At its regular meeting on Thursday, February 24, the Board of Selectmen heard a presentation on a draft of a potential affordable housing plan.
Selectman Khris Hall announced that Friends in Service Helping (FISH) is now up and running. The goal of the organization, she said, is to provide rides for medical and dental appointments and in-town grocery and necessity shopping for those who do not have transportation. Contact information (website and phone number) is listed on the town’s website.
Ms. Hall began the discussion of an affordable housing plan draft by stating that it is something that the State is requiring towns to submit by June. She said the BoS is working with the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WESCOG) to submit the draft. She stated that WESCOG has provided a template to its member towns and did much of the information gathering on New Fairfield’s housing demographics for use in the plan. In addition to that information, Ms. Hall said she added information on housing values in town as well as an outline of what the current plans are for affordable housing.
Ms. Hall said that, currently, the town plans to set up a 5- to 7-member Housing Opportunities Committee made up of a cross section of New Fairfield residents. She said there will also be 3 ex-officio members representing the Planning Commission, Zoning Commission, and the Board of Selectmen. The committee will be tasked with analyzing the affordable housing issue to find creative solutions and determine how the town can do better. She noted that currently there is a state requirement that 10% of every town’s housing stock must be deemed “affordable”. Currently, only 1.29% of New Fairfield housing is deemed affordable, based on the state’s metrics.
She acknowledged that it will “take a long time to get anywhere close to 10%, but we have to do better than 1.29%.” Ms. Hall stressed that there are no preconceived notions of what will ultimately be determined regarding affordable housing in town, and no plan, she said, of putting an affordable housing high rise at the corner of Route 37 and Saw Mill Road. She noted that New Fairfield is not the only town in this position and that other towns have already put in a lot of work on the subject that the committee may be able to leverage to some degree.
Ms. Hall noted that the reasons for doing this are twofold. First, she said simply that it is the right thing to do. Secondly, she said this is the way for the town to control its own destiny. She said that if the town, and other towns across the state, cannot come up with workable plans, they face a potential state mandate that will impose its own plan for affordable housing and the form it will take on towns.
State Representative Pat Callahan also spoke on the matter. He noted that at last year’s House session, the legislature came very close to passing more affordable housing mandates that would have taken control of the matter out of the municipalities’ hands, and that it very likely could be revisited again this year. While he said the state does not expect towns to get to the 10% mark overnight, he said that it would be wise for towns to “get ahead” of the issue by developing and instituting plans to get them there.
The Board then voted unanimously to approve the plan and the institution of the committee.
In her COVID-19 update, First Selectman Pat Del Monaco noted that the case rate in New Fairfield is down to 5.7 per 100,000. She also noted that 80% of New Fairfield residents are now fully vaccinated. She also said that PCR testing is available Monday-Friday at Company A Firehouse community room from 9:00-4:00. She said the testing comes at no cost to either the town or the public. To make an appointment, go to curative.com. There will also be a phone number posted on the town’s website.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be Thursday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m.
By Greg Slomba