P&Z Rejects Affordable Housing Rule Revisions

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has unanimously rejected a developer’s proposed revisions to the town’s “affordable housing” regulations, in effect, rebuffing a controversial proposal to build a 16-unit multifamily complex at 95-99 Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center.

After discussion, P&Z members June 5 turned down developer Guri Dauti’s requested rule changes for affordable housing complexes, which would have decreased the minimum lot size and the minimum street frontage required for such facilities.

Mr Dauti had proposed building a multifamily complex at 95-99 Church Hill Road. The site is on the north side of Church Hill Road, west of Church Hill Road’s intersection with Dayton Street.

The 16-unit proposal, however, had encountered stiff opposition from nearby property owners, focusing on the architectural character of such a complex, its relatively high construction density, the additional traffic that it would generate, its effect on property values, and the difficulties of developing the steep site.

Mr Dauti had sought the affordable housing rule changes for locations where public water supplies and sanitary sewers are available. The Church Hill Road site has access to both public utilities.

Explanation

On June 5, P&Z members explained why they turned down Mr Dauti’s rule change request.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said that if the requested rule changes were approved, it would have opened up too many local properties to potentially becoming sites for affordable housing.

P&Z member Lilla Dean said Mr Dauti’s 16-unit proposal would make for too high a construction density at the 95-99 Church Hill site, which is less than five acres. Ms Dean also expressed concerns about traffic. She noted that the site would be a physically difficult property to develop for Mr Dauti’s proposed 16-unit complex.

P&Z member Daniel Fogliano said that revising the affordable housing rules would result in too many local properties potentially becoming sites for affordable housing. Mr Fogliano added that the proposal is inconsistent with the 1993 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

Although the P&Z turned down Mr Dauti’s requested rule changes on affordable housing, if the developer still wants to use the site for that purpose, he could apply for permission for such a project under a set of state affordable housing regulations.

Research

After an April public hearing on Mr Dauti’s affordable housing proposal for Sandy Hook Center, P&Z members had asked the developer to research how many other local properties would be affected by his requested rule changes.

In a May report to P&Z members, attorney William Denlinger, representing Mr Dauti, noted that the proposed rule changes would make 17 other local sites potentially available for such development. Twelve of those properties contain residences, and five properties are vacant.

The 17 properties are located on Mt Pleasant Road, Currituck Road, Hanover Road, Roosevelt Drive, Sugar Street, West Street, Grand Place, Wendover Road, Washington Avenue, and Church Hill Road, according to the attorney.

As part of the proposed rule revisions, Mr Dauti had asked that the current minimum lot size for affordable housing complexes be reduced from six acres to three acres. The 95-99 Church Hill Road site covers 4.56 acres. 

Mr Denlinger later pointed out that the developer would be willing to revise his requested rule changes so that the minimum lot size for affordable housing complexes would be 4.5 acres, thus reducing the affected number of properties from 17 parcels to four parcels.

If the P&Z had approved Mr Dauti’s requested rule changes, the developer later would have been able to seek a “special exception” to the zoning regulations from the P&Z to create a Sandy Hook Center multifamily housing complex that would include affordable housing. Under the terms of the town’s zoning regulations, at least 30 percent of the units in such a complex would be designated as “affordable housing” for people meeting certain income limits. If a 16-unit complex were proposed, five of those units would be designated as affordable housing.

The town’s land use regulations allow multifamily housing complexes that include affordable housing to be built at higher construction densities than conventional single-family housing.

Change Of Zone

Besides the requested affordable housing rule changes, Mr Dauti also had sought P&Z approval for a change of zone for a portion of the 95-99 Church Hill Road site from EH-10 (Elderly Housing) to R-2 (Residential). Mr Dauti requested converting 1.3 acres there from EH-10 to R-2 zoning.

In a 3-to-2 decision on June 5, the P&Z approved that zone change. Mr O’Neil, Ms Dean, and member Robert Poulin voted in favor of the zone change, with Mr Fogliano and member Jane Brymer opposed.

R-2 zoning is designated for single-family houses.

Mr O’Neil said the zone change makes the affected property a viable location for single-family housing.