OLD SAYBROOK - When Incentive Housing Zone (IHZ) regulations were approved in 2010, the Zoning Commission discussed where in town such zones would best fit. Now, it's weighing whether to proactively establish an IHZ as guidance for future developers.

IHZs (sometimes referred to as "workforce housing zones") provide the town with a method to encourage developments that include some affordable housing units without giving up the regulatory oversight that existing, state-run incentive programs provide. For the purposes of an IHZ, "affordable" means priced to be affordable to a homeowner earning between 60 to 80 percent of the area's median income-in the case of Old Saybrook, this means affordable for households earning between approximately $60,000 and $80,000 annually. The average cost of a market-rate home in Old Saybrook is $415,000.

The proposal, if approved, would land an IHZ with a Mixed Use Subzone over a block of parcels in the Town Center district.

The boundaries of the proposed IHZ would be the Amtrak train tracks to the north, the Boston Post Road to the east and south, and on the west, an inland line running roughly parallel to North Main Street.

The Zoning Commission recently voted to designate three parcels within this area as an IHZ in response to a developer's application. The proposal by East Pointe Development requested the ZC land an IHZ with a multi-family subzone on land along North Main Street.

Although other zoning text changes East Pointe proposed were not approved-meaning the affordable housing plan needs revision-the evaluation process led the Zoning Commission to consider proposing its own action to land a larger IHZ in the area.

Actions to land incentive housing overlay zones can be initiated by developers or by the Zoning Commission itself. In this case, the Zoning Commission is proposing to land an IHZ with a mixed use subzone over a block of land in the North Main Street area.

What is a mixed use zone? One within which residential and commercial uses can co-mingle. A multi-story structure in a mixed use zone, for example, could have retail uses on the first floor and apartments above.

Currently the underlying business zones of B-2 and B-4 in the North Main and Stage Road area don't permit residential uses. Establishing an IHZ with a mixed use subzone could encourage transit-oriented development near the town train station that could have a mix of retail, commercial, and residential uses.

In the town IHZ regulations, an IHZ overlay zone can have five possible subzones: single-family, duplex, townhouse, multi-family, and mixed use. Text describing and defining each appears in the town's zoning regulations.

Each IHZ and subzone in turn is layered on top of the base zone set by town zoning regulations. Approval to land an IHZ overlay zone over specific parcels means that future workforce housing proposals for that zone must abide by the IHZ regulations for the IHZ and the appropriate subzone.

Rules such as height restrictions associated with the underlying zone also apply to workforce housing development proposals. The Zoning Commission can choose, however, to approve a text change that could adjust the rules of the underlying zone.

Decisions to land a new IHZare legislative actions that also require a public hearing. As a result, the Zoning Commission will open a public hearing on Saturday, Aug. 17 on its proposal to land an IHZ with a mixed use subzone (see accompanying drawing).

The Zoning Commission will hold a second public hearing on Monday, Aug. 5 to consider housekeeping changes to the Incentive Housing Zone regulations (visit www.oldsaybrookct.org for updated times and meeting places). Among these changes is a reorganization to improve clarity.

In the past few years, the Zoning Commission approved an IHZ on Ferry Road for the Ferry Crossing workforce housing and at Ferry Point, an IHZ with a mixed use subzone. The newest IHZ to be approved by the commission was a multi-family subzone proposed by East Pointe; that zone is over three parcels along North Main Street.