Testifies
In Favor Of Her Proposed Legislation Before Housing
Committee
Senator Toni Boucher (R-26) today asked the General
Assembly’s Housing Committee to support her legislative
proposals to give municipalities more control over their
efforts to provide affordable housing, and to credit
towns and cities for the affordable housing they already
provide.
“The state’s affordable housing law is
responsible for historic changes in how the courts review
municipal zoning decisions concerning affordable housing.
Since its enactment, many affordable dwellings have
been created. However, some bad practices and unintended
consequences have also occurred. Developers can use
the law to essentially override municipal planning and
zoning laws if less than 10 percent of a town’s
housing stock is deemed affordable. Developers can appeal
a denial by the local authorities to the courts and,
unfortunately, many use the law as a way to build costly
dense housing wherever they want, without regard to
the local development plan. Numerous environmental groups
and municipal planning and zoning commissions in my
district contacted me to support my affordable housing
proposals. Clearly, we need to make some changes,”
said Senator Boucher.
Under SB 206, An Act Concerning Moratoriums On
Affordable Housing Applications, the existing affordable
housing law would be amended to award one-housing equivalent
point to elderly housing units, and to use local median
income in designating local housing as affordable under
state law.
Under SB 208, An Act Concerning The Determination
Of The Number Of Affordable Housing Units In A
Municipality, municipalities could include existing
affordable apartments and accessory apartments to meet
the state threshold for affordable housing units.
“Crediting municipalities for the affordable
dwellings they already have would give them more control
future building, allowing local officials to make sure
that construction conforms to the plan of development.
Many communities have made great progress in meeting
the high demand for affordable elderly housing, and
their efforts have made it possible for low-income seniors
to stay in the towns where they raised their families
and contributed their time and money. These towns’
efforts ought to be taken into account when calculating
their contribution to the state’s affordable housing
stock,” said Senator Boucher.
In addition, Senator Boucher is a co-sponsor of HB
5597, An Act Concerning An Application For Affordable
Housing Developments, which she said calls for
“financial compensation to be given to towns for
traffic mitigation plans needed as a result of the dense
development adding to traffic congestion.“ She
said that the Westport Planning and Zoning Commission,
along with other towns in the 26th Senatorial District,
submitted testimony in support of the three bills.
Senator Boucher said that testimony submitted by the
Westport Planning & Zoning Commission is representative
of the experience of many area communities. That testimony
stated: “In Westport, any attempt through planning
to require affordable and market rate units in the same
project to be comparable in size and/or quality of construction
is virtually impossible. To be able to rent or sell
the affordable units based on income as a percentage
of the area median income would help allow comparable
units to be built, a goal of this Commission.”
Senator Boucher agreed, saying that she testified before
the Housing Committee to support both her own legislative
proposals and the need for reform as expressed by local
officials in her district.
“The rules under which affordable housing is
developed have to be fair to everyone involved, residents
who need the housing, developers who provide it, and
the communities in which it is located. The General
Assembly has an opportunity this year to pass legislation
that would responsible address these issues. I look
forward to working with my legislative colleagues in
a bipartisan manner to pass such legislation,”
said Senator Boucher.
Click here to read Senator Boucher's testimony on these bills
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