GOSHEN — Proving that it takes more than a village to solve the Northwest Corner’s affordable housing crisis, about 80 people, including state and local officials, regional housing groups, representatives of nonprofit organizations, housing advocates and residents gathered on Tuesday, Oct. 18, to kick off a Litchfield County Housing Affordability Summit.
The purpose of the event, sponsored by the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity (LC-CHO) and held at the site of renovated units at Goshen Housing Trust property, was to “facilitate a regional response” to presenting affordable housing in Litchfield County, according to Jocelyn Ayer, LC-CHO’s director.
“It’s a big and urgent challenge,” she said, addressing the crowd. Ayer noted that the goal is for attendees to “learn from each other and figure out how we can all work together to do this.”
The two-hour event, which started with a keynote address by Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno of the Connecticut Department of Housing (CDH), also included an awards presentation to three individuals from Salisbury and Kent for their dedication to their communities in the quest to bring affordable rental units and home ownership to full-time residents.
Seed funding from DOH
Mosquera-Bruno noted that volunteers can only do so much, and if they don’t have adequate funding, “it can take years” for projects to proceed. The commissioner then announced that help is on the way from the DOH in the form of $500,000 in seed funding that can be used for capacity building and expenses like architectural plans and soil sampling, as well as shared project manager support.
“I want to come back for those ribbon-cutting ceremonies, which I am waiting for,” she told the crowd.
Nandini Natarajan, CEO of the quasi-public Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, outlined CHFA resources available to communities, including its Time To Own Program. The Litchfield County population, on average is older, the housing market is competitive, houses for sale are selling three times faster and when they do sell, they are “well above the asking price,” Natarajan noted. Also, younger people tend to live with their families longer, she said.
“So what if we celebrate what makes the Northwest Corner of Connecticut unique,” like the “amazing work that is going on across the region,” instead of framing the challenges in a negative light, she said.
One approach, said Natarajan, is “investing in where we live. Housing is inherently intersectional. It exists so that all the other parts of our life can exist as well.”
Two achievement awards and a YIMBY
The program also included awards presentations to three individuals from Salisbury and Kent.
The YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) award was presented to Jim Dresser, a longtime housing advocate and former Salisbury selectman who, in May, donated a 5.3 acre parcel of land adjacent to his property near the town village to the Salisbury Housing Committee (SHC) for the construction of 18 to 20 affordable rental units.
“Jim is dogged in his pursuit of creating housing options in his community,” Ayer said.
Dresser recalled a gathering of the Salisbury Forum in 2000, which initially addressed the shortage of affordable rental units in town.
“It was identified as the most important problem facing the town of Salisbury. While that was what people would put on paper, it didn’t happen for various reasons.” He said he is glad to see a recent sea change in the public’s perception of affordable housing.
Longtime affordable housing advocates Virginia Bush Suttman of Kent and Anne Kremer of Salisbury were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Bill Bachrach, who is on the board of directors for Kent Affordable Housing, accepted Suttman’s award as she was out of state visiting relatives. He credited Suttman, the group’s president emerita, for her “tireless work to expand affordable housing opportunities,” over the past 15 years, from crafting knit hats to raise funds for the effort, to measuring and installing shelf liners in new apartment kitchens.
“Virginia sets an example for all of us because she walks the walk,” having recently established a second accessory apartment in an outbuilding on her property, noted Bachrach.
Peter Halle, co-president of the nonprofit Salisbury Housing Committee (SHC), accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award for Kremer, who had led SHC for the past decade. “At that time, we had 22 units. We now have 39, with another 10 approved and we expect to break ground later this year.”
Mia Dirocco
Detention at Housatonic has changed little over the past few years, but new issues such as the use of artificial intelligence to cheat on assignments have prompted some students and teachers to ask if it’s time for disciplinary strategies to change.
From flex period detention to car privilege suspension, the impact different disciplinary actions have on student behavior varies. For some students, detention was simply an inconvenience.
After exceeding a certain amount of tardies, senior Hunter Conklin had his car parking privileges suspended for a week, along with an afterschool detention. “I ended up being more late to school every day, and I had no way to get to work after school,” he said.
When it comes to punishment for more common problems, the school administration sees detention as highly effective. According to Vice Principal Steven Schibi, “We don’t have too many repeat offenders. About 90% of the students who get issued detention for tardiness usually don’t have any more infractions.” Since having detention, Conklin noted his tardies to school have been less frequent.
For small scale issues, detention along with other methods of punishment is fairly effective. But as the use of AI becomes increasingly frequent, it raises a crucial question to Housatonic’s disciplinary practices: does a new problem require a new solution?
Senior Cohen Ceccinato has gone to detention for plagiarism three times. He said he wasn’t sure if the discipline was effective or not, but said detention didn’t feel like much of a punishment.
“I haven’t had one [a detention] since the third one, so maybe it got to me,” he said. “I think other forms of punishment would be better, because you weren’t really being punished.” Ceccinato has not plagiarized in over a year since his last detention.
