Lawmaker: Proposed zoning law like using bazooka
One part of the proposed senate zoning bill calls for no minimum parking requirements for new dwelling units, while in another it says there should be no more than one parking space required for each studio apartment or one bedroom dwelling unit and no more than two parking spaces for two or more bedrooms units.
The opponents to the state proposed zoning Senate Bill 1024 raised their objections topic by topic during a virtual meeting on March 25.
The event was moderated by Sen. Tony Hwang, ranking member on the Legislature’s Planning & Development Committee.
The discussion included concerns about population density, bypassing the customary Planning and Zoning Commission public hearings and new sewer regulations.
Rep. Tom O’Dea, who represents New Canaan, said the proposed zoning laws were like using a “bazooka to do open heart surgery.” The state does not need to be involved in zoning, he said. “This is not a Republican, Democratic or unaffiliated issue, this is an issue for all New Canaan.”
As of right
The controversial zoning bill would mean more multifamily housing will be considered ‘as of right,’ instead of requiring special permits as they do now.
The term ‘as of right’ means a construction project is permitted under the law, requiring no public hearing. Special permits require public hearings where neighbors and members of the community can voice concerns.
Neighbors can provide important information to the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider, such as problems with lack of water supply or flooding, said Executive Director of the Western Council of Governments Francis Pickering.
Density
Pickering expressed concerns that the proposed increase in multifamily housing would increase the population in town, leading to overcrowded schools and an overextended police force.
The proposed bill calls for multifamily housing at 50 percent of a minimum density of 15 units per acre, within a one-half mile radius of a municipality's “primary transit station.”
That would mean a potential for 2,400 units near the New Canaan train station since one-half square mile equals 320 acres, which multiplied by 15 units equals 4,800. Half of that is 2,400 units.
These calculations do not take into account present multi-family housing that already exists in the downtown area.
The proposed law also calls for development which is 50 percent of the area within a one-quartermile from a main street corridor to allow as of right “multifamily housing or at least two types of middle housing in contiguous land encompassing an area of one-quarter square miles.”
“Density is not specified here, but for purposes of estimation, (use) the same density as above (15 units per acre)” Pickering said.
One quarter square mile equals 160 acres, multiplied 15 units is 2,400, 50 percent of which would equal 1,200 units.
Pickering said that the average household in the state has 2.4 people.
Fairfield County homes
The price of housing in Fairfield County is not a result of prejudiced zoning rules, but rather the access to jobs, Pickering said. Housing in other areas in the state is less expensive, because they lack jobs.
Hence, “we need to provide opportunities in other parts of the state,” the WestCOG director said.
Sewage
Pickering raised concerns about S.B. 1024 proposed regulations which would change laws regarding sewage plants. The proposed law would require local health departments to establish and define categories of discharge that constitute alternatives to sewage treatment systems, such as smaller on-site units.
He said smaller on-site sewage plants would be run by private home associations and, if they malfunction, it would be different than a roof needing repair, since a failing sewage plant would be “a public health and environmental crisis.”
As a result, the municipality would need to bail the home-owners association out, the WestCOG director said.
The “devil is in the details” and small, on-site sewage systems have only been used for large single-tenant facilities such as factories, Pickering said.
The legislation circumvents present regulations “for something that hasn’t proven itself in the market place, is very complex and hard to homeowner to maintain,” Pikering said.
Parking
Opponents to S.B. 1024 say that the towns would have more population without additional parking being mandatory for new developments.
One part of the proposed senate zoning bill calls for no minimum parking requirements for new dwelling units, while in another it says there should be no more than one parking space required for each studio apartment or one bedroom dwelling unit and no more than two parking spaces for two or more bedrooms units.
Proponents of the bill argue the cost of new housing projects would decrease if the developer were not required to provide the traditional amount of parking.