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11/09/2015 08:29 AMA Branford developer seeks a zoning map amendment for incentivized housing on commercial space known as Summit Place, to create a 115-unit condominium complex with 20 percent as “workforce housing.”
A public hearing on developer Alex Vigliotti’s application is set for Thurs. Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at Canoe Brook Senior Center. Branford’s Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) chairman Chuck Andres and Branford Town Planner Harry Smith hope to alert the public to the hearing date as the PZC undertakes its decision-making process.
“What the application is for is to change the zoning map to create an incentive housing zone district,” said Smith.
Located on Branford Hill’s Route 1 (across from McDonald’s) Summit Place currently includes two, two-story Colonial-style office buildings, neighbored by commercial properties including Branford Hall Career Institute.
The change would bring a large condominium, including at least 23 affordable housing units, into the commercial site. While that vicinity of town already includes a mix of businesses, apartments, condominiums and single-family homes, “...the density’s probably higher than the surrounding condos,” Smith said of the proposed condominium plan.
The entire proposed site for the condominium complex involves approximately 5.5 acres.
“The two existing commercial buildings would be converted to residential, and two new residential buildings would be built on a lot at the very end of Summit Place, and a community building [no residences] would be the fifth building; and associated parking and site improvements,” Smith explained.
In the past, Branford has adopted, and utilized, affordable housing regulations, but the area in question doesn’t apply.
“We’ve got regulations, but there’s no place on the map where they apply, so the applicant is saying can you rezone my property to (include) an overlay zone so I can use the regulations that exist to create this housing development,” said Smith.
However, should the town approve the requested map amendment, it would need to apply to fall under the state’s Incentive Housing Overlay District (IHOD) “workforce housing” zoning statutes, developed in 2007.
“It was part of the state incentive housing zone program to change the state statute to allow municipalities to adopt this kind of zoning for workforce housing. We haven’t applied to the state to get approval under the program because when the regulations were created the state wasn’t accepting applications (and) there wasn’t financial incentive for the towns to be able to do this,” said Smith.
IHOD calls for incentivized housing to be offered to those earning 80 percent of the town’s median income and stipulates “...you can’t earn any more than that; and of that median income you might have, you can’t spend more than 30 percent of that income on housing. That would be deed-restricted,” Smith explained, adding of the deed restriction, “...the state models says 30 years, our regulations say 40 years.”