HVCEO - Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials |
ADOPTED EFFECTIVE 7/1/2009
The regional plan shall be designed to promote with the greatest efficiency and economy the coordinated development of its area of operation and the general welfare and prosperity of its people - CT General Statutes 8-35a CHAPTER
7:
MORE
AFFORDABLE
HOUSING
7-1. OVERVIEWThe report of the 2006 Danbury Task Force on Homelessness recommended that HVCEO undertake a regional housing assessment study. The Danbury report saw the lack of affordable housing as a regional problem, where the needed policy direction could best be set by HVCEO as Danbury's regional planning agency. HVCEO
agreed to undertake this work, the result to also serve
as background for the housing chapter for this Regional
Plan of Conservation and Development. ---
DATA BASE FOR AREA HOUSING A highlight from this important research is the table below:
7-2. AFFORDABLE HOUSING RECOMMENDATIONSGOAL: Expansion of housing opportunities and design choices to accommodate the region's variety of household types and needs. 1. Municipal planning should strive to balance economic growth
with appropriate housing choices for the work force that
is part of the local economic base in the municipality. 3. Connecticut’s affordable housing land use appeals statute, Chapter 126a, Section 8-30g forcefully overrides local zoning. Yet this law has turned out to be a sprawl inducer, and thus has a significant negative impact upon municipalities. HVCEO will continue to lobby for specific changes to this law as stated below:
REDUCE MASSIVE DENSITY INCREASE. At present the increase in
density is unplanned, and can be any multiple of what current
zoning laws allow. Chapter 126a, Section 8-30g should be
amended to moderate this impact to more intelligently tie
affordable housing proposals to the preexisting town planning
and zoning. BETTER
MIXING OF MODERATE COST AND MARKET RATE UNITS. An
amendment to this statute is needed to ensure that the affordable
dwelling units and lots on which the dwelling units are
to be constructed are of comparable size and quality to
other dwelling units in the proposed development. IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF THE STATISTICAL FORMULA. The
statistical formula for defining affordable housing In Chapter
126a, Section 8-30g determines which municipalities are
exempt from the override of local zoning by affordable housing
proposals. Unless 10% of a town’s housing is affordable,
the town cannot deny a developer’s proposal for affordable
housing without a very compelling reason. First, the formula has a major deficiency in quantifying the count of presently affordable housing, resulting in the undercounting of housing which qualifies as affordable by state definition. Simply, the current method inadvertently omits all units of low cost privately owned housing. The State's definition of affordable housing, tied to “persons and families paying thirty percent or less of income, where such income is less than or equal to eighty percent of the median income,” should apply to all local units, public and private, as both really exist on the ground and should be part of any objective count. A 1997 HVCEO 1997 planning study demonstrated that objective criteria from the U.S. Census is available to fairly add qualifying existing low cost private rental units to each town’s total. The actual stock of municipal housing can then more fairly be compared to the 10% goal. And lastly, certain housing improvement grants assist homeowners in mobile home parks to improve their dwellings. Deed restrictions on sales price are then agreed to for periods for five years or other intervals. During such periods, these units are valid affordable housing and should be counted under the formula. EXEMPT
STATE DEFINED EXISTING AND USE THIS LAW TO STIMULATE ACCESSORY APARTMENT DEVELOPMENT. Chapter 126a, Section 8-30g was modified during the 2002 session to allow a town to include “accessory apartments” as part of its 10% affordable housing count. However, under the amended act, accessory apartments must have a 10 year deed restriction committing the owner to rent the apartment at 30% or less of the tenant’s income, and to someone whose income is less than or equal to 80% of the area, or the state’s median income, whichever is less. This
onerous ten year provision greatly reduces the number of
homeowners willing to have their accessory apartments used
to help meet their towns’ affordable housing obligations.
We need to allow homeowners to use the state formula certifying
a unit’s affordability on a much more practical annual
basis. In addition, HVCEO supports authorizing any municipality to offer initial and then continuing property tax credits to any residential property owner who certifies the creation of a new accessory apartment and maintains it thereafter, the unit to meet state standards for affordable rent and maximum tenant income. 4. Housatonic Valley Region Initiatives: Maximize
Regional Information Sharing for Affordable Housing Initiatives The 2009 Housing Market Assessment report should be widely disseminated to local groups that can make use of it. All databases included therein should be updated once 2010 Census data becomes available. In doing so, the number of 8-30g affordable housing units within each multi-family housing complex should be quantified. Regional
Coordination of Payments in Lieu of Affordable Units Transportation
and Housing Linkages Must Be Strengthened The efforts to extend regular passenger service north to New Milford should continue to be a key regional initiative. This initiative should be coordinated with Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in communities in the region within which passenger rail service is made available. The relationship between transit and development also should be supported by use of Housatonic Area Regional Transit (HART) for linkages. Increased
Use of Inclusionary Zoning Within the Region The Incentive Housing Zone (IHZ) program provides for local control as to the location and density of housing through a process of local planning and adoption of a zone. The density issue is addressed by the provision that an IHZ must increase density by 25% over that currently allowed in the zone. The mixed-income aspect is addressed by the provision that only 20% of the units provided must be affordable. The fiscal incentive is provided in that planning grants are available from the State Office of Policy and Management. A $2,000 payment will be made to the community for each unit permitted in the zone and $2,000 per multi-family unit or $5,000 per single-family unit for each building permit. It is recommended that all communities in the region participate in the IHZ program. 5. Local Government Initiatives: Make
Use of Estimates of Housing Need by Municipality Establish Local Strategies As
state enabling statutes are not likely to be modified
to permit regional zoning in support of responsible growth
principles, zoning initiatives must be implemented at
the community level. While each individual community’s
regulations must be examined and possibly modified by
the appropriate local commission, there are several zoning
and subdivision initiatives which would assist in meeting
affordable housing goals. Apply
for Technical Assistance Grants from the This funding affords the Housatonic Valley Region communities with the opportunity to not only study their individual affordable housing needs in greater detail, but to also develop a program to address these identified needs. Utilize
Conservation Subdivision Techniques to Increase
Accessory Apartments In The Region --- Declining household sizes, including an increase in the number of one person households will increase the capacity of existing structures to accommodate a second unit. --- As the Baby Boomer generation ages and the costs of maintaining a housing unit increase, particularly in terms of energy costs, homeowners will be looking for supplemental income.
---
In communities without a well-developed infrastructure,
existing on-site water and sewer systems can accommodate
additional households in an existing structure due to
declining household sizes. Individual
towns could create a program to identify and, if necessary,
properly permit all existing accessory apartments and
obtain deed restrictions to make them affordable so that
they can be credited for affordable housing purposes. Emphasize
and Encourage Neighborhood Utilize
the Strategic Placement of Mixed Use Encourage
Apartments Over Ground Floor Use
Density Bonuses to Encourage Affordable Housing Development Employ
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) as Create
Unique Property Tax Credit Utilize
Existing Home Ownership Programs and Financing The communities could file a joint application and combine the funds with an allocation from the City of Danbury to support regional affordable housing programs and initiatives. The activities of such programs or initiatives would clearly be eligible and appropriate for the use of CDBG funds. There are also HOME funds available from HUD for Danbury as part of the State allocation. In the same regard, the Greater Danbury Continuum of Care receives federal funds for special needs housing. These funds could be expanded by other towns in the region applying to the State DECD for federal “Balance of State” funds. There are also private funds, financial institution funds, the Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program and foundation funds available.
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