(As Amended)

"AN ACT CONCERNING HOUSING PRESERVATION. "

After the last section, add the following and renumber sections and internal references accordingly:

"Sec. 501. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2006) (a) As used in this section, "affordable housing development", "affordable housing application" and "commission" shall have the same meaning as in section 8-30g of the general statutes.

(b) (1) Any person intending to file an affordable housing application with a zoning commission, planning commission, planning and zoning commission, zoning board of appeals or municipal agency exercising zoning or planning authority shall, not more than three months before such filing, submit an affordable housing proposal to the commission. Such commission shall immediately notify the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management of the submission.

(2) Upon receipt of notification of the submission of a proposed affordable housing application to a commission, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall establish an affordable housing proposal review committee. Each such committee shall consist of (A) two members appointed by the secretary, one of whom shall be a representative of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association, selected from a list submitted by said association, and one a representative of the regional planning agency or regional council of governments that the municipality where the application was filed is a member, and (B) additional members appointed by the chief elected official of the municipality as follows: (i) A member of the legislative body; (ii) a member of the inland wetlands agency if the municipality has such an agency; (iii) a member of the conservation commission; (iv) an employee of the police department whose responsibilities include traffic; (v) an employee of the fire department; (vi) the planning and zoning administrator or the planning director; and (vii) the public works director or the engineer.

(3) The committee shall (A) evaluate the impact of the proposed affordable housing development on the municipality and its consistency with the plan of conservation and development of the municipality adopted under section 8-23 of the 2006 supplement to the general statutes, and (B) establish criteria for the following for the proposed affordable housing development: (i) Lot sizes or acceptable appropriate density of the project, (ii) building standards for the project, (iii) housing design that would be compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods, (iv) site design and landscaping that would enhance environmental quality, (v) data from the community that best represents that community's interest, (vi) identification of traffic problems before and after development and their impacts on the municipality, (vii) review and revision of the full scope of the proposed affordable housing development for consistency with the state plan of conservation and development adopted under chapter 297 of the general statutes, and (viii) protection of environmental assets critical to public health and safety, for consistency with the state plan of conservation and development adopted under chapter 297 of the general statutes.

(4) Such committee shall review the proposed affordable housing application in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (3) of this subsection and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the applicant, the secretary and the commission not more than three weeks after the date the committee received the proposed affordable housing application. The applicant may revise the affordable housing application based on the findings and recommendations of the committee but shall not be required to make such revisions.

Sec. 502. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2006) There is established an affordable housing review grant program which shall be administered by the Office of Policy and Management. Grants may be made to municipalities for review of affordable housing development applications pursuant to section 501 of this act. The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, for the administration of this section.

Sec. 503. (Effective July 1, 2006) The sum of ten thousand dollars is appropriated to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, for grants to municipalities pursuant to section 502 of this act. "