Lawmakers Seek Changes

In Affordable Housing Law

HARTFORD (AP) — Some lawmakers are calling for changes to Connecticut’s affordable housing law, saying developers are using it to circumvent local zoning boards in getting approval for millions of dollars worth of housing.

Critics say courts have been using the law to overturn local rejections of development plans, when 25 percent of the housing units are designated as affordable.

State Rep James Amann, D-Milford, and other lawmakers say they are forming a bipartisan coalition to push for changes in the law in the current session of the Legislature.

Mr Amann said many legislators are skeptical about changing the law because the towns they represent haven’t had the problems that other towns are having.

“It takes time for them to realize what the developers are doing,” he said. “We are saying that we don’t want your town to be next.

“There are developers with the intent of really wanting to build affordable housing, and there’s developers who use the law to line their pockets with profits,” Mr Amann said. “That’s why we need to tighten the law.”

But supporters of the law say it has allowed housing to be built in areas where many people cannot afford to live, such as Fairfield County.

“The opposition is a thinly disguised attempt by some people who don’t want anyone else moving into their community,” said Lee Feldman, a spokesman for Wilton-based developer AvalonBay.

AvalonBay is in court appealing the Milford Inland Wetlands Commission’s rejection of its plans to build a 310-unit development.

Under the affordable housing law, developers who allocate 25 percent of their project’s units for people meeting “affordable’’ income guidelines can appeal rejections from local boards in court – and they often win.

State Rep Lawrence Miller, R-Stratford, who is among the law’s critics, says it will be difficult to win passage of reforms.

“It’s got to be a coalition of legislators from both sides of the aisle,” Mr Miller said. “It is going to be a difficult task to get anything through the [state] Housing Authority – it’s adamant about keeping the law intact.”