housing— well below the 10 percent required by the statute.

During a recent P&Z public hearing, Smith said data from the South Central Regional Council of Governments shows that in 2015 Branford had 22 percent of homes that met the criteria of affordable housing for the 80 percent mark; and 12 percent for 50 percent mark.

For example, Branford has long been known as the Condo Capitol of Connecticut, but many condos are no longer owner-occupied and have become rental units. Those lower-priced units are not on the state’s affordable housing list because they’re not deed-restricted. There are also numerous trailer courts whose occupants could qualify as low-income, but their homes are also not on the state’s list.

Pawson Road Proposals

Reed’s testimony recalled a situation in Branford during the past year that highlighted the weakness of the state statute. She called it “a brazen effort to hijack the statute in pursuit of a personal agenda that had nothing to do with building affordable housing for deserving families. Instead, it was an attempt to intimidate our community’s zoning officials into approving a private home for a vulnerable, flood prone lot that had been appropriately deemed unbuildable for years and years.”

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Reed was referring to proposals from a developer to build on a half-acre site that was prone to coastal flooding and had previously been deemed “unbuildable.” Property owner Arsalan Altaf requested variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to build a single-family home at 239 Pawson Road; while simultaneously applying to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to build affordable housing units on the same lot under the state’s affordable housing statute 8-30g.

The P&Z denied his initial request to construct two buildings with six residential units, including two affordable units. Altaf then requested to build a three-unit apartment building, which would include one affordable unit. That was also denied.

In August 2016, the ZBA denied the requests for variances for a single-family home, but Altaf filed an appeal of the decision with the New Haven Superior Court, and the case is still pending.

The ZBA had deemed the lot “unbuildable” when a previous owner applied for variances in January 2015. Altaf purchased the property in September 2015 for $35,000. It was appraised at $71,000. The property in question is a half-acre site that had already been deemed “unbuildable.”  It’s about 200 feet from the Branford River, has tidal wetlands, and an easement to adjacent state-owned open-space property.

During the P&Z public hearings, Reed testified that “I think one of the things going on here … is that the real objective is to get that single home in there, so this statute is being used as a weapon to try to make that compromise,” she told the commission in July.

Updating the Statute

The proposed bills would amend the statute to :

—- Reduce the instances a developer can appeal a municipality’s rejection of an affordable housing project.

—- Expand the types of housing that allow a municipality to obtain a moratorium.

—- Increase the unit-equivalency point system for affordable housing for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities.

—-Require affordable housing units to keep deed restriction for perpetuity rather than 40 years.

—- Encourage the development of affordable housing through incentive housing zones.

Branford Takes Steps

Branford has been taking steps to increase low-income housing options. In May the P&Z approved site plans from developer Alex Vigliotti to convert office buildings at 14 and 22 Summit Place into a total of 35 apartment units under the Incentive Housing Overlay District (IHOD) program.

An IHOD is a relatively new type of affordable housing that was created by the state in 2007 as an incentive for towns to develop new housing regulations for moderate income families. In the Summit Place project, seven of the 35 units would be deed-restricted as affordable.  Branford’s IHOD regulations have been on the books since 2011, and Vigliotti’s proposal was the first to utilize the program.  The incentive housing designation follows zoning regulations but allows denser housing levels, and favors projects that have access to public transportation.

In addition, the Housing Authority in Branford is attempting to replace the aging Parkside Village I complex at 115 S. Montowese St. The complex, which was built in the 1970’s, includes 50 units for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.
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