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01/24/2018 07:30 AMAfter opening the conversation to try and establish more affordable housing in Guilford back in 2016, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted Jan. 16 to accept a grant and move forward with further investigations. The BOS formally accepted the $50,000 grant from the state Department of Housing (DOH), obtained by the local Housing for Economic Development Planning (HEDP) Committee, to complete a feasibility study.
An earlier grant from the state had allowed HEDP to identify several properties in Guilford that could be used for affordable development. Out of the eight sites identified, the committee moved forward with a parcel known as the Woodruff or Drive Way property located near the train station across from the Town Garage. The town applied for the DOH grant in July 2016 to further investigate this specific property.
The feasibility study will now be seen as Phase II of the project to try to establish more affordable housing in town. The definition of affordable can vary. For Guilford, where the median household income hovers in the $98,000 to $99,000 range, a home would be considered affordable to a household with an annual income of approximately $76,000. According to state guidelines, that household could afford up to 30 percent of its income or $1,980 monthly for rent or a mortgage.
Town Planner George Kral said the study would involve looking at the physical capability of the project on the site in regards to things like sewage disposal, the potential number of units on the property, permitting needs, preliminary designs, and discussing the project with neighbors and the wider community.
“The preliminary feasibility study, which is called the Phase I report, did suggest that there was good potential on this site for a potential housing development, so we believe that it’s a good site that would work for the type of development that we envisioned,” he said.
Kral said at maximum there would be 20 units on the site. He said the Guilford Housing Authority has worked to provide affordable housing for seniors in town, but based on surveys and needs assessments, Kral said the greatest need in town is for affordable housing for families—most likely single mothers with children—so two or three bedroom units would be likely.
“The state, in their wisdom, doesn’t use the word ‘affordable,’” he said. “They call it ‘housing for economic development.’ What that means in their terms is one fact that inhibits economic development is the high cost of housing and this enables us to create housing that is more affordable to people earning moderate incomes.”
If the study is successful and a development is possible, Kral said the town would then move on to Phase III, which would involve making decisions like contracting with a developer, determining if the land would be rented or sold to a developer (the Woodruff property is town-owned), and settling on things like the price of rent. Kral said the town will have a say in the rents to make sure they meet the needs of the town.
“What kind of rents are necessary to support the financing of the project is going to depend on a lot of factors like the cost to build it what kind of grants or subsidies a developer is able to get,” he said. “…All of those things will factor into what the rents can actually be.”
First Selectman Matt Hoey noted that the state encourages towns to maintain 10 percent of their housing stock as affordable by allowing for greatly reduced town oversight of affordable developments in municipalities with affordable housing shortages (such as in Guilford). Hoey expressed concern that if the town doesn’t meet those levels, a developer could just come in and build something that is not in keeping with the character of the town. Kral said that is a possibility as Guilford does not meet the 10 percent minimum, though HEDP member Selectman Sandy Ruoff said Guilford shouldn’t worry about any negative enforcement because the town has displayed a good effort to try to establish more affordable housing,
“Guilford has a good reputation in the state for being positive about affordable housing,” she said. “…We are closer [to 10 percent] than many other towns. This is thought to be a relatively small project, but it is a big one if it’s able to go through, so I think we will be able to have an intentionally positive benefit to all if we are able to manage it.”
Kral said if this project is successful, in addition to establishing more affordable housing, it would also have the benefit of encouraging more development down along the train station, a longtime goal of the town.
“This is going to be a nice development that would improve Drive Way and the character of Drive Way,” he said. “You have people living there, you have children playing and everything, plus you can get right on the train and the whole deal. Mom or dad or whoever can walk to the train station and get right to work. It’s just a terrific site—it really is.”
The BOS unanimously accepted the grant and unanimously authorized the first selectman to prepare and issue a request for proposals to conduct the feasibility study.