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10/17/2022 02:02 PMIn an effort to comply with a state mandate to adopt an affordable housing plan before the end of the year, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) are continuing to seek solutions to multiple challenges. The issue remains a work-in-progress in town, but First Selectman Mike Freda said the Board will forward a plan to the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) soon.
According to state statute 8-30j, municipalities must amend or adopt an affordable housing plan every five years. The State issued mandate required all towns turn over a plan by June 1. While many towns met the June 1 deadline, North Haven requested and received an extension for submitting its plan to the OPM. While the submission date is currently tentative, Freda said he expected the BOS will receive a draft of the plan at its Thursday, Nov. 3 meeting.
The BOS approved a motion at its Oct 6. that the Freda would send a letter to the OPM providing a status update regarding the efforts made by the town’s Affordable Housing Plan Advisory Committee.
Along with other towns as part of the Southern Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG), one of the biggest challenges facing North Haven is how to provide affordable housing for high density housing projects. This also includes looking particularly at those that lack city- or sewer-based access to water, according to Freda. About 70 percent of the town population is reliant on the city and its sewers as water sources in the homes, while the remaining 30 percent access the resource through means of septic and well technology.
According to Freda, one of the town’s goals is to work with developers in providing a certain number of affordable apartments at a project on 445 Washington Avenue. These units would provide young families and recent higher education graduates, specifically those facing student loan debt, with affordable housing choices listed as a percentage to the tenant’s adjusted gross income.
“Many times what we see with these affordable units that we’re trying to build is a young nurse, a young pharmacist, or a grad student who’s paying off debt, but needs more of an affordable unit to live,” said Freda.
Development of the 225-unit Washington Avenue apartment building will include amenities and stores meant to increase attractiveness for tenants. The first floor of the building will feature retail stores, which Freda said could include a coffee shop, restaurant, and other establishments. To meet the required affordable housing stock levels, the town and developers are aiming for the building to include 45 affordable units, representative of a 20 percent affordability rate.
Along with the submission of an affordable housing plan, the town must also meet a component of Connecticut General Statutes Section 8-30g, which requires that at least 10 percent of a municipality’s housing stock must be deemed affordable by the state Department of Housing. In North Haven, the current rate stands at 5.8 percent of units deemed affordable, a 1.5 percdent increase since Freda first took office as First Selectman in 2009.
Affordable housing in North Haven is defined by three income-based percentage levels of no more 40 percent, 60 percent, and 80 percent of a household’s income being spent on a tenant's place of residence, according to Freda. State assistance is met if a tenant’s spending goes beyond those rates.
“The challenges are trying to find locations and trying not to impugn the character of the town in the existing resident neighborhoods by putting high density housing in the middle of those neighborhoods,” said Freda. “[L]ooking for the solution, in terms of where the affordable units could go, and on Washington Avenue we have looked at that as an opportunity to try and get the affordable stock.”
North Haven population shift has followed a trend found across the 15 other SCRCOG municipalities, with a slight population decline by 1.14 percent, according to census data collected by the regional body. The decrease, partly caused by an exodus of the younger population from town, remained relatively small as many younger families are now relocating into town from other municipalities in the state. The attraction rests in the town’s current financial standing with regards to housing.Freda credits influencing factors as the town’s lower mill rate, higher level of services, and its education system.
Senior citizens are a prime driver of population shifts in North Haven and other SCRCOG municipalities, being the second largest demographic in the 15 towns according to the council’s data. Freda said that while younger families moving into town have taken up much of the housing inventory with millennial-aged residents leaving, another challenge is found in meeting a demand in providing housing for seniors. Freda said that the task is to help seniors who cannot handle the maintenance and financial aspects of living in their homes in opening a new housing inventory and providing them with new options. One of the biggest factors for this includes waiting lists at the town’s senior housing complexes.
Whilst looking to meet the demands of new and and current older residents, as well as state mandates, Freda said that maintaining the attractiveness of the town is an overarching challenge in establishing a sound housing plan for the long-term. The First Selectman says this can be achieved by ensuring that young families continue to relocate to North Haven by learning of the education system and low mill rate, a trend recognized in their demand for housing as prices have risen.
“I have been on a continuous mission to improve the town, and that includes adding and increasing public safety, police and fire, supporting the education system, improving all the parks and recreational facilities in town, new playscapes for children, offering amenities, and more concerts on the North Haven Green for the summer,” said Freda.
Recreational facilities targeted for improvements include the track at North Haven High School, and the school’s baseball and softball fields next spring. Recreational leagues in soccer and lacrosse may receive improvements in their fields as well with Freda looking to expand them for the growing number of children wanting to play those sports. Supportive of the arts, a bandstand Freda wants to see added to the town green used by music and theater groups.
“I’m trying to add more here to make it even more attractive, and a large part of that is never getting complacent and satisfied, and improving ourselves as an administration, and improving the town so the taxpayers see where they’re tax dollars are going. It’s a tangible visual they can see.”