Hartford or Darien: Who should set affordable housing rules?
DARIEN — Town officials and residents are wading into the perennial legislative debates around proposed state-mandated housing guidelines, as lawmakers in Hartford try to push several housing bills forward that could impact Darien.
One of the most prominent and controversial, HB 5429, would have required municipalities to prioritize developments near passenger rail or commuter stations “as of right,” meaning developers would not need to seek special zoning permission from the town if they wanted to construct housing development within a half-mile of all rapid transit centers.
Although that bill is effectively dead at the moment, others on the legislature’s docket have been pointed to as both a source of concern over possible loss of local control — or a source of hope for increasing the affordable housing in Darien’s portfolio.
Other bills under consideration could allow a local housing authority to expand jurisdiction to neighboring municipalities and hand down set housing goals for each municipality to meet.
Meanwhile, Darien’s Planning & Zoning Commission is finalizing a statemandated affordable housing plan, due by June 1 to the state Department of Housing.
First Selectman Monica McNally said the plan should include several recommendations that address both low-income and moderate-income housing, which advocates have pressured the town to prioritize.
With three major housing developments in progress, Darien will add 297 more apartment units within the next few years, with 38 units marked as affordable.
‘We’ve made great progress’
Town officials tout Darien’s successes in creating the affordable housing it already has, while acknowledging progress has been made incrementally.
“What many people have are preconceived notions,” said Jeremy Ginsberg, director of planning and zoning, pushing back on claims that Darien has not done enough to promote affordable housing. “What we’re doing going forward is to show, ‘Hey, we’ve made great progress. Here’s how we’ve done it. Here’s the tools we’ve used.’ ”
Darien already has inclusionary zoning regulations, Ginsberg said, requiring developers to include a percentage of affordable units in new projects. The town also has an affordable housing trust fund, which developers pay in to if they don’t meet their quota for affordable units.
The town is already trying to implement policies under a slate of state-mandated housing laws from a few years ago, Ginsberg said, such as requiring the affordable housing plan that officials are currently on track to submit this summer.
He added that while some state bills have been helpful in giving communities resources to boost their affordable housing, it can be difficult to keep up with state requirements. New legislation coming down frequently doesn’t help, Ginsberg said.
Yet the issue of housing stock in Darien not growing rapidly enough to meet demand is becoming more pressing, some residents say.
Evonne Klein, CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Homelessness and a former Darien first selectman, said the state is facing a housing crisis, more apparent than ever after the pandemic.
“Why these zoning bills are coming before our state legislature is because we need the housing,” Klein said. “We need homes for individuals and families of all ages, all backgrounds and all incomes. And that’s what seems to get lost in all of these zoning conversations.”
She pointed to one bill under consideration, the so-called Fair Share bill, which would set a high target for affordable housing in each municipality. Much of the opposition to that bill, and others, seems to come from misunderstanding how much say towns would have in new developments, Klein said.
“Opponents say it’s a total lack of local authority, or local determination on how these units get built,” Klein said. “That’s not true — with any of these proposed bills. It’s just simply not true because there’s there’s ample opportunity for public input and and determination on how this housing will get built.”
The Western Council of Governments, which includes Darien and neighboring communities from Westport to Greenwich and north to New Milford, has come out against Fair Share, saying that the policy has not succeeded in New Jersey, where a similar law was passed decades ago.
But as the nation faces increasing housing costs — rent has risen more than 15 percent nationally — Klein said the fundamental issue is just as urgent as it was 40 years ago.
“This isn’t about developers,” she said. “This is about people having a home.”