House Bill No. 6369
               House Bill No. 6369

              PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-299


AN  ACT  CONCERNING  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  HOUSING
PROJECTS BY HOUSING AUTHORITIES.


    Be it enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section  8-64a  of  the  general  statutes  is
repealed and the  following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
    No housing authority  which  receives  or  has
received any state  financial assistance may sell,
lease, transfer or  destroy,  or contract to sell,
lease, transfer or destroy, any housing project or
portion thereof in  any case where such project or
portion thereof would  no  longer be available for
the  purpose of  low  or  moderate  income  rental
housing as a  result of such sale, lease, transfer
or  destruction,  except   the   Commissioner   of
Economic  and  Community   Development  may  grant
written approval for  the sale, lease, transfer or
destruction   of  a   housing   project   if   the
commissioner finds, after  a  public hearing, that
(1) the sale, lease, transfer or destruction is in
the  best  interest   of   the   state   and   the
municipality in which  the project is located, (2)
an  adequate supply  of  low  or  moderate  income
rental housing exists in the municipality in which
the project is  located, (3) THE HOUSING AUTHORITY
HAS DEVELOPED A PLAN FOR THE SALE, LEASE, TRANSFER
OR DESTRUCTION OF  SUCH  PROJECT  IN  CONSULTATION
WITH   THE   RESIDENTS   OF   SUCH   PROJECT   AND
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE  MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH SUCH
PROJECT  IS  SITUATED   AND   HAS   MADE  ADEQUATE
PROVISION FOR SAID RESIDENTS' AND REPRESENTATIVES'
PARTICIPATION IN SUCH  PLAN,  and  [(3)]  (4)  any
person who is  displaced  as a result of the sale,
lease, transfer or  destruction  will be relocated
to  a  comparable   dwelling  unit  OF  PUBLIC  OR
SUBSIDIZED HOUSING in  the  same  municipality  OR
WILL RECEIVE A  TENANT-BASED  RENTAL  SUBSIDY  and
will receive relocation  assistance  under chapter
135. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL CONSIDER THE EXTENT TO
WHICH THE HOUSING  UNITS  WHICH  ARE  TO  BE SOLD,
LEASED, TRANSFERRED OR  DESTROYED WILL BE REPLACED
IN WAYS WHICH MAY INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE LIMITED
TO, NEWLY CONSTRUCTED  HOUSING,  REHABILITATION OF
HOUSING WHICH IS  ABANDONED OR HAS BEEN VACANT FOR
AT LEAST ONE  YEAR, OR NEW FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL
TENANT-BASED  OR PROJECT-BASED  RENTAL  SUBSIDIES.
The commissioner shall  give  the residents of the
housing project or  portion thereof which is to be
sold,  leased, transferred  or  destroyed  written
notice of said  public hearing by first class mail
not less than  ninety  days before the date of the
hearing. Said written  approval  shall  contain  a
statement of facts  supporting the findings of the
commissioner. This section  shall not apply to the
sale, lease, transfer  or destruction of a housing
project pursuant to  the  terms  of  any  contract
entered into before  June  3,  1988.  This section
shall not apply to phase I of Father Panik Village
in Bridgeport and Elm Haven in New Haven.

Approved July 8, 1997