Sec. 8-30g. Affordable housing land use appeals procedure. Definitions. Affordability plan; regulations. Conceptual site plan. Maximum monthly housing
cost. Percentage-of-income requirement. Appeals. Modification of application.
Commission powers and remedies. Exempt municipalities. Moratorium. (a) As
used in this section: Sec. 8-30h. Annual certification of continuing compliance with affordability
requirements. Noncompliance. On and after January 1, 1996, the developer, owner
or manager of an affordable housing development, developed pursuant to subparagraph
(B) of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 8-30g, that includes rental units shall
provide annual certification to the commission that the development continues to be in
compliance with the covenants and deed restrictions required under said section. If the
development does not comply with such covenants and deed restrictions, the developer,
owner or manager shall rent the next available units to persons and families whose
incomes satisfy the requirements of the covenants and deed restrictions until the development is in compliance. The commission may inspect the income statements of the tenants
of the restricted units upon which the developer, owner or manager bases the certification. Such tenant statements shall be confidential and shall not be deemed public records
for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200.
(1) "Affordable housing development" means a proposed housing development
which is (A) assisted housing, or (B) a set-aside development;
(2) "Affordable housing application" means any application made to a commission
in connection with an affordable housing development by a person who proposes to
develop such affordable housing;
(3) "Assisted housing" means housing which is receiving, or will receive, financial
assistance under any governmental program for the construction or substantial rehabilitation of low and moderate income housing, and any housing occupied by persons receiving rental assistance under chapter 319uu or Section 1437f of Title 42 of the United
States Code;
(4) "Commission" means a zoning commission, planning commission, planning
and zoning commission, zoning board of appeals or municipal agency exercising zoning
or planning authority;
(5) "Municipality" means any town, city or borough, whether consolidated or unconsolidated;
(6) "Set-aside development" means a development in which not less than thirty per
cent of the dwelling units will be conveyed by deeds containing covenants or restrictions
which shall require that, for at least forty years after the initial occupation of the proposed
development, such dwelling units shall be sold or rented at, or below, prices which will
preserve the units as housing for which persons and families pay thirty per cent or less
of their annual income, where such income is less than or equal to eighty per cent of
the median income. In a set-aside development, of the dwelling units conveyed by deeds
containing covenants or restrictions, a number of dwelling units equal to not less than
fifteen per cent of all dwelling units in the development shall be sold or rented to persons
and families whose income is less than or equal to sixty per cent of the median income
and the remainder of the dwelling units conveyed by deeds containing covenants or
restrictions shall be sold or rented to persons and families whose income is less than or
equal to eighty per cent of the median income;
(7) "Median income" means, after adjustments for family size, the lesser of the
state median income or the area median income for the area in which the municipality
containing the affordable housing development is located, as determined by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
(8) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development.
(b) (1) Any person filing an affordable housing application with a commission shall
submit, as part of the application, an affordability plan which shall include at least the
following: (A) Designation of the person, entity or agency that will be responsible for
the duration of any affordability restrictions, for the administration of the affordability
plan and its compliance with the income limits and sale price or rental restrictions of
this chapter; (B) an affirmative fair housing marketing plan governing the sale or rental
of all dwelling units; (C) a sample calculation of the maximum sales prices or rents of
the intended affordable dwelling units; (D) a description of the projected sequence in
which, within a set-aside development, the affordable dwelling units will be built and
offered for occupancy and the general location of such units within the proposed development; and (E) draft zoning regulations, conditions of approvals, deeds, restrictive
covenants or lease provisions that will govern the affordable dwelling units.
(2) The commissioner shall, within available appropriations, adopt regulations pursuant to chapter 54 regarding the affordability plan. Such regulations may include additional criteria for preparing an affordability plan and shall include: (A) A formula for
determining rent levels and sale prices, including establishing maximum allowable
down payments to be used in the calculation of maximum allowable sales prices; (B) a
clarification of the costs that are to be included when calculating maximum allowed
rents and sale prices; (C) a clarification as to how family size and bedroom counts are
to be equated in establishing maximum rental and sale prices for the affordable units;
and (D) a listing of the considerations to be included in the computation of income under
this section.
(c) Any commission, by regulation, may require that an affordable housing application seeking a change of zone shall include the submission of a conceptual site plan
describing the proposed development's total number of residential units and their arrangement on the property and the proposed development's roads and traffic circulation,
sewage disposal and water supply.
