REPORT OF THE BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION TO STUDY AFFORDABLE HOUSING

 

 

 

 

February __, 2000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 1

 

 

 

Letter sending the report to the Governor and Legislature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Commission Charge

 

Membership

 

Subcommittees

 

Recommendations

 

Findings

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION AND PROCESS

 

Charge (Attachment 1: Copy of Special Act Creating Commission)

 

Membership (Attachment 2: Commission Membership List)

 

Subcommittees (Attachments 3-6: Subcommittee Reports)

 

Administrative Support

 

Meeting Dates and Topics  (In table format)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

PROMOTING HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH ZONING

 

1. Require the Department of Economic and Community Development to prepare model affordable housing zoning regulations.

 

a.     The model regulations must encompass the essential elements that are needed to ensure that the requirements and intent of CGS 8-2’s provision regarding housing opportunities are adhered to, as definition of terms, affordability plan, enforcement mechanism, covenants or deed restrictions, and procedural matters the statutes requires.

 

b.     The model regulations must not dictate design and density requirements.

 

c.      The model regulations should state that municipalities that adopt them will be presumed to have workable procedural rules for affordable housing administration and enforcement.

 

2.     Require each towns to adopt by a 2002 zoning regulations that encourage housing opportunities for multi-family dwelling and that promote housing choice and economic opportunity for low- and moderate-income households.

 

3. The Housing Committee shall conduct a study to determine if each town’s multi-family zoning regulations provide realistic opportunities for developing this type of housing and whether the town’s affordable and low-and moderate-income housing zoning regulations can actually be used to develop this type of housing.  

 

CHANGES REGARDING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING LAND USE APPEALS PROCEDURE

 

Definitional Changes and Clarifications

 

1. Delete the cross reference in CGS § 8-30g to the definition of affordable housing in CGS § 8-39a, but incorporate the substance of that definition in CGS § 8-30g.

 

2. Explicitly define set-aside development in CGS § 8-30g and use that term wherever a distinction must be made between assisted housing (i.e., government funded) and set-aside housing.

 

3. Clarify that the “area median income” or “state median income” referred to in CGS Sec. 8-30g is the median income determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

 

4. CGS § 8-30g is the median income determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

 

5. Clarify that the housing need that must be addressed under CGS § 8-30g is a regional need, not a local or statewide need.

 

Affordable Housing Project Eligibility Criteria

 

1.     Increase from 25% to 30% the percentage of affordable units needed to constitute a set-aside project under CGS 8-30g.

 

2.     Increase from 10% to 15% the percentage of units in a set-aside project that must be sold or rented to persons or families whose income is less than or equal to 60% of the lesser of the state or the area median income.

 

3.     Require that no rental unit at the 60% affordability level in a set-aside project shall be priced higher than the lesser of the maximum rent level currently allowed or 100% of the HUD-determined fair market rent for the area.

 

4.     Require that no rental unit at the 80% affordability level in a set-aside development shall be priced higher than the lesser of the maximum rent level currently allowed or 120% of the HUD-determined fair market rent for the area. 

 

5.     Prohibit the owner of a set-aside project from imposing maximum percentage of income requirements on tenants receiving governmental rental assistance that are more restrictive than those permitted under the program providing the assistance.

 

6.     Extend from at least 30 years to at least 50 years from initial occupancy the period during which non-assisted affordable units in a set-aside project must be subject to covenants or deed restrictions.

 

Procedural Changes

 

1. Allow local land use commissions to adopt regulations requiring applicants for a zone change connected with a proposed set-aside project to submit a conceptual site plan showing:

 

a.     the total number of units to be developed;

 

b.     how they will be arranged on the proposed site; and

 

c.      the roads, traffic circulation, sewage disposal, and water supply.

 

2. Require applicants seeking land use approvals for proposed set-aside projects to submit an Affordability Plan that has the following elements:

 

a.     The person or organization responsible for administering the plan, including complying with income limits and sale or rental restrictions during the period specified in the covenants or deed restrictions place on the affordable unit.

 

a.     Affirmative fair marketing procedures governing the sale or rental of the units.

 

b.     An example of how the sale or rental prices of the affordable units will be calculated.

 

c.      A description of the sequence in which the affordable units will be built and offered for occupancy and the general location of these units within the proposed development.

 

3. The economic and community development commissioner shall adopt regulations that at a minimum must:

 

a.     Establish criteria for preparing an affordability plan.

 

b.     Develop a formula for determining rent levels and sale prices, including maximum allowable down payments in the calculation of maximum allowable sales prices.

 

c.      Clarify the costs that are to be included when calculating maximum allowed rents and home sale prices.

 

d.     Clarify how family size and bedroom counts are to be equated when establishing maximum rental and home sale prices for the affordable units.

 

4. When deciding an appeal under CGS § 8-30g, the court must determine, as a matter of law, whether the commission has met the last three elements of CGS 8-30g(c)(1) regarding the burden of proof.

 

5. Change the procedure for resubmitting to a local land use commission a modified affordable housing project application that the commission initially denied as follows:

a.     Require the commission to determine the date of receipt of the modified application the same way it determined the date for the original application.

 

b.     Require the commission to hold a public hearing on a modified application only if it held a hearing on the original application; otherwise allow the commission to hold the hearing at its discretion.