Detention rates for plagiarism are rapidly rising, teachers said. English teacher Damon Osora has been running after school detention for about eight years. He said he’s noticed the use of artificial intelligence becoming a more serious issue. “In the humanities classes, AI is behind a majority of the referrals that teachers in those departments make,” hesaid.
With a problem so new, administrators have had to find a way to respond to the issue almost overnight. And as artificial intelligence use continues to grow, administrators are wondering if strategies need to change. Schibi said administrators are expected to discuss the issue soon.
“It’s something I think we are looking at for next year,” he said.
Osora said the use of artificial intelligence is an academic problem as opposed to a behavioral one, and that it requires a different approach than detention or typical discipline strategies.
“It makes what I think is an academic problem look like a behavioral problem. Detention should not be used in response to problems that are academic in nature,” Osora stated. “I don’t think we should treat it as a thing that needs to be punished. I think we need to work on educating people about it.”
Peter Austin
Housatonic junior Sophia Fitz organized a schoolwide protest on Friday, Jan. 30, in which students were invited to wear black or take a vow of silence to show their support for the Minnesota ICE protests.
The demonstration highlighted the political divides inside the school, prompting questions about division among the student body.
Over 70 students responded to a survey asking them to rank their political awareness and how politics affected them in school. The results show that, of the respondents, Housy students generally rank themselves as having high political awareness and generally care more about politics, but are more divided on how they feel within school.
Students were asked to rank things like political awareness, engagement, and how they feel affected by politics in school and on social media.
The first questions asked respondents to rank political awareness and how much they care about politics, with most students responding with a 4 or a 5.
One anonymous surveyor says, “I think people who think that politics should be kept completely out of school are using that as justification for ignoring having difficult conversations. It is our duty to make people aware of these types of things, even if they disagree.”
Next, students were asked how much other students’ posts on social media influence the political climate inside school, and whether this was generally more positive or negative.
Illustration by Peter Austin
The responses are relatively equal, and students that ranked influence as a 4 or 5 generally believed its influence to be much more negative than those that ranked it as a 3 or less.
Students were asked to rank the extent to which they felt that political issues affected the learning environment and their relationships with their classmates. Students generally feel like the learning environment is not very affected while remaining mostly neutral on whether it affects their relationships with their classmates.
“Teachers should be talking about politics more with all their students to make them aware,” says one anonymous responder.
The last question asked students if knowing somebody else’s political views changed how they viewed them.
Illustration by Peter Austin
These responses have the highest variability by far, with over 50% of responses greater than 3 and over 30% less than 3.
One anonymous respondent says, “I know some people’s lives [revolve] entirely around politics and refuse to be friends or associate with anybody with a different political view and I’m like dude it’s not that deep. I don’t care as long as someone’s agenda isn’t pushed into my face.”
Although it can sometimes be difficult to gain an understanding of a political climate, analyzing student actions and running surveys can give a good insight. Students at Housatonic are generally aware of political issues in the world, and these issues often influence how we interact both inside and outside of school.
Peter Austin
As the cold, dreary months of winter melt away, Housatonic students continue to participate in the activities that keep them from the grips of winter boredom. A survey sent to students asked about their favorite activities, and the results show a great diversity within the student population.
In the survey, participants were asked to check any box that applied, and were invited to offer their own specific response at the end of each question, which many chose to do.
The most popular activities were in ‘Entertainment’, where over 80% of respondents indicated that they watched movies, about 60% saying they use social media or YouTube, and about 50% saying that they play video games or read.
Many also said they worked at some job, with babysitting, service, and agriculture gaining the most responses. Specific student responses included healthcare, church volunteering, lifeguarding, and junior firefighting.
Despite the cold weather and unrelenting snow, students were not discouraged from spending time doing outdoor sports, with hiking, and skiing or snowboarding gaining about 25% of responses each. Other popular sports include swimming, basketball, weightlifting, or running, while about 30% indicated that they participated in no winter sports. Other specific responses include esports, gymnastics, wrestling, tennis, or horseback riding.
While about 40% of students indicated that they participated in no creative activities, the ones that did expressed a great diversity in their interests.
Drawing, painting, photography, writing and journaling, and writing, playing, or recording music all gained above 20% of student responses, showing that students often participate in a large number of creative activities. Film, theater, dance, and singing all received around 10% of responses, and specific responses include knitting and crocheting, crafts, sewing, and baking.
Throughout the cold winter months, it can often be difficult to stay busy and entertained when confined to the indoors. However, students at Housatonic often find unique ways to fill their time and represent a diverse array of hobbies and interests in the school.
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Alec Linden
Two “Ranch” style homes sit side by side below the slopes of Haystack Mountain.
NORFOLK — The Northwest Corner is set to receive 10 new affordable homeownership opportunities before summertime as construction at the Haystack Woods development nears completion.
The Foundation for Norfolk Living hosted its third open house for the new development on March 14, seeking to draw applications for the remaining unclaimed properties.
