WestCOG: Town ‘flush’ with ‘over-sized housing’
NEW CANAAN — There are more five-bedroom or larger homes in town than needed and not enough studio and one-bedroom apartments, according to a WestCOG draft plan penned to comply with Connecticut General Statute 8-30j.
In order to meet the 10 percent affordable housing goal set by state statute 8-30g, the town must encourage smaller housing units, says the report created by local WestCOG Regional 8-30j Plan Committee. The town is at nearly three percent now.
“The town is flush with oversized housing units, but lacks smaller sized units appropriate for seniors, young families and young adults,” the plan states. The “housing stock is oversized for the need of these households,” with 61 percent of the housing with four or more bedrooms.
Thirty percent of the homes have five or more bedrooms, while only 13 percent of households have five residents, the plan explains. The “super-sized nature of the housing stock” is the primary reasons homes are expensive, it argues.
The creation of the plan comes at a time when town officials and many residents are opposing developer Arnold Karp's application for a 102-unit complex with affordable housing at 751 Weed St. and another possible development on Hill Street.
The town has not had an influx of 8-30g developments, in which developers can bypass local zoning regulations, because it has earned moratoriums from the state by adding affordable housing units over a period of time. However, because of a delay in the completion of the town's latest affordable housing development at Canaan Parish on Lakeview Avenue, the moratorium has lapsed.
The plans calls for “right-sizing housing units” since “smaller units are needed to add a diversity of housing opportunities — and demographics — to the town,” according to the plan.
Nearly 20 percent of households have one resident, while only seven percent of New Canaan's housing stock has one bedroom, and fewer than one percent are studios, according to the response to 2018 statute.
To “right size” the housing stock, the town would need to change zoning regulations. If the town “is serious about adding smaller-sized, more affordable units to its housing stock,” it should consider eliminating square footage minimums and add more square footage maximums, the plan states.
Local zoning regulations require a minimum of 750 square feet in the apartment and multifamily zones, the plan states. “This encourages developers to construct larger — likely less affordable — units.”
Maximum square footage zoning requirements are imposed on the retail and business zones. In the Retail A zone, the maximum is 750 square feet, and in Retail B and all business zones dwelling units are restricted to 1,500 square feet.
Many of those who cannot afford to purchase homes opt to rent, per the plan, and 21 percent of households in town are renters. The median rental price in 2021, according to the plan, was $2,228 per month.
In order to be able to afford the median monthly rental price and not be cost burdened, a household would need to earn 94 percent of state median income, or $95,000. This is more than many of those who work in town, including public school teachers with an average annual salary of $72,914, health care staff earning $56,760 and retail workers reaping $42,240.
The plan argues that the town needs needs to add “below market rate units,” in addition to affordable housing. The town should add workforce housing for families making between 80 percent to 226 percent of state median income, such as age restricted units for seniors and universally designed units for people with special needs.
The report's community mission statement says that New Canaan should “enhance livability” by “providing for a diverse housing portfolio,” and “opportunities to encourage the development of less expensive housing should be explored.”