You asked if the current request for proposals (RFP) from the Connecticut Housing Finance Agency (CHFA) and the process CHFA has undertaken to meet redevelopment goals fulfill requirements of the law that authorized the redevelopment of New Britain's state financed moderate-income rental housing.

The Office of Legislative Research is not authorized to give legal opinions and this report should not be considered one.

SUMMARY

PA 03-6, June 30 Special Session, allowed the city of New Britain and its housing authority to redevelop certain state-financed moderate-income rental housing properties. It required the city to ensure the redevelopment process resulted in the number of units mandated under the act, and that those units met the act's various affordability requirements. The act also allowed New Britain's housing authority to sell, lease, or transfer the properties to the city of New Britain or a successor entity, authorizing a portion of the property to be used for non-housing uses. A CHFA subsidiary obtained title to all four properties in February 2004 and PA 04-2, May Special Session, codified CHFA's responsibilities for the properties' redevelopment, including meeting the unit replacement and affordability requirements of PA 03-6, JSS.

It appears that CHFA has followed the law's requirements thus far, but assessing the RFP is difficult because it is currently being revised. Additionally, redevelopment has not yet begun, but once it has, determining the extent to which the unit replacement and affordability requirements are being met will be possible.

CHFA's involvement progressed as follows. In 2003, the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) transferred its housing portfolio (for which it had oversight) to CHFA, and CHFA gave $ 85 million to the state in return, as authorized under PA 02-1 and PA 02-5 of the May 9 Special Session. The portfolio included the New Britain state-financed moderate-income rental housing developments.

PA 03-6, JSS, allowed New Britain's housing authority to sell four of these state-financed moderate-income rental projects for redevelopment to a qualified “successor entity. ” The act defined successor entity as a public body, including CHFA, that obtains title to, or control of, the developments. The city sold the developments to a CHFA subsidiary (giving it direct management of day-to-day operations) in February 2004. PA 04-2, May Special Session, in turn, specified (1) that CHFA is the successor entity to the New Britain Housing Authority; (2) actions CHFA must take, such as creating new local planning committee for redevelopment; and (3) that it must fulfill requirements under PA 03-6, JSS, in its redevelopment planning.

In 2006, CHFA sold one of the four developments to the city of New Britain, which has a redevelopment plan for the property. Another remains an elderly complex, which a CHFA hired firm manages, according to Peg Fitzgerald, CHFA legislative liaison. CHFA is currently overseeing the process of redeveloping the remaining two properties. It appears to have fulfilled the law's requirements thus far (e. g. , convening a new planning committee for the developments' redevelopment). However, redevelopment has not begun on a large scale (although CHFA has completed some improvements) because the local planning committee, and its sub-committee for choosing a developer, did not receive satisfactory proposals. CHFA will make requirements clearer for the developers and anticipates the new, revised RFP should be completed in early 2007.

AUTHORIZED REDEVELOPMENT OF NEW BRITAIN MODERATE-INCOME PROPERTIES

PA 03-6, JSS

This act authorized New Britain and its housing authority to redevelop four moderate rental developments: Corbin Heights, Corbin Heights Extension, Pinnacle Heights, and Pinnacle Heights Extension. The act authorized each redevelopment to include some market-rate housing in addition to the publicly assisted units, but required New Britain to produce at least 635 publicly assisted units upon the redevelopments' completion.

The act allowed the New Britain Housing Authority to redevelop each project without meeting requirements of certain public housing laws, including one-for-one unit replacement and a resident anti-displacement and relocation plan. Instead, it required compliance with (1) an approved housing redevelopment plan that the town completed with a local planning committee (March 2002) and the DECD commissioner approved under the act and (2) provisions of the act (e. g. , at least 635 units and affordability percentages).

The act required the city of New Britain to ensure the number of replacement units is consistent with the housing redevelopment plan. It also allowed New Britain's housing authority, in consultation with the city, the DECD commissioner, and the CHFA to sell, lease, transfer, or any combination thereof, all or part of the premises and buildings of the developments to a qualified sponsor. CHFA subsidiary, CPS Properties, Inc. , acquired title to the properties in February 2004.

PA 04-2, MSS

This act codifies CHFA as the successor entity to the New Britain Housing Authority. It allows CHFA to amend the approved redevelopment plan. But any amendment must be proposed and approved subject to the requirements of existing law for developing the original plan, which includes holding a public hearing and meeting the criteria to qualify for the DECD commissioner's approval. An amendment may not be submitted for approval or approved by the commissioner unless it is developed with the advice of, and in consultation with, the local planning committee.

The act requires (1) CHFA to convene a new local planning committee and (2) CHFA's executive director to designate the minimum number of committee members. The committee must include at least two residents of the developments, including residents selected by a resident association, and at least two representatives of organizations that advocate for public housing residents. In addition, each resident association of the affected developments may select one representative. CHFA's executive director designates the committee's chairperson.

The act requires CHFA to:

1. ensure that the residents of the housing developments can participate fully in the planning, review, and implementation process and

2. help residents get access to expertise in tenant outreach, training, organizing, legal rights, and housing policy to (a) promote their participation and (b) protect their interests.

It additionally allows the committee to propose amendments to the original housing redevelopment master plan authorized according to PA 03-6, JSS. To do so, the committee must hold at least one public hearing before approving any amendments, meeting certain public hearing notice requirements.

Finally, a record must be kept of all comments the committee receives (1) at the amendment hearings and (2) at the hearing on the redevelopment plan held before submitting it to the DECD commissioner for approval (as required for the original plan under existing law). A summary of all the oral and written comments must be sent to the commissioner with the amendment.

CHFA Oversight

CHFA convened the local planning committee, which consists of seven current residents of Corbin Heights and Pinnacle Heights Extension, four resident/housing advocates, three members of the New Britain business community, one representative of city government, and a representative of the owner (CPS), according to CHFA's December 19, 2006 staff report to its board of directors, “Corbin Heights and Pinnacle Heights Extension, New Britain: RFQ/RFP Process and Current Status. ” We are waiting for information from CHFA as to whether it amended the plan. We will contact you with any information as soon as we receive it.

Redevelopment has not begun on a large scale because the local planning committee, and its sub-committee for choosing a developer, did not receive satisfactory proposals from developers it selected. However, CHFA has completed some improvements of the properties, but nothing on a large scale, and sold one of the properties to the city of New Britain, according to Peg Fitzgerald, CHFA legislative liaison.

RFP PROCESS TIMELINE

According to CHFA's December 2006 report to its board, in October 2005 a Review Committee (a subset of the local planning committee CHFA convened) published a request for quotes that sought qualified developers interested in redeveloping the properties. In March 2006, the committee reviewed the potential developers and invited four to respond to an RFP. Three developers submitted proposals (a fourth responded initially, but dropped out). However, the submitting developers' proposals (1) were not within set budget limits, (2) did not adequately address community needs, and (3) did not offer viable financing plans.

CHFA is formulating a new RFP with clearer parameters that should be released to the same developers this Spring (2007). CHFA anticipates that it, along with a local planning committee, will review the proposals in the second quarter of 2007, with a transfer of the properties to the selected developer (including all day-to-day management responsibilities) in the first quarter of 2008, according to the report.

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