By Sarah Opdahl

At their Tuesday, July 2 meeting, New Fairfield’s Housing Opportunities Committee (HOC) met with members of the New Fairfield Housing Trust to determine how they might collaborate. Housing Trust President Ms. Maureen Salerno gave a great deal of background on the group’s activities, from their formation to their current efforts. The groups pla n to continue working together going forward.

Salerno, who is also Chair of the Town’s Commission on Aging, explained that the Trust was developed in 2012 following a well-attended forum on “elder housing.” She gave a detailed report on the early excitement surrounding the Trust and the large amount of work that went into planning for affordable senior housing on a parcel behind Meeting House Hill School. The land is owned by the Town, making it attractive in development discussions. However, their hopes were quickly dashed when the plan they developed was met with heavy resistance, “we had a public meeting that was standing room only. That meeting was not a positive meeting and all the people from [neighboring] Oakwood Acres were very, very upset.”

The Trust is active, with Salerno saying, “I’ve had several investors approach us but unfortunately nothing ever materialized from that. People came to us, they had money, they had a dream, they had a piece of property, but nothing ever really came to fruition. We are still very, very devoted to affordable elder housing, this is how we started and this is pretty much our focus at this time.” Salerno said the Trust’s mission “is to provide affordable elderly housing opportunities in the town of New Fairfield. Only persons who are 62 years of age or older who earn at or below 80% of the area median income can be considered for this opportunity. New Fairfield Housing Trust uses every available public and private financing program to achieve this goal. The Trust’s mission is to help address the unmet housing needs of the towns.”

She said the Trust members were more enthused in recent years, given the development of the HOC.

Salerno was asked if the Trust would consider working with the HOC on housing that is not restricted to seniors and Salerno explained that she thinks they “would try to be as open and flexible as possible,” however, “we think elderly housing is the biggest need.” It was noted that there is money available at the state and federal level, which  is largely targeted for non-age-restricted housing and affordable housing that was designated for any age, but would also be available for seniors.

The group briefly discussed opportunities, such as buying homes that are in foreclosure and splitting homes into multiple units and underscored that the financial aspects of acting on these options can be best handled through the Trust, which is a non-profit. There are many Litchfield County towns that are satisfying state affordable housing requirements that are in many ways similar to New Fairfield without extensive public water and sewer systems. Housing Consultant Ms. Jocelyn Ayer reminded members, “New Fairfield is open to 830G [an affordable housing state statute] and a lot of the local housing nonprofits utilize a friendly 830G process to get zoning approval for their developments that are done by neighbors in a way that is attractive to the neighborhood.”

The groups are forming a housing project committee, which will include  members from both the HOC and the Trust. Ayer said the group could include “residents who have their eyes and ears open. Some of them are realtors. Some of them are in the fire department. Just people who know people in town and can keep their eyes out f or any possibilities in terms of buildings that might go on the market for below market rates or pieces of land.” Once properties get purchased and real planning begins, Ayer said she has seen such groups “really dig in” on projects and the committee will likely attract more membership. The partnership will begin with a combined fact sheet on the two committees, which will include an explanation of needs and ways residents can help. They will also hold a public forum in the coming months.

In other HOC  news, Chair Ms. Anita Brown reminded members of the upcoming Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting at which they will present the revised Affordable Housing Plan on August 8 at 7:30 p.m. The revised plan includes suggested plan changes from both the BOS and the Zoning Commission.

Brown highlighted r ecent developments in Zoning regarding a potential 55+ housing project that is working its way through regulations. The project is of particular interest to this group as a lot-size change is needed in the regulations, going down in needed acreage, which would possibly open up the same opportunity on similar properties.

The next Housing Opportunities Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 6, 7:30 p.m.