(d) For any affordable dwelling unit that is rented as part of a set-aside development,
if the maximum monthly housing cost, as calculated in accordance with subdivision (6)
of subsection (a) of this section, would exceed one hundred per cent of the Section 8
fair market rent as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development, in the case of units set aside for persons and families whose income is
less than or equal to sixty per cent of median income, then such maximum monthly
housing cost shall not exceed one hundred per cent of said Section 8 fair market rent.
If the maximum monthly housing cost, as calculated in accordance with subdivision (6)
of subsection (a) of this section, would exceed one hundred twenty per cent of the Section
8 fair market rent, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development, in the case of units set aside for persons and families whose income is
less than or equal to eighty per cent of median income, then such maximum monthly
housing cost shall not exceed one hundred twenty per cent of such Section 8 fair market rent.
(e) For any affordable dwelling unit that is rented in order to comply with the requirements of a set-aside development, no person shall impose on a prospective tenant
who is receiving governmental rental assistance a maximum percentage-of-income-for-
housing requirement that is more restrictive than the requirement, if any, imposed by
such governmental assistance program.
(f) Any person whose affordable housing application is denied or is approved with
restrictions which have a substantial adverse impact on the viability of the affordable
housing development or the degree of affordability of the affordable dwelling units in
a set-aside development, may appeal such decision pursuant to the procedures of this
section. Such appeal shall be filed within the time period for filing appeals as set forth
in section 8-8, 8-9, 8-28, 8-30 or 8-30a, as applicable, and shall be made returnable to
the superior court for the judicial district where the real property which is the subject
of the application is located. Affordable housing appeals, including pretrial motions,
shall be heard by a judge assigned by the Chief Court Administrator to hear such appeals.
To the extent practicable, efforts shall be made to assign such cases to a small number
of judges, sitting in geographically diverse parts of the state, so that a consistent body of
expertise can be developed. Unless otherwise ordered by the Chief Court Administrator,
such appeals, including pretrial motions, shall be heard by such assigned judges in the
judicial district in which such judge is sitting. Appeals taken pursuant to this subsection
shall be privileged cases to be heard by the court as soon after the return day as is
practicable. Except as otherwise provided in this section, appeals involving an affordable
housing application shall proceed in conformance with the provisions of said section
8-8, 8-9, 8-28, 8-30 or 8-30a, as applicable.
(g) Upon an appeal taken under subsection (f) of this section, the burden shall be
on the commission to prove, based upon the evidence in the record compiled before
such commission that the decision from which such appeal is taken and the reasons
cited for such decision are supported by sufficient evidence in the record. The commission shall also have the burden to prove, based upon the evidence in the record compiled
before such commission, that (1) (A) the decision is necessary to protect substantial
public interests in health, safety, or other matters which the commission may legally
consider; (B) such public interests clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing;
and (C) such public interests cannot be protected by reasonable changes to the affordable
housing development, or (2) (A) the application which was the subject of the decision
from which such appeal was taken would locate affordable housing in an area which is
zoned for industrial use and which does not permit residential uses, and (B) the development is not assisted housing, as defined in subsection (a) of this section. If the commission does not satisfy its burden of proof under this subsection, the court shall wholly or
partly revise, modify, remand or reverse the decision from which the appeal was taken
in a manner consistent with the evidence in the record before it.
(h) Following a decision by a commission to reject an affordable housing application or to approve an application with restrictions which have a substantial adverse
impact on the viability of the affordable housing development or the degree of affordability of the affordable dwelling units, the applicant may, within the period for filing an
appeal of such decision, submit to the commission a proposed modification of its proposal responding to some or all of the objections or restrictions articulated by the commission, which shall be treated as an amendment to the original proposal. The day of
receipt of such a modification shall be determined in the same manner as the day of
receipt is determined for an original application. The filing of such a proposed modification shall stay the period for filing an appeal from the decision of the commission on
the original application. The commission shall hold a public hearing on the proposed
modification if it held a public hearing on the original application and may hold a public
hearing on the proposed modification if it did not hold a public hearing on the original
application. The commission shall render a decision on the proposed modification not
later than sixty-five days after the receipt of such proposed modification, provided, if,
in connection with a modification submitted under this subsection, the applicant applies
for a permit for an activity regulated pursuant to sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive,
and the time for a decision by the commission on such modification under this subsection
would lapse prior to the thirty-fifth day after a decision by an inland wetlands and watercourses agency, the time period for decision by the commission on the modification
under this subsection shall be extended to thirty-five days after the decision of such
agency. The commission shall issue notice of its decision as provided by law. Failure of
the commission to render a decision within said sixty-five days or subsequent extension
period permitted by this subsection shall constitute a rejection of the proposed modification. Within the time period for filing an appeal on the proposed modification as set
forth in section 8-8, 8-9, 8-28, 8-30 or 8-30a, as applicable, the applicant may appeal
the commission's decision on the original application and the proposed modification in
the manner set forth in this section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit
the right of an applicant to appeal the original decision of the commission in the manner
set forth in this section without submitting a proposed modification or to limit the issues
which may be raised in any appeal under this section.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude any right of appeal under
the provisions of section 8-8, 8-9, 8-28, 8-30 or 8-30a.
