Letter: Affordable Housing Law Isnt Working For Fairfield - Patch.com
"It's time to change a self-defeating law," writes Fairfield resident Walt Shaw.
From Native American settlements to Europeans who stumbled upon the "fair fields" to George Washington staying at the Sun Tavern in 1789, the town of Fairfield is a historical and charming bastion that is treasured. But much of that charm and beauty that we value as residents is slowly dissipating and rapidly changing. Look around — new apartment complexes out-of-scale for the tiny lots they are being built on are popping up left and right.
How is this happening?
The answer — our quaint historic town is being taken over by predatory developers who are utilizing a Connecticut state law called the "Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Act," also known as 8-30g, which is Connecticut's answer to creating affordable housing. Simply put, this law, enacted 30 years ago, is intended to encourage more affordable housing in towns that have less than 10 percent of their housing certified as affordable. Under 8-30g, the burden shifts from the applicant justifying the development to the commission justifying a denial, which can only be done if there is evidence of substantial harm to health or safety.
Having diverse and affordable housing options in communities such as Fairfield is critical, but a one-size-fits-all approach is not working. It is a mathematical impossibility for most towns to reach the 10 percent threshold given that 8-30g enables dense new housing development with only 30 percent being affordable, which means 70 percent is at full rental value.
Throughout Fairfield, concerned residents such as me are being struck by the unintended consequences of 8-30g, such as traffic and public safety, and the massive scale, which is out of character for most of our neighborhoods. Most times, town plan and zoning commissions "have their hands tied," which is unacceptable to me. As a superior court judge once said in one 8-30g case, "in reality, not every project site will support every affordable housing project."
I am a lifelong resident of Fairfield, and I am honored to reside in the historic district of our community. For the past two years, our neighborhood has been fighting an uphill legal challenge against an 8-30g development at 131 Beach Road, the site of the former Masonic Lodge where developer Glenn Tatangelo wants to build a five-story, 60-foot high building in the area of the Old Town Hall. Mr. Tatangelo, who initially proclaimed to "love Fairfield … grew up in Fairfield, marched in the Memorial parade, etc., etc. ..." apparently, does not love Fairfield through his monstrosity that would be situated at the gateway of our beloved historic district.
Why would a developer with any conscience use a law that is obviously punitive to small neighborhoods for the purpose of lining their pockets? If this complex is built, it would significantly alter the face of our town's historic district. We the people are powerless over 8-30g and we're angry, frustrated, and weary.
If 8-30g isn't working, then why would we continue burdening communities with such an onerous law? We should all expect and demand changes to a state mandate that isn't working. We demand that our legislators, Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, Rep. Jennifer Leeper, Rep. Laura Devlin and Sen. Tony Hwang, amend 8-30g.
It's time to change a self-defeating law.
Sincerely,
Walt Shaw
Fairfield
Walt Shaw serves as treasurer of the Old Post Road Area Association, which was founded in 1952 with the purpose of maintaining, enhancing and protecting the nature of the Old Post Road Historic Area. He writes this letter as a private citizen.
source: https://patch.com/connecticut/fairfield/letter-affordable-housing-law-isnt-working-fairfield
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.