Leaders from across Fairfield County unite over opposing affordable housing mandates
Opponents of efforts to set new state mandates for affordable housing and zoning laws in Connecticut took their fight online Tuesday night in an online forum.
The event, co-hosted by state Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, and state Rep. Kimberly Fiorello, RGreenwich, attracted so many attendees that the Zoom was maxed out and some had to watch on a live Facebook feed.
The two legislators, and other participants, were united in opposing possible legislation that would remove any local control from municipal zoning rules.
Fiorello told participants that proponents of the change say that statewide uniform zoning standards would simplify zoning, support new housing and create economic prosperity across the state. But she made clear she did not agree with those claims and said they would instead come at a cost of local control.
“Who do you trust to make local zoning guidelines and standards in your town? Your town or a central office in Hartford?” Fiorello said. “I so agree with the sentiment that it takes a village or a town or a city but not a massive bureaucracy far away.”
Hwang acknowledged that the lack of affordable housing in the state is a problem, but he said he did not believe the possible legislation was the solution. “I do believe we need sustainable solutions to address critical housing needs in our state,” he said. “These challenges are faced by not just suburban communities, but cities and rural areas as well. I truly believe our solutions can be found when we all collaborate together. And when I say all I mean all shareholders in federal, state and local government and the passionate and well-intentioned housing advocates. We all have to work together.”
The purpose of the forum was to “inform and educate” the community as well as “start conversations” on the topic, Hwang said.
State Rep. Terrie Wood, R-Darien and Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo, Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson and New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, all Republicans, also took part in the forum.
“Greenwich is committed to doing the right thing, but we also believe strongly in local control,” Camillo said. “Certainly we believe there are lots of other ways to address this issue.”
Stevenson discussed her town’s battles with developers over state statute 8-30g, under which developers can bypass local zoning decisions and go to court if they set aside 30 percent of a project’s units for affordable housing.
That has led to noncontroversial housing projects that enjoyed support because they were “in the right place with the right amount of density” but other projects with big problems, she said.
“We’ve seen developers that have no interest in actually building one unit of housing,” Stevenson said. “(They’re) simply looking to rezone a piece of land, turn it over to make a profit and leave the development to someone else’s problem.”
When it comes to housing, Stevenson said she “believes strongly in market driven solutions.”
Moynihan discussed the difficulty of offering affordable housing in New Canaan given the market.
“The reality is it’s an economic issue,” he said. “It’s tough to make highcost communities be affordable to people who want to live here. We don’t have public transportation in New Canaan. It’s really hard to facilitate affordable housing when the cost of living is so high in general. ... The law of markets really determines where things come out.”
Since 1990, the 8-30g law has been on the books in the state, mandating that municipalities have 10 percent of its housing stock designated as affordable while giving rights and incentives to developers outside of local zoning laws if they include affordable units.
Since then, towns have done battle with developers seeking to build larger structures than might otherwise be permitted under local law because they would include some affordable units under the state law.
Fiorello noted that only 30 of the 169 municipalities in Connecticut have met that 10 percent threshold.
“8-30G has many unintended consequences that have frustrated residents and builders and more,” Fiorello said.
Margarita Alban, chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission in Greenwich, offered her view on developer battles, one the zoning commission finds itself in often, sometimes ending up in court.
Alban focused on Greenwich’s policies and how the town’s codes extend from its Plan of Conservation and Development, which includes local input on priorities.
“That informs the document, which then informs how we do the regulations and how we move forward,” Alban said. “It’s about the decisions being made by the residents themselves and setting the path for their communities.”
The POCD has identified a need for more diverse housing in Greenwich, she said, which led to formation of a task force to address it as well as ongoing work with Sam Romeo, chair of Greenwich Communities, which operates as the Greenwich Housing Authority, and developers.
“We’re looking at what we can do to make Greenwich more inclusive and diverse in terms of the people to whom we offer housing,” Alban said.
Romeo, who oversees the town’s designated affordable housing, expressed his commitment to providing affordable housing. He noted Greenwich’s diversity in both population and housing stock.
“I don’t want to see one size fits all and that’s the direction the state is heading in where they’re going to have total control of our zoning,” he said.
He emphasized the need for local control and criticized developers that use
the law to build structures residents oppose.
“We’re here to build quality housing at the least amount of cost and the developers come in using 8-30g as a hammer to try to maximize every square foot of property that they have and make the most amount of money on it,” Romeo said. “We’re not in it to make money. We’re in it to provide affordable housing in the town.”