Following the lead of neighboring Canton, Simsbury is considering a requirement that developers of midsized and large apartment complexes set aside a significant share of the units as affordable housing.
The town’s proposed zoning rule would mean that for any new residential development of more than nine units, a builder would be required to set aside at least 15% for tenants making well below the statewide average income.
And at a discussion this week, Town Planner George McGregor told the zoning commission that it might also levy a stiffer rule for even larger projects. So for a building of more than 20 apartments, at least 20% would be required to be leased at affordable rates.
The commission wants to invite developers and housing advocates to a discussion about the specifics before adopting any rule. But at its meeting, members appeared to have a general interest in pursuing some form of new requirement on developers.
McGregor told commissioners that the new regulation would be a way to implement goals that the community has already agreed on.
“The recent plan of conservation and development — your long-range plan — as well as the Affordable Housing Plan have clear goals to increase affordable housing units in the town of Simsbury,” McGregor said.
Simsbury is among the wealthier suburbs in central Connecticut, and a 2022 report concluded that only 5.1% of its housing stock qualifies as affordable under state definitions. That’s barely half of Connecticut’s goal that all 169 towns and cities provide at least 10% affordable housing.
Numerous Connecticut communities in the past several years have levied similar requirements on developers, largely prompted by the state’s 8-30g law that provides a serious penalty against towns or cities with less than 10% affordable housing.
Those communities lose most of their authority to reject or modify proposals from developers who agree to designate at least 30% of the new units as affordable. Public health and safety concerns can still be cited as a reason for a “no” vote, but zoning officials must prove that those risks are significant and can’t be avoided.
McGregor said in Simsbury’s proposed regulation, “this language comes right out of the 8-30g statute.” The town would require half of the affordable units to be priced for people making less than 60% of the area’s median income, while the other half would be for people earning less than 80%.
Developers would have to file an affordable housing plan, and would have to distribute the affordable units throughout the complex so there would be no “market rate” or “affordable” floors or wings. The regulation would also require that affordable units be offered in all of the apartment types that the developer builds; a project with studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units would have to offer some affordable units in each category.
McGregor noted that New Canaan, Greenwich, Tolland, Darien and Ridgefield all have some form of “inclusive housing” regulation in their zoning regulations. When commissioners discussed how the rule would affect new single-family home subdivisions, McGregor noted that Simsbury doesn’t have much available land left for that type of development.
But the town has attracted the attention of apartment developers in recent years, and some residents are already complaining that there is too much multifamily housing and too much traffic.
Neighbors were infuriated last month when the town settled an 8-30g lawsuit with Vessel Technologies by agreeing to a downsized, 48-unit version of the project it wanted to build along Route 10. But the company had sued under the 8-30g law, and without settling, Simsbury would have risked a judge’s order that it permit the original four-story, 64-unit version.
Most Connecticut communities fall short of the 10% goal, with the biggest deficits in small rural towns and in wealthier suburbs, particularly in pricy Fairfield County and along the shoreline.
In contrast, the state’s poorer communities — usually large and midsized cities with high unemployment — have abundant affordable housing. They can easily absorb new market-rate housing.
New Britain, for instance, is eagerly welcoming Jasko Development’s two midrise towers downtown with more than 200 upscale, amenity-rich apartments. All will be leased at market rates. Since nearly 19% of the city’s housing stock qualifies as affordable, it has no concerns about 8-30g.