Five of the houses have already received applications, though none of the sales will close until after construction finishes, anticipated for early May.
The development, which sits below the forested slopes of Haystack Mountain approximately half a mile from downtown Norfolk, broke ground last May with the promise of a homeownership model that is both sustainable and affordable. The homes will be powered entirely by solar panels set on the broad roofs of two carport structures, which will be equipped with a parking bay, storage unit and electric vehicle charging port for each house. The Foundation has described Haystack Woods as a “Net Zero” community as it will power its own energy needs.
Foundation Chair Kate Johnson, who was greeting prospective buyers as they drove up on Saturday afternoon, said that the energy model requires residents to pay a monthly hookup fee — “$10, plus or minus a few” — but nothing further. She estimated homeowners at Haystack Woods will save approximately $5,000 in energy each year.
“It’s going to enable people who live at Haystack Woods to manage their budgets,” said Foundation Vice Chair Avice Meehan, who also helped guide tours of the almost complete homes. “They won’t be seeing the spikes in heating like the rest of us do.”
Johnson gestured at the array of structures, emphasizing that the “shells” of the buildings were also designed to be energy efficient, meaning residents also won’t be using as much in the first place.
There are three home styles on offer at Haystack Woods, all single-family: a single story, two-bedroom “Ranch” design, a two story, three-bedroom “Cape” house and a broad two story, three-bedroom layout called the “Two Story.” Pricing, which ranges from $159,000 to $261,000, will be based on design and the homeowner’s income.
Applicants for any of the homes must earn below 80% of Litchfield County’s Area Median Income, known as the AMI, while some units are reserved for those who make under 60% of the AMI. Anyone in the household must also have not owned a home in the past three years, and the home must be a primary residence.
The Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity, a region-wide affordable housing advocacy group, is supporting applicants as they navigate early homeownership, including with financial planning and considerations.
The complex, which is arranged across two cul-de-sac style lanes, is built on a 39-acre plot that once housed a gravel pit. Over half of the parcel has been dedicated as conserved land, and is currently under permanent protection by the Norfolk Land Trust.
Alec Linden
SHARON — New regulations are out for review after a neighborhood dispute surrounding chickens late last year highlighted a lack of clarity in the town’s zoning code regarding farms.
Sharon Valley Road residents Letitia and Brian Brazee brought a complaint to Town Hall in the fall of 2025 about nuisance chickens on a neighboring property. Central to the complaint were questions about what constitutes a “farm” in the town’s zoning regulations.
Following months of deliberation and rewrites, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted at its regular meeting on Wednesday, March 11, to forward its draft revisions of the farm regulations for review by the commission’s attorney Steven Byrne and the Northwest Hills Council of Governments.
In the current regulations, farms are allowed as of right in any zone for a parcel of three acres or greater, so long as manure or other “offensive material” is stored at least 100 feet from property lines and no commercial slaughter — except for animals raised on the property — may occur.
The draft amendment keeps the existing language but adds a series of conditions that primarily regulate the construction of buildings on farm properties. Under the proposed language, any construction on such properties will require a zoning permit that includes a “Farm Use Statement” detailing a site plan for the property and the intended usage of the land and/or any structures.
Also included in the changes is a stipulation that chickens, rabbits or ducks may be kept on properties under three acres in residential zones, with a number of conditions: the lot must be at least three-quarters of an acre; residents may keep no more than six chickens or rabbits and no more than four ducks; and free-range husbandry will not be allowed. Coops also must comply with established setbacks.
The current code does not address the issue of owners of small parcels keeping these types of animals, and the addition to the zoning regulations is meant to directly address that gap.
Other fowl, including roosters, guinea hens, peacocks, geese and pheasants are expressly prohibited in the rewrite.
Casey said the draft language is subject to change based on the reviews from Attorney Byrne and the NHCOG. P&Z will bring finalized drafts to a public hearing and an eventual town vote before the changes can be adopted.
Alec Linden
The proposed tunnel would be installed just beyond the current crosswalk, providing a safer way for Salisbury School students and staff to cross the busy roadway.
SALISBURY — Town officials are reviewing plans for a pedestrian tunnel beneath Route 44 at Salisbury School.
The underground walkway would provide a safe connection for students and staff between the school’s main campus south of the highway and the sports fields and boathouse between the road and Washinee Lake.
At the March 9 meeting of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, engineers representing the school outlined the proposal, which would place the tunnel just west of the pedestrian sidewalk currently in use. As the tunnel construction would displace 700-square feet of wetland soils, the project requires the Commission’s signoff to move forward.
The engineers clarified that the disturbed area, while technically containing wetland soils, is a grassy lawn that is mowed and maintained by Salisbury School staff.
Commissioners agreed that they need more information before they can render a decision, and asked the applicant to return for the IWWC’s next meeting on March 23.
In the interim, Vice Chair Larry Burcroff and commissioner Russ Conklin said they would perform an informal site visit, and the engineers representing the project promised to review the plans directly with the town engineer Tom Grimaldi for his signoff.
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