‘Need for more affordable housing in Bethel, Newtown’

As an owner of 97 Stony Hill Road in Bethel and 181 Mt. Pleasant Road in Newtown, adjacent properties that are proposed sites for market rate apartments, I watched the Dec. 14 public hearing regarding the 6 Cindy Lane and 112 Old Hawleyville Road applications with great interest.

Both applications are being filed under Connecticut’s 8-30g statute that permits affordable housing applications to bypass most local zoning laws. There is certainly a need for more affordable housing in Bethel and Newtown. Just 6.28 percent of Bethel’s current housing stock is deemed affordable, while Newtown’s affordable stock is 2.66 percent.

After careful consideration, we have chosen Continental Properties to redevelop our properties.

Their plan is to build a market rate rental community with generous amenities. We believe there is a place in the market for high quality rental units at modest prices without a formal set aside for lowand moderate-income households.

What attracted us to Continental is their track record of delivering what they promise and the high quality of other communities they have built in Connecticut. Continental is a quality builder that has a long-term ownership record of their properties.

Continental’s proposal of about 114 units in Bethel and 132 units in Newtown will conserve considerable acreage by only building 6.22 units per acre in Bethel and 11.9 units per acre in Newtown. Continental’s plan also sets back their development 359 feet from Walnut Hill Road in Bethel and 114 feet from Old Bethel Road in Newtown, giving up their right for a much denser development.

By contrast, similar approved or built developments in Bethel and Newtown have density in the 20 units or more per acre range.

We look forward to sharing Continental’s plan with Bethel and Newtown in the coming months and meeting with neighbors and stakeholders so they can review our plans, ask questions and raise any concerns.