You wanted to know how close Milford is to obtaining a moratorium or an exemption from the affordable housing appeals procedure and where it would stand if all the affordable housing projects currently in the planning stage there were completed.

SUMMARY

Milford needs 440 points to earn a moratorium. Right now it has 129. 75 points. (Points are awarded depending on the number of affordable housing units developed in a town since 1990. )

If a newly approved project is constructed, the town's point total will rise to 269. 25 or about 60% of the points needed for a moratorium. (We are still exploring whether other developments may count toward this moratorium. If there are, we will update this report. ) Another developer is suing the town in an attempt to overturn the denial of his proposed apartment complex. If the developer wins the case (the outcome is uncertain) and the project comes to fruition, the town would reach 402. 75 points.

To qualify for an exemption from the appeals procedure, at least 10% of a town's housing stock must be affordable. Milford does not reach this threshold. Based on the annual exemption figures calculated by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), 5. 87% of Milford's housing stock is affordable. If the affordable units from the previously mentioned approved, but not completed, projects are added, Milford will have 6. 15% affordable units. The affordable units from the project in court would raise the town's percentage to 6. 47%, still short of the 10% goal.

THE MORATORIUM

Criteria

Towns qualify for a moratorium each time the total number of affordable units equals 2% of their housing stock as of the last 10-year census or 75 unit-equivalent points, whichever is greater. The law assigns unit-equivalent points to certain types of units based on their tenancy and level of affordability. The 2000 census shows Milford has 21,962 housing units; therefore 2% is 440 units.

Points are awarded only for (1) affordable housing developments receiving a certificate of occupancy after July 1, 1990 containing units with affordability restrictions or (2) units subject to deed restrictions since July 1, 1990 that require the units be sold or rented at restricted prices.

Points are assigned based on the income level for which the unit is restricted. Rented units weigh more heavily in the point system than sale units. Table 1 shows the point schedule.

Additional points are awarded for family rental affordable developments that were filed with local land-use commissions before July 6, 1995. Such developments get additional points equal to 22% of the development's total points under the standard point schedule.

Table 1: Housing Unit-Equivalent Point Schedule for Projects Completed Under the Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Procedure

*Family units are those with no age restrictions.

Milford's Position

Milford needs 440 points to earn a moratorium. Right now it has 129. 75 points. If a newly approved project is constructed, the town's point total will rise to 269. 25. Another apartment complex developer is suing the town in an attempt to overturn the denial of his project. If he wins (the outcome is uncertain) and the project comes to fruition, the town would reach 402. 75 points (see Table 2).

The developments completed and receiving a certificate of occupancy since 1990, are (1) Sara Nor, senior apartments; (2) Forest Glen, a lease-sale development with detached single-family homes; and (3) Fernwood Estates, a senior condominium development. (For details on the number of units and moratorium points calculated for each see Table 3. ) The Jefferson at Milford apartment complex was recently approved in court over the objections of the town using the affordable housing appeals procedure.

Table 2: Milford Completed Units and Potential Units That Could Count for an Appeals Moratorium

THE EXEMPTION

Qualifications

A town is exempt from the procedure if 10% or more of its housing stock is determined to be affordable. This is done by adding up the units that (1) received government assistance for construction or substantial rehabilitation or receive government rental assistance, (2) home mortgages financed by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, or (3) are subject to deed restrictions that require the property be sold or rented only to people earning 80% or less than the median income and who do not spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs.

Milford

Milford does not currently reach the 10% threshold. Based on the annual exemption figures calculated by DECD, 5. 87% of Milford's housing stock is affordable. If the affordable units from the previously mentioned approved, but not completed, projects are added in, Milford has 6. 15% affordable units. If the affordable project in court gets built, it would raise the town's percentage to 6. 47%, still short of the 10% goal.

The DECD calculation does not seem to include the 57 single-family homes that make up the Forest Glen development. DECD shows 17 deed-restricted units in Milford. Forest Glen has 57 homes that have restricted deeds and restricted leases for the land on which the homes sit. The restrictions only allow the houses and land to be purchased or leased, respectively, by low- or moderate-income people. A DECD official indicated the department bases its calculation on figures provided by the town. DECD only attempts to verify the numbers when a town has reached the threshold for an exemption.

Forest Glen was constructed under the state's community housing land bank and land trust program (CGS §§ 8-214b to 8-214d) through which affordable houses are sold to individuals while the land the house sits on remains owned by a nonprofit corporation that leases the land to the homeowner for 100 years. The deed includes affordability restrictions on the house's resale. The state provided funds to purchase the Forest Glen land, which helped reduce the overall project cost and made the houses more affordable for the new homeowners.

Table 3: Milford Affordable Housing Projects

(Constructed, Approved But Not Yet Constructed, Or Pending In Court)

JM: ro