(j) A commission or its designated authority shall have, with respect to compliance
of an affordable housing development with the provisions of this chapter, the same
powers and remedies provided to commissions by section 8-12.
(k) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (j), inclusive, of this section,
the affordable housing appeals procedure established under this section shall not be
available if the real property which is the subject of the application is located in a municipality in which at least ten per cent of all dwelling units in the municipality are (1)
assisted housing or (2) currently financed by Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
mortgages or (3) subject to deeds containing covenants or restrictions which require
that such dwelling units be sold or rented at, or below, prices which will preserve the
units as housing for which persons and families pay thirty per cent or less of income,
where such income is less than or equal to eighty per cent of the median income. The
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall, pursuant to regulations
adopted under the provisions of chapter 54, promulgate a list of municipalities which
satisfy the criteria contained in this subsection and shall update such list not less than
annually. For the purpose of determining the percentage required by this subsection,
the commissioner shall use as the denominator the number of dwelling units in the
municipality, as reported in the most recent United States decennial census.
(l) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (j), inclusive, of this
section, the affordable housing appeals procedure established under this section shall
not be applicable to an affordable housing application filed with a commission during
a moratorium, which shall be the three-year period after (A) a certification of affordable
housing project completion issued by the commissioner is published in the Connecticut
Law Journal, or (B) after notice of a provisional approval is published pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, such moratorium shall not
apply to (A) affordable housing applications for assisted housing in which ninety-five
per cent of the dwelling units are restricted to persons and families whose income is
less than or equal to sixty per cent of median income, (B) other affordable housing
applications for assisted housing containing forty or fewer dwelling units, or (C) affordable housing applications which were filed with a commission pursuant to this section prior to the date upon which the moratorium takes effect.
(3) Eligible units completed after a moratorium has begun may be counted toward
establishing eligibility for a subsequent moratorium.
(4) (A) The commissioner shall issue a certificate of affordable housing project
completion for the purposes of this subsection upon finding that there has been completed within the municipality one or more affordable housing developments which
create housing unit-equivalent points equal to the greater of two per cent of all dwelling
units in the municipality, as reported in the most recent United States decennial census,
or seventy-five housing unit-equivalent points.
(B) ÜtbA municipality may apply for a certificate of affordable housing project completion pursuant to this subsection by applying in writing to the commissioner, and including
documentation showing that the municipality has accumulated the required number of
points within the applicable time period. Such documentation shall include the location
of each dwelling unit being counted, the number of points each dwelling unit has been
assigned, and the reason, pursuant to this subsection, for assigning such points to such
dwelling unit. Upon receipt of such application, the commissioner shall promptly cause
a notice of the filing of the application to be published in the Connecticut Law Journal,
stating that public comment on such application shall be accepted by the commissioner
for a period of thirty days after the publication of such notice. Not later than ninety days
after the receipt of such application, the commissioner shall either approve or reject such
application. Such approval or rejection shall be accompanied by a written statement of
the reasons for approval or rejection, pursuant to the provisions of this subsection. If the
application is approved, the commissioner shall promptly cause a certificate of affordable housing project completion to be published in the Connecticut Law Journal. If
the commissioner fails to either approve or reject the application within such ninety-day
period, such application shall be deemed provisionally approved, and the municipality
may cause notice of such provisional approval to be published in a conspicuous manner
in a daily newspaper having general circulation in the municipality, in which case, such
moratorium shall take effect upon such publication. The municipality shall send a copy
of such notice to the commissioner. Such provisional approval shall remain in effect
unless the commissioner subsequently acts upon and rejects the application, in which
case the moratorium shall terminate upon notice to the municipality by the commissioner.
(5) For purposes of this subsection, "elderly units" are dwelling units whose occupancy is restricted by age and "family units" are dwelling units whose occupancy is not
restricted by age.
