In a win for the municipality, state officials have granted New Canaan four years of relief from a widely discussed affordable housing law, First Selectman Dionna Carlson announced Monday.
The Connecticut Department of Housing has approved the town’s re-application for a four-year “moratorium” from the state law known by its statute number, 8-30g, Carlson said in a press release.
As a result, “housing developers may not bypass local zoning regulations for a four-year period,” the press release said.
The approval is not expected to affect three existing applications for housing developments under 8-30g, at Weed and Elm Streets (120 units), Main Street (20 units) and Hill Street (93 units). Denied by the local Planning & Zoning Commission, those applications are under appeal in state Superior Court.
The press release included this primer on 8-30g: “Statute 8-30g applies to municipalities, including New Canaan, where the percentage of housing that is legally deemed affordable is less than 10%. In those municipalities, the statute allows for construction of housing developments that circumvent local zoning restrictions on number of units and property density. With New Canaan’s moratorium in place, developers will need to abide by local zoning regulations.”
New Canaan achieved a moratorium in 2017 with the denser redevelopment of affordable housing at Millport Avenue. That moratorium lapsed in 2021, during then-First Selectman Kevin Moynihan’s administration, opening the door for 8-30g here. The new moratorium is based on units created at Millport as well as Canaan Parish, redeveloped with new buildings in 2021 and 2023.
It isn’t clear just how many units are required for New Canaan to be prepared to chain together another moratorium in 2028—a strategy endorsed by the Town Council in forming the Affordable Housing Committee (see section 4-B3 of the Town Code)—or how close the municipality is to gaining those units.
Monday’s announcement comes days after the disclosure that New Canaan is pursuing a purchase of an Avalon development on Lakeview Avenue.
Carlson said in the press release, “New Canaan has worked tirelessly in partnership with the New Canaan Housing Authority to provide affordable housing solutions for our community. We will continue to identify strategic opportunities to add to our affordable housing stock in an effort to earn future moratoriums and maintain control of local development.”
According to the press release, part of what Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner Selia Mosquera-Bruno said in the agency’s approval letter is, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the town of New Canaan for continuing to address the affordable housing needs in your community.”
It’s unclear what affect, if any, the state’s approval will have on the town’s active lawsuit against the Connecticut Department of Housing. In it, the town argues that the state erred in its initial denial of the moratorium application by failing to credit New Canaan for “excess” affordable housing units that had been completed prior to the issuance of the 2017 moratorium.
This decision has been hard earned and is very well deserved. Congratulations to all who have been involved in achieving it.
Great news for New Canaan. Thank you Dionna and everyone who helped with this.
I don’t understand the cause for celebration. So we have less affordable housing and that exclusiveness is considered good! It is sad that we continue to widen the disparity between the rich and the poor.
Hypocrisy demonstrates how unaccountable one is to conventional morality. – Michael Shellenberger
The town’s application was approved because New Canaan demonstrated that it has more affordable housing, not less. That’s how the state Housing Department formula works. For many it is cause for celebration because New Canaan, through its elected officials, has decided that chaining together moratoriums is one leg of the town’s affordable housing strategy. I don’t see how this approval widens or otherwise affects income gaps. Whatever you think of the “local control” banner or the sincerity of those who wave it — and during these even-numbered election years people get super smarmy — most residents of New Canaan are not comfortable with the idea that builders can circumvent a P&Z denial through the appeal process laid out in 8-30g, in my observation. It’s true that any applicant can file an administrative appeal following an unwanted P&Z or ZBA decision. Yet those are processed within the state Superior Court system without the same consideration as affordable housing appeals (we’ve already heard from the town attorney firm’s lawyers that the courts generally uphold 8-30g appeals).
Ironically I think you said regarding the recent storm that the town has too many 4” pipes. If you had a look at elm street on Sunday afternoon going down to Karl Chevrolet where the water was literally coming up out of the man holes requiring the road to be closed and my guess running into the recently repaved lumberyard lot and then overflowing mead park (as well as filling the parking garage by the train) – it is very clear that we have an issue in town and elm st. amongst other places regarding town storm water capacity (and I expect sewer) which is what we have been saying all along. Looking at that poor property which has been so nicely spruced up recently just across from acme where water was gushing at high rates even after the rain stopped is another good example. The records show we had issues during the last back to back storms a few years ago (7 inches is unfortunately no longer abnormal) and also years ago in this same area. If people want to rezone sections of town it is pretty clear that the Infrastructure in those areas will need to be significantly upgraded to deal with it – not much comes for free any more and water still flows downhill.