Hearing Set On Affordable Housing

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has scheduled a Thursday, December 7, public hearing on its proposed amendments to the town’s affordable housing regulations intended to bring those regulations into compliance with recently revised state law, and thus decrease the local cost of  “affordable housing.”

The hearing is slated for 8 pm at the town land office at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills. A P&Z business meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm.

If the P&Z makes the regulatory changes that it has proposed, the sale price of new affordable housing units for most of the eligible buyers would drop from approximately $146,600 to about $116,000.

“Affordable housing” is a technical term used by the state Department of Housing. A complex set of formulas is used to calculate affordability, and who is eligible to acquire affordable housing, based on income.

Various affordable housing regulations apply to the sale prices of new units, to the resale prices of existing units, and to rental prices.

Affordable housing units are sold to buyers who meet income eligibility requirements at prices which are lower than prevailing market prices.