 

c.      Extend the time period during which the commission must decided the modification (or modified application) from within 45 days to within 65 days after its receipt.

 

d.     If the inland wetlands agency must act on the modification before the commission, the commission has up to 35 days from after that the wetlands agency acted to decide modification. 

 

6. Specify that zoning commissions or their designated authorities can use the powers and remedies provided under CGS 8-12 to enforce the provisions of 8-30g.

 

Moratoria

 

Change the provisions in CGS § 8-30g providing moratoria on affordable housing appeals as follows: 

 

1.     Increase the time period for a moratorium on affordable housing project appeals from one to three years.

 

2.     Towns qualify for the moratorium they earn housing unit-equivalent points that equal 2% of the total housing units reported in the latest U.S. census or 75 unit-equivalent points.

 

3.     Units will receive points based according to the following schedule:

 

                      *Family units are those for which no age restrictions have been imposed.

 

4.     Units count toward the moratorium threshold when they receive their certificates of occupancy or when newly implemented long-term deed restrictions on already existing housing take effect.

 

5.     Points would be earned toward a moratorium net of demolition and net of actions that decrease and/or eliminate affordability.

 

6.     Moratoria do not apply to proposed projects receiving government funds if 100% of the units are at the 60% affordability level.  But each unit in these projects earns points according to the schedule above and counts toward subsequent moratoria.

 

7.     Moratoria do not apply to projects receiving government funds to build 40 units or less.

 

State Incentives to Towns where Affordable Housing was built

 

1.     The state should create an Affordable Housing Fund to reward towns where new affordable housing was built.  It should allocate the funds based on the housing unit equivalent schedule used to determine a town’s eligibility for a moratorium.

 

2.     Towns where the number of affordable units increases by 2% of the total housing stock receive priority for open space funds.

 

3.     The state will provide increased technical to towns that want to build affordable housing but do not have the staff to draft the plans. 

 

HOUSING PROGRAMS

 

Restore Capital Financing for Developing and Rehabilitating Affordable Housing

 

1. The state should create a housing trust fund and capitalize it with $50 million from the FY 2000 surplus.

 

2. The state should establish housing and community development policies that have clear priorities and investment strategies.  These policies must include provisions that:

 

a.      Affirmatively further racial and economic integration, including expanding multi-family rental housing opportunities in suburban and rural communities.

 

b.     Provide for the revitalization of urban neighborhoods, including expanding homeownership and increasing multi-family rehabilitation in the central cities.

 

c.      Provide a full range of supportive housing options for people with special needs or who are at risk of becoming homeless.

 

3. The state should create a unified, flexible housing and community development program within the Department of Economic and Community Development by consolidating existing categorical programs.  It should do this by:

 

a.     Establishing principles for operating these programs and holding them accountable.

 

b.     Providing a full range of financing tools, including low-interest loans and grants that can be used for construction, gap, and long-term financing.

 

c.      Using nonprofit, community-oriented organizations to implement the programs and funding community loan funds.

 

d.     Facilitating public-private partnerships and using state funds to leverage private dollars.

 

e.     Providing one, simple point for applying to housing assistance programs.

 

4. The state should promote comprehensive, community-based planning by:

 

a.     Funding local planning initiatives.

 

b.     Building on state and federal processes such as continuum of care, enterprise communities, and neighborhood revitalization zones.

 

c.      Annually funding training and technical assistance for nonprofit development organizations, allowing them to build the capacity to develop and manage housing.

 

Close the Gap Between Income, Rent, and Homeownership

 

1. The state should increase funds for the Rental Assistance Program by $30 million to serve an additional 5,000 households, restore the participant’s share to 30% of income, and raise the fair market rents to no less than those used under the federal Section 8 program.

 

2. The state should appropriate $20 million to a “housing plus” program that should serve 2,000 households in extreme need by linking rent subsidies to supportive services.  

 

3. The state should reduce reliance on housing assistance by adopting policies that assure that the people have adequate incomes.  The policies must promote good jobs paying living wages and providing full benefits. State agencies must provide incentives that promote self-sufficient wage jobs that will actually close the gap between income, rent, home purchase for full-time under paid low wage workers.  The incentives must:

 

a.     Make sure that state development deals specify wage and benefit and hour requirements.

 

b.     Require that that as many jobs as possible be full-time.

 

c.      Insure that workers can form a union in a simplified manner and free of employer resistance. 

 

Fund Services that Promote Housing Choice and Success

 

1.     The state should appropriate funds for the full range of services needed to assure that the housing market functions fairly and efficiently, and that families and individuals succeed in their housing.  The table below lists the services and the annual appropriation:

 

        *The $2 million for the program is to leverage $8 million from federal and other sources.

 

Protect Existing Housing Assets and Expand Opportunities

 

1. With respect to public housing:

 

a.     Repeal CGS § 8-70a, which creates a pilot program for selling or leasing moderate rental housing projects.

 

b.     Provide flexible one-for-one replacement requirements.

 

c.      Provide operating support for state-assisted public housing so that rents do not exceed 30% of residents’ incomes.

 

d.     Require grievance procedure and tenant participation mechanisms in state-assisted public housing and appropriate state dollars to support tenant organizations.

 

2. With respect to fair housing:

 

a.     Add fair housing analysis to the existing site selection decision making.

 

b.     Establish development funding set-asides for housing initiatives in towns that are not exempted from the affordable housing land use appeals procedure.