Affordable Housing Plan Advisory Committee

Submission of Affordable Housing Plan Is Required by C.G.S. § 8-30j

To comply with Connecticut General Statutes Section 8-30j, all Connecticut municipalities must prepare and adopt an affordable housing plan by June 1, 2022, and every five years thereafter.  Section 8-30j specifically provides:

 

Sec. 8-30j. Affordable housing plan. Submission to Office of Policy and Management. Hearing and adoption. Filing requirement. Review and amendment of plan. (a)(1) Not later than June 1, 2022, and at least once every five years thereafter, each municipality shall prepare or amend and adopt an affordable housing plan for the municipality and shall submit a copy of such plan to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, who shall post such plan on the Internet web site of said office. Such plan shall specify how the municipality intends to increase the number of affordable housing developments in the municipality.  

 

(2) If, at the same time the municipality is required to submit to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management an affordable housing plan pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, the municipality is also required to submit to the secretary a plan of conservation and development pursuant to section 8-23, such affordable housing plan may be included as part of such plan of conservation and development. The municipality may, to coincide with its submission to the secretary of a plan of conservation and development, submit to the secretary an affordable housing plan early, provided the municipality's next such submission of an affordable housing plan shall be five years thereafter.  

(b) The municipality may hold public informational meetings or organize other activities to inform residents about the process of preparing the plan and shall post a copy of any draft plan or amendment to such plan on the Internet web site of the municipality. If the municipality holds a public hearing, such posting shall occur at least thirty-five days prior to the public hearing. After adoption of the plan, the municipality shall file the final plan in the office of the town clerk of such municipality and post the plan on the Internet web site of the municipality.  

 

(c) Following adoption, the municipality shall regularly review and maintain such plan. The municipality may adopt such geographical, functional or other amendments to the plan or parts of the plan, in accordance with the provisions of this section, as it deems necessary. If the municipality fails to amend and submit to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management such plan every five years, the chief elected official of the municipality shall submit a letter to the secretary that (1) explains why such plan was not amended, and (2) designates a date by which an amended plan shall be submitted.   

 

Chapter 126a of the General Statutes, of which Section 8-30j is a part, also includes Section 8-30g that contains the affordable housing land use appeals procedure. The following is a link to Chapter 126a (revised to January 1, 2021): 

https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_126a.htm

Affordable Housing As Defined by C.G.S. § 8-30g(k)

To be exempt from the procedure, ten percent (10%) of all dwelling units in a municipality must meet the requirements identified in Section 8-30g(k). Section 8-30g(k), as recently amended, provides: 

 

(k) The affordable housing appeals procedure established under this section shall not be available if the real property which is the subject of the application is located in a municipality in which at least ten per cent of all dwelling units in the municipality are (1) assisted housing, (2) currently financed by Connecticut Housing Finance Authority mortgages, (3) subject to binding recorded deeds containing covenants or restrictions which require that such dwelling units be sold or rented at, or below, prices which will preserve the units as housing for which persons and families pay thirty per cent or less of income, where such income is less than or equal to eighty per cent of the median income, (4) mobile manufactured homes located in mobile manufactured home parks or legally approved accessory apartments, which homes or apartments are subject to binding recorded deeds containing covenants or restrictions which require that such dwelling units be sold or rented at, or below, prices which will preserve the units as housing for which, for a period of not less than ten years, persons and families pay thirty per cent or less of income, where such income is less than or equal to eighty per cent of the median income, or (5) mobile manufactured homes located in resident-owned mobile manufactured home parks. For the purposes of calculating the total number of dwelling units in a municipality, accessory apartments built or permitted after January 1, 2022, but that are not described in subdivision (4) of this subsection, shall not be counted toward such total number. The municipalities meeting the criteria set forth in this subsection shall be listed in the report submitted under section 8-37qqq. As used in this subsection, "accessory apartment" has the same meaning as provided in section 8-1a, and "resident-owned mobile manufactured home park" means a mobile manufactured home park consisting of mobile manufactured homes located on land that is deed restricted, and, at the time of issuance of a loan for the purchase of such land, such loan required seventy-five per cent of the units to be leased to persons with incomes equal to or less than eighty per cent of the median income, and either (A) forty per cent of said seventy-five per cent to be leased to persons with incomes equal to or less than sixty per cent of the median income, or (B) twenty per cent of said seventy-five per cent to be leased to persons with incomes equal to or less than fifty per cent of the median income.  

 

Currently 7.84% of East Haven’s housing stock is deemed affordable. See the 2021 Affordable Housing Appeals List at 

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOH/2021-Final-Appeals-For-Report-On-Line.pdf.

 

Affordable Housing Plan Advisory Committee and 2022-2027 East Haven Affordable Housing Plan

 

The East Haven Town Council appointed an Affordable Housing Plan Advisory Committee to assist the Council in preparation of the 2022-27 East Haven Affordable Housing Plan. East Haven is a member of the South Central Regional Council of Governments. The SCRCOG has hired a consultant, RKG Associates, Inc., draft the Town’s Plan along with the respective affordable housing plans of twelve other participating member municipalities. The Committee will be overseeing the drafting of the Plan and providing feedback to RKG.  It is anticipated that the final draft Plan will be submitted to the Town Council in earl y April for its review and any necessary revision; and a public hearing will be held on the draft Plan, and the Council will act to adopt the Plan with any further revisions it deems necessary following the public hearing in May.

 

Community input is crucial to the process of developing the Town’s Plan. To obtain direct input, a Housing Plan Survey is being prepared by the Committee and will be distributed. Paper copies of the Survey will be available at the Town Hall, the Hagaman Memorial Library, and the Senior Center and by calling the Mayor’s Office at (203) 468-3204. By completing the Survey, you will help the Town to identify and understand the shared housing needs and desires of East Haven residents and non-residents interested in moving to East Haven, and ultimately, you will support the Town Council in establishing appropriate housing goals for our Town and in implementing a plan to meet those goals. 

 

Residents and other interested persons can also attend Committee meetings and provide their comments on housing matters and are encouraged to do so. Meeting agendas, minutes, and recordings are available through the “Minutes & Agendas” link on the homepage of the Town website at 

https://www.townofeasthavenct.org/minutes-and-agendas

 

To assist the municipalities with preparation of their respective plans, the Connecticut Department of Housing and Regional Plan Association issued an “Affordable Housing Plan and Process Guidebook,” which contains recommended content for an affordable housing plan. The following is a link to the Guidebook: 

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOH/AHPP-Guidebook_RPA_120120.pdf

 

Before the Town Council takes any action, the draft Affordable Housing Plan will be shared on the Town website and a public hearing will be held before the Council.  

 

Please come back to this Committee page for future updates!

Feed