(6) ÜtbFor purposes of this subsection, housing unit-equivalent points shall be determined by the commissioner as follows: (A) No points shall be awarded for a unit unless
its occupancy is restricted to persons and families whose income is equal to or less than
eighty per cent of median income, except that unrestricted units in a set-aside development shall be awarded one-fourth point each. (B) Family units restricted to persons and
families whose income is equal to or less than eighty per cent of median income shall
be awarded one point if an ownership unit and one and one-half points if a rental unit.
(C) Family units restricted to persons and families whose income is equal to or less than
sixty per cent of median income shall be awarded one and one-half points if an ownership
unit and two points if a rental unit. (D) Family units restricted to persons and families
whose income is equal to or less than forty per cent of median income shall be awarded
two points if an ownership unit and two and one-half points if a rental unit. (E) Elderly
units restricted to persons and families whose income is equal to or less than eighty per
cent of median income shall be awarded one-half point. (F) A set-aside development
containing family units which are rental units shall be awarded additional points equal
to twenty-two per cent of the total points awarded to such development, provided the
application for such development was filed with the commission prior to July 6, 1995.
(7) Points shall be awarded only for dwelling units which were (A) newly-constructed units in an affordable housing development, as that term was defined at the time
of the affordable housing application, for which a certificate of occupancy was issued
after July 1, 1990, or (B) newly subjected after July 1, 1990, to deeds containing covenants or restrictions which require that, for at least the duration required by subsection
(a) of this section for set-aside developments on the date when such covenants or restrictions took effect, such dwelling units shall be sold or rented at, or below, prices which
will preserve the units as affordable housing for persons or families whose income does
not exceed eighty per cent of median income.
(8) Points shall be subtracted, applying the formula in subdivision (6) of this subsection, for any affordable dwelling unit which, on or after July 1, 1990, was affected by
any action taken by a municipality which caused such dwelling unit to cease being
counted as an affordable dwelling unit.
(9) A newly-constructed unit shall be counted toward a moratorium when it receives
a certificate of occupancy. A newly-restricted unit shall be counted toward a moratorium
when its deed restriction takes effect.
(10) The affordable housing appeals procedure shall be applicable to affordable
housing applications filed with a commission after a three-year moratorium expires,
except (A) as otherwise provided in subsection (k) of this section, or (B) when sufficient
unit-equivalent points have been created within the municipality during one moratorium
to qualify for a subsequent moratorium.
(11) The commissioner shall, within available appropriations, adopt regulations in
accordance with chapter 54 to carry out the purposes of this subsection. Such regulations
shall specify the procedure to be followed by a municipality to obtain a moratorium, and
shall include the manner in which a municipality is to document the units to be counted
toward a moratorium. A municipality may apply for a moratorium in accordance with
the provisions of this subsection prior to, as well as after, such regulations are adopted.
(P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; 89-311, S. 1, 4; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; 95-280, S. 1, 3;
P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1, S. 84; P.A. 99-261, S. 1−3; P.A. 00-206, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 89-311 effective July 1, 1990. (Note: P.A. 88-230 authorized substitution of "judicial district of Hartford"
for "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" in all 1989 public and special acts, effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 90-
98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the
effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-250 and
P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Housing with Commissioner and Department of Economic and
Community Development; P.A. 95-280 amended Subsec. (a) to revise the definition of "affordable housing development"
to require twenty-five per cent of units rather than twenty per cent be affordable for thirty rather than twenty years and to
add provision that income of eligible persons or families may be eighty per cent of the state median income; amended
Subsec. (b) to change appeal to the judicial district where the real property is located instead of the Hartford-New Britain
district and amended Subsec. (c) to add provision placing burden of proof on the commission to show that the application
would locate affordable housing in an industrial area not zoned for housing and that development is not assisted housing
and made technical changes, effective July 6, 1995, and applicable to affordable housing applications pending on that date
for which the commission has not rendered a decision; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1 amended Subsec. (a) by making a technical
change; P.A. 99-261 amended Subsec. (a) by adding that for at least thirty years after the initial occupation of the proposed
development the dwelling units shall be sold or rented at, or below, prices which will preserve the units as affordable
housing, and by adding the requirement that 10% of the deed-restricted units be set aside for families at or below 60% of
the area median income, effective June 29, 1999, and amended Subsec. (b) by adding further specification as to where all
appeals, including pretrial motions, shall be heard (Revisor's note: In codifying Subsec. (a) the Revisors editorially deleted
the designator "(i)" from the phrase "... of the proposed development, (i) such dwellings ..." to reflect the deletion of "(ii)"
by floor amendment to sHB 6834); P.A. 00-206 amended Subsec. (a) to redefine "affordable housing development" and
to add definitions in Subdivs. (6) to (8), inserted new Subsecs. (b) to (e), inclusive, re affordability plan, conceptual
site plan, maximum monthly housing cost and maximum percentage-of-income-for-housing requirement, respectively,
relettered former Subsecs. (b) to (e) as Subsecs. (f) to (i), amended Subsec. (g) re commission's burden of proof, amended
Subsec. (h) to add language re commission procedures to deal with modifications to applications and increase from forty-
five to sixty-five days the time period within which the commission must act, added new Subsec. (j) re powers and remedies
of commission under this chapter, relettering former Subsec. (f) as (k) and adding requirement that commissioner use the
most recent U.S. census, deleted former Subsec. (g) re certificate of affordable housing project completion and added
Subsec. (l) re moratorium.
