Date: Fri 13-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-affordable-housing-rules

Full Text:

P&Z Tightens Affordable Housing Rules

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

In a 3-to-2 vote, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved

stricter new regulations on affordable housing complexes, decreasing the

number of housing units allowed and reducing the construction densities

permitted.

P&Z members cast their votes on the new rules at a December 5 session attended

by about 200 people.

P&Z Chairman John DeFilippe and members Thomas Paisley and James Boylan voted

to make the regulations tighter. Members Heidi Winslow and Daniel Rosenthal

voted to let the regulations stand without changes.

The P&Z's changes will: cut the number of overall units allowed in an

affordable housing development from 200 to 100; reduce the number of housing

units allowed per acre from six to four; reduce the number of housing units

allowed per building from five to four; and cut the maximum length of

buildings which contain multiple housing units from 180 feet to 120 feet.

"The town should be encouraging more affordable housing, and I'm prepared to

vote against it," Mr Rosenthal said of the rule changes.

Ms Winslow, who helped write the town's initial affordable housing

regulations, also spoke against the changes. The initial town regulations took

effect in 1992.

Newtown hasn't been a diverse town in terms of its housing stock, Ms Winslow

pointed out. "It is a good thing for this town to encourage diversity," she

added.

But, she noted, the affordable housing rules approved in 1992 haven't proven

successful in attracting affordable housing to Newtown.

"Why are we trying to make our invitation `less,?'" she asked P&Z members.

High housing densities make affordable housing economically possible, she

added.

"I don't think our regulations are broken at this point," she said, noting

that she's disappointed the initial regulations haven't attracted affordable

housing to Newtown.

"I do not see any rhyme or reason for these changes," Ms Winslow said.

The specific property eyed for an affordable housing development should

dictate the construction density there, not some revised P&Z regulations, she

said.

She asked why it would be better to have four housing units in a building

rather than five units. A limit of 100 units shouldn't be placed on affordable

housing complexes, she added.

The Other Side

But other P&Z members have other views on the regulations.

The state doesn't provide towns with specific numbers regarding affordable

housing complexes' sizes and densities, so towns are responsible for

determining those numbers for themselves, Mr DeFilippe said.

"The state is looking toward the town to come up with guidelines," he said.

"We're trying to get control of residential growth... to make sure it doesn't

get out of hand," he said.

"How much density do you want in town?," he asked.

"We're being far more accommodating than I think we should be," Mr DeFilippe

said of the new stricter affordable housing rules.

During the past five years, the P&Z has approved about 200 building lots

annually, he said.

Of allowing as many as 200 units in an affordable housing complex, Mr

DeFilippe said "Two hundred units is a town in itself, all clustered

together."

"We're going to go to court, one way or another," he said of the prospects of

the P&Z being sued by parties aggrieved over whatever decisions P&Z members

make on affordable housing complexes.

A NNC Proposal

At a November 14 P&Z public hearing, resident Judy Holmes of Hundred Acres

Road, a member of the Newtown Neighborhoods Coalition, proposed that the

existing affordable housing rules be eliminated and that a new approach be

used.

She proposed that all subdivisions with at least five residences be required

to contain at least 20 percent affordable housing. Under such a plan, a new

20-lot subdivision would have at least four units of affordable housing. Such

a developmental approach would help the town preserve its character, according

to Ms Holmes.

Mr DeFilippe said the P&Z referred the proposed rule changes on affordable

housing made by the Newtown Neighborhoods Coalition, to the town attorney for

a legal opinion. The lawyer ruled the coalition's proposed rules would be

illegal, the P&Z chairman said.

D&H Homes, LLC, of New Milford has been seeking Conservation Commission

approval for wetlands construction work at the proposed "Newtown Village" in

Sandy Hook. It would involve the construction of 102 houses on 32 acres in

Sandy Hook, 25 houses of which would be "affordable housing."

At the November 14 session, John Horton, manager for D&H Homes, said it seems

odd that the P&Z is considering changing its affordable housing regulations

shortly after Newtown Village has been proposed. Mr Horton said he opposes the

changes proposed by the P&Z.

"The economics do have something to do with this regulation," he said.

In order to make the affordable housing concept work, the developer has to be

able to spread the cost of land across many houses instead of just a few

houses, he said.

"Arbitrarily changing those densities...is somewhat irresponsible," he said,

adding the P&Z had provided no rationale for its changes.