SALISBURY — The Salisbury Housing Committee presented its newest affordable housing proposal at a special meeting of the Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission on Thursday, Feb. 4.
The meeting was for informational purposes. The public hearing on the proposal will take place before the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The meeting was rescheduled from Jan. 27, when the online format was unable to handle the number of people who wished to log in (more than 100).
This time around, the commission used a “webinar” format that could accommodate up to 500 people.
Only the panelists were visible on screen, and there was no chat room. Questions were submitted using the “Q and A” button.
At one point Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission Chair Jennifer Kronholm Clark counted 10 panelists and 151 people signed in, for a total of 161.
The Salisbury Housing Committee is a private nonprofit organization that owns Sarum Village and Faith House. The Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission is a town commission, with members appointed by the Board of Selectmen.
Overview of housing options
Mary Close Oppenheimer gave an overview of the town’s affordable housing plan (available on the town’s website) and noted that as of now Salisbury has 2.1% of its housing stock in the “affordable housing” range.
Jim Dresser, a commission member, said that there are a limited number of sites in town for affordable housing, adding that a primary consideration is access to town water and sewer.
The Salisbury Housing Committee made a presentation in January to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Jocelyn Ayer, speaking for the committee, said the application was submitted Feb. 4.
The proposal is for 12 apartments: seven one-bedroom, four two-bedroom, one three-bedroom, on three floors.
This new iteration of the project has a substantially different look. Ayer said a Federal style was adopted in response to public comment last year.
She said the Housing Committee chose the site based on input from two affordable housing workshops in which participants indicated their preferences from several sites; because the town-owned site is available at a nominal lease; and because the committee was able to get a pre-development loan from the state.
Several panelists at the Feb. 4 meeting, including First Selectman Curtis Rand, also pointed out that the site received the most votes from the public at the workshops.
Ayer noted that 12 is the smallest number of apartment units the Housing Committee can propose and still be competitive for state grant money.
Petition from younger renters
After the presentation Kronholm Clark handled written questions and then live comments. Questions were raised about traffic safety, financial data, trees, who is eligible to live in the housing, using the town-owned Pope property on Salmon Kill Road instead, parking, and the impact on nearby businesses.
Hannah Pouler referred to a petition from younger residents supporting the proposal, and said it has 350 signatures. (Last year a letter opposing the project was signed by about 200 residents.)
The meeting went a few minutes past the two-hour scheduled time.
P&Z meeting Feb. 8
The next step is a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Ayer said she expected at least two sessions of the hearing.
At the Planning and Zoning meeting on Feb. 8, a public hearing date for the application was set for Monday, March 8, at 5:30 p.m.
The video recording of the Feb. 4 meeting is available on the town website at https://salisburyct.us/meetingspage/sahc.
