Easton OKs affordable housing proposal
EASTON — The final version of the town’s affordable housing plan has been approved by the Board of Selectmen, and it does not include the remaining South Park Avenue property.
The town recently held a special meeting, following a petition to restrict development on the approximately 10 acres of town-owned land on South Park Avenue. Residents already approved selling 18.7 acres of the original site to the Aspetuck Land Trust. Preserve 06612 and Citizens for Easton both presented at the meeting.
The BOS will place a permanent conservation easement on the plot at 18-22 South Park Avenue. The final form of the document will be brought to another special town meeting.
“The permanent conservation easement or restriction will provide that the property remains in a natural and open condition for the conservation, open space, agriculture, green space or water supply purposes,” First Selectman David Bindelglass said in a weekly newsletter. “The easement or restriction will include a requirement that the property be made available to the general public for passive recreational purposes.”
Bindelglass said it still leaves an opportunity for the Aspetuck Land Trust to buy that remaining piece once an independent appraisal determines the purchase price and the land trust has the money for it.
The conservation restriction will have a description of the property and define the allowed passive recreational activities, Bindelglass said.
“Further, the conservation restriction or easement shall allow for the continued residential occupancy of a portion of the subject property by the existing tenants on terms acceptable to the Town of Easton,” he added.
Along with that, and because of the opinions residents shared at a recent public hearing on the affordable housing plan, the selectmen approved the final version of the document.
Bindelglass said the final revisions essentially removed the South Park property from consideration for affordable housing. He said the document noted that it had been considered, and the land is soon to be restricted from being developed.
He said Aquarion Water Company will be involved with any decisions about affordable units created within or around the watershed.
Bindelglass said the plan will be submitted to the state as is required by law.
“I highly recommend that every citizen read the plan rather than letting people tell you what it says and make your own evaluations,” he said.
During the public hearings for the plan, residents made it clear that any approach to affordable housing needed to incorporate protections for the environment and watershed. A main goal of the plan is to add 10 to 20 affordable housing units in town by 2027, which is also the year when the town would have to update its plan.
Officials noted that 8 out of the 2,015 housing units in Easton, or less than 1 percent, qualifies as affordable.
That percentage comes into play with state statute 8-30g, which allows developers to bypass municipal laws and regulations as long as a certain percentage of the project is considered affordable. It applies to municipalities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock qualifies as affordable.
The plan has five major sections focusing on planning, relevant factors, overall goals, main strategies and supporting strategies.
Some ideas in the plan are changing zoning regulations to allow for and encourage more affordable housing and incentivizing affordable units on conservation subdivisions. It also said the town could look into building affordable housing for farm workers and establishing an affordable housing fund.
One wonderful thing that came out of the public hearings, Bindelglass said, was the unanimous support that people voiced for the town providing more affordable housing.
“While the devil is always in the details, this is still a great step forward,” he said. “We will be establishing an affordable housing committee, to prioritize and move forward with some of the strategies in the plan.”