Affordable housing plan gets backing

Glastonbury will move forward with development

Led by a chorus of residents in support, Glastonbury’s town council this week agreed to pursue buying a Nye Road property for $3.4 million as the site for an affordable housing complex.

The town will seek private developers interested in forming a partnership to build the project, but may work with the Glastonbury Housing Authority if there isn’t sufficient business interest, the council said.

The plan is to buy the 11 acres at 55 Nye Road near the center of town for $3.4 million, most likely using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

A final decision isn’t likely until early December or possibly later, but the council’s bipartisan 7-2 vote suggests widespread support for going forward. About 10 residents called on the council Wednesday night to make the project happen.

“It’s a much-needed step in the right direction for the town,” William Street resident Audrey Beatty told the council Wednesday night, saying that the property’s location offers easy access to shopping, schools and public transportation.

“This is an option to act on now rather than having the issue thrust on us,” she added.

Like many residents, Beatty is concerned about Glastonbury’s severe shortage of affordable housing and its potential vulnerability to developers invoking state statute 8-30g, which under some circumstances can give developers a way to override zoning when a substantial part of their proposal provides affordable housing.

“This is a good show of our goodwill and our intention to fulfill our obligation to provide affordable housing,” resident Denise Weeks said.

“We desperately need more affordable housing in town,” longtime resident Bruce Bowman told the council.

Anne Bowman agreed, calling on council members to say “yes” to a wide range of affordable housing.

“Yes to rental units from efficiencies to three-bedrooms: We rented until we could afford to buy a house. Our first house was 800 square feet and it felt like a castle,” she said.

“Yes to units for families with children. Glastonbury is a high-opportunity area where children of families who qualify for affordable housing can get a good public education — this is a foundation from which all of us benefit.

“Yes to helping our neighbors live better lives,” she added. “Yes to providing pathways out of poverty for our neighbors.”

The property currently has two mid-1980s office buildings with tenants. The town’s plan is to eventually raze one or both buildings, but there is no exact timetable — and no firm plan for how many housing units would be built there.

Town Manager Richard Johnson noted that buying the property would create public access to a 4-acre townowned parcel that’s currently landlocked. Glastonbury has reached a purchase agreement, but must act by Dec. 9, he said.

After indicating its support for the deal, the council authorized Johnson to seek a brief extension for the seller. It also asked him to seek qualifications from any private developers with an interest in partnering on the project.

Whit Osgood was one of just two council members who voted against the project. He said the town needs affordable housing, but warned this project will cost too much and take private property off the tax rolls.

Also, it wouldn’t produce rentable housing for several years, he said.

But residents who spoke this week were largely behind the idea.

“There are plenty of workers in the region as well as our elderly and the young who would like to live in Glastonbury but cannot readily do so,” resident Pam Lucas said. “There are over 1,000 households on the wait list of Glastonbury Housing Authority housing units.”

The council moved the proposal on to consideration by the finance board and the plan and zoning commission.