Court held that legislature intended statute's appeals procedure to apply to defendant's legislative decision to grant or
deny a zone change in connection with an affordable housing proposal. 228 C. 498, 500, 503, 505−512, 516, 521, 524,
527. Cited. 232 C. 122−124, 126, 128, 129, 131−134, 139−141, 144, 147−149, 152−154, 165.
"The narrow rigorous standard of Sec. 8-30g dictates that the commission cannot deny an application on broad grounds
such as noncompliance with zoning." 37 CA 303, 304, 306, 307, 309, 311−314, 316−319, 321. Cited. Id., 788, 791−793,
800. Court construed language of section to apply to every type of application filed with a commission in connection with
an affordable housing project whether application is submitted to change zoning at a particular site or to build affordable
housing on land previously zoned for that purpose. 42 CA 94.
Subsec. (a):
Subdiv. (1)(A) cited. 228 C. 498, 499, 504. Subdiv. (1)(B) cited. Id., 498, 499, 504, 524, 525. Cited. Id., 498, 499, 520,
522, 526. Subdiv (2) cited. Id., 498, 506, 508. Subdiv. (1) cited. Id., 498, 519, 522, 523. Subdiv. (3) cited. Id., 498, 522,
523. Subdiv. (2) cited. 232 C. 122, 134, 137, 142−145, 147. Subdiv. (4) cited. Id., 122, 139. Subdiv. (1) cited. Id., 122,
142. Subdiv. (1)(A) cited. Id., 122, 143. Subdiv. (1)(B) cited. Id., 122, 143, 144, 146.
Subdiv. (1)(A) cited. 37 CA 788, 793. Subdiv. (1)(B) cited. Id., 788, 793, 795. Subdiv. (2) cited. Id., 788, 793, 800.
Subdiv. (4) cited. Id., 788, 800. Cited. 42 CA 94. Subdiv. (2) cited. Id.
Subsec. (b):
Cited. 232 C. 122, 129. Statute provides no right of direct appeal to Appellate Court from a final judgment of Superior
Court and, as in other zoning cases, such an appeal requires certification by Appellate Court as required in Sec. 8-8(o).
245 C. 257.
Subsec. (c):
Cited. 228 C. 498, 499, 505, 514, 516, 518, 520−522, 526, 527. Subdiv. (1) cited. Id., 498, 515. Subdiv. (2) cited. Id.,
498, 515, 519. Subdiv. (3) cited. Id., 498, 516, 519. Subdiv. (4) cited. 232 C. 122, 134, 137, 152. Subdiv. (2) cited. Id.,
122, 134, 152, 154, 162, 166. Subdiv. (3) cited. Id., 122, 134, 152, 166. Subdiv. (1) cited. Id., 122, 152. Cited. Id., 122,
157, 166.
Cited. 37 CA 303, 306, 307, 312, 320. Cited. 42 CA 94. Subdiv. (1) cited. Id. Subdiv. (2) cited. Id. Subdiv. (3) cited.
Id. Subdiv. (4) cited. Id.
Subsec. (d):
Cited. 228 C. 498, 526, 527.
Cited. 42 CA 94.
Subsec. (f):
Cited. 228 C. 498, 509, 519−521.
Subsec. (g):
Cited. 228 C. 498, 509, 519, 520.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)
(P.A. 95-280, S. 2, 3; P.A. 97-47, S. 16.)
History: P.A. 95-280 effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 97-47 substituted reference to the Freedom of Information Act for
list of sections.
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