Bethel sets public hearing on plan for more affordable housing
Although there have been a number of affordable housing units developed in recent years, Bethel remains below the 10 percent threshold.
BETHEL — Ahead of the state’s affordable housing plan adoption deadline, Bethel is looking to get feedback on its plan to boost affordable housing opportunities in town.
State law requires Connecticut municipalities to adopt plans specifying how they aim to increase affordable housing stock by June 1, and to update such plans every five years.
Bethel is looking to submit an affordable housing plan that not only builds off the town’s 2020 Plan of Conservation and Development, but incorporates data and feedback from local surveys, public hearings, workshops and discussions on affordable housing.
The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing at the Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center on May 24, to get public comments on the plan before it’s submitted to the state Office of Policy and Management. The hearing will take place in Meeting
Room D starting at 7 p.m.
First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker described the town’s affordable housing plan as an “evolutionary document,” noting that Bethel has had plans like it in place for years.
“Bethel has long been a progressive town in that regard,” he said. “Over the decades, our planning commissioners have done their best to foster affordable housing that’s consistent with the character of the town and allows people to live where they grew up and are working.”
The state requirement for the adoption of municipal affordable housing plans relates to Section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes, under which affordable housing developers can bypass local zoning laws with certain exceptions for health and safety.
Municipalities are subject to 8-30g unless 10 percent of their housing stock is considered affordable, or they are granted a moratorium.
Although there have been a number of affordable housing units developed in recent years, Bethel remains below the 10 percent threshold. As of last year, a little over 6 percent of its housing stock met affordability standards, according to the state Department of Housing’s 2021 Affordable Housing Appeals List.
Although it’s not yet at the 10 percent threshold, Knickerbocker said Bethel has “always taken the affordable housing mission seriously.”
One way the town has been working towards the 10 percent mark is through its zoning regulations, which contain provisions that encourage affordable housing.
Bethel’s regulations require a set aside of 10 percent affordable housing for planned residential development, as well as a set aside of 20 percent affordable units in its Transit Oriented Development Overlay and Route 6 zones.
There is also an affordable housing density bonus allowed in Bethel’s Designed Conservation District overlay zoning district, and the town has an Affordable Housing Trust Fund ordinance that requires developers to pay a fee for every unit of affordable housing they do not build.
Bethel’s plan to increase affordable housing stock includes strategies like supporting the development of accessory dwelling units, providing financial assistance to developers and targeting affordable housing units within the TOD and Route 6 zones.
Another is to maintain or increase the number of affordable units in Bethel Housing Authority properties if they’re redeveloped. Those properties include the Reynolds Ridge senior housing development and Phineas Park apartment complex for low- and moderate-income families.
According to a December 2021 Land Use Department memorandum in Bethel’s affordable housing plan, the only zone in town where affordable housing is currently not an allowable/ permissible use is the industrial zone.
A copy of Bethel’s affordable housing plan is available at https://bit.ly/BethelAffordablePlan. Comments on the plan can either be made in person at the May 24 hearing or emailed to landuse@bethel-ct.gov.