By Sarah Opdahl

On Thursday, August 27, New Fairfield’s Zoning Commission (Zoning or  Commission) held a special meeting with Town Attorney Ms. Patricia Sullivan to discuss and better understand 8-30g, Connecticut’s  Affordable  Housing  Land  Use  Appeals law. With many new members on the Commission, and 8-30g affordable housing applications routing through the system with more likely to follow, there was interest in a thorough read of the Commission’s restrictions or leeway on these projects.  What they learned was that their hands are tied in some ways but there is a gray area in which they can help guide some projects, plus times when the Town’s regulations can restrict some aspects of them.

Sullivan gave a broad explanation of Zoning’s role in reviewing 8-30g applications and examples for the various instances the  Commission can help to advise those seeking project approval. Though public health and safety regulations are the only grounds for denial, she said, “I would still bring [the Town’s] standards to the conversation,” encouraging members to “make suggestions to them about things that would comply with your regulations or things that you prefer.” Sullivan gave specific examples of potential public health and safety issues that would rank denial, but explained that the burden is on Zoning to explain in detail what constitutes the risk. For instance, if a developer wanted to build a many-storied building, but the Town didn’t own a fire truck with a ladder that goes that high, that could be a legitimate denial and request for modification of the application. There were a series of very specific member questions regarding a variety of possible projects that may or may not come before the  Commission, which Sullivan navigated under the same basic premise of where the particular instance fell on the issue of public health and safety.

A Zoning member wondered whether they were allowed to question another Town Board’s communication or approvals and were given the news from Sullivan that this is “not your authority,” essentially indicating that the boards and commissions should all stay in their own lanes.

Sullivan detailed the standard operating procedure for qualifying for affordable housing and explained that the percentage of units that must be affordable is at least 30%. She noted that Zoning can ask developers what the plan is to manage the affordable units, including reporting, and follow up on that plan in the future.

The Zoning members thanked Sullivan for her advice and expressed more confidence in moving forward when 8-30g applications arise.

The next regular Zoning Commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2, 7:30 p.m.