Incentive housing zone plan is stalled for moment

CORNWALL — A proposal for an incentive housing zone (IHZ), long on the agenda of Planning and Zoning Commission meetings, was stalled at a May 11 meeting when a poll of commissioners came up with a split vote.

The commission was expected to decide whether or not to send an application for an IHZ on a specific property to the state.

With compelling arguments presented on both sides — and   a new 11th hour plan thrown into the mix — Planning and Zoning Chairman Pat Hare decided to table the matter. It will remain on the agenda of future meetings, but the extent to which it will be pursued remains to be seen.

The plan, initiated by the Northwestern Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative, calls for an overlay zone.

Allowed by recently enacted legislation, it is essentially spot zoning that gives towns an opportunity to allow the development of a specific piece of property in a very specific way. The incentive is a relaxing of zoning rules, such as minimum acreage, to encourage development of properties as towns dictate.

The state needs to approve a project. The zoning option, geared at cluster housing, cannot be applied to any other site in town without a separate application process. It also cannot be used at the designated site for a different project, without state and local approvals.

‘Not what we bought into’

About 35 people attended the May 11 meeting at Town Hall. It quickly became clear a majority of them were from Cornwall Bridge. They were mostly the same group that met the week before, along with members of a newly established housing committee, to talk about their concerns.

They feel “put upon by the rest of the town,� as Cornwall Bridge resident Jim Young summed it up.

He spoke of saving to buy his home here because of the protections provided by zoning regulations.

“I am absolutely against cluster housing,� he said. “Those are your rules and that’s what I bought into.�

Cornwall Bridge is the site of the subsidized Kugeman Village, at the south end of town, and a 10-unit senior housing complex planned for the center of town by the non-municipal Cornwall Housing Corporation.

Among the perceived drawbacks of dense housing sites are traffic safety and a negative impact on neighboring property values.

Jocelyn Ayer, a planning consultant with the grant-funded Northwestern Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative, has said in previous meetings on the proposed zone that all of the town centers were considered.

It just happened that a site that met all the requirements, including suitability for dense development and availability, is in Cornwall Bridge. The 18-acre site on the west side of Route 7, just north of the Route 45 intersection, is owned by Salisbury contractor John Bates, who is considering developing the land himself.

On the table is a plan to build 15 homes — 12 to be sold at market value and three under affordable housing guidelines as set by the state.

For the town, it is mainly about attracting young, middle-income families who are more likely to volunteer for vital services. The subject of a lack of affordable, low-maintenance housing for seniors who want to remain in Cornwall was also raised last week.

Ayer also spoke of the potential for the town to buy the property for another completely affordable home site.
 
 Wary of the new plan

Hare said he was “taken aback� by the sudden inclusion of a second proposed use for the property — one that the commission was hearing about that night for the first time.

“We’ve been focused on the 12/3 scenario for months, and suddenly there are all sorts of scenarios on the table,� he said, clearly upset.

Ayer said she proposed a second scenario in response to questions raised in the “neighbors’� meeting. Hare noted that Planning and Zoning members did not attend that meeting, so it could be kept as informal as possible. But the commission had also not been briefed about the meeting.

The IHZ was called a “tool� by Ayer and some commissioners. But Hare sought to make it clear that it cannot be used with broad strokes, and that there is a single project on the table for consideration.
 
 Might not make sense now

The public and the commission are still trying to get their minds around the process. It was reviewed once again to the extent that any overlay request is for a very specific project. Each request must be approved by the state.

What it may come down to is the approach is simply too much work and controversy for what might be no return at all. During discussion by the commission, it was noted that the property is much more valuable as the nine individual homesites for which it would qualify under regular zoning.

Hare, a professional planner, said when the housing market comes back, the first buyers will be looking for weekend homes. Affordable-home buyers will come later, making the proposed project not the best approach for a developer right now.

“It doesn’t make sense to add another layer of mistrust for a very uncertain gain,� Hare said.

According to Ayer, there is no deadline imposed by the state; the town can take as much time as it wants to make a consideration.

A consensus by commissioners was to seek more information on issues such as the housing market and traffic.