A champion can be a chief elected official who is passionate about the issue of affordable housing or a group of community leaders who come together to form a local affordable housing committee. Provide space at the end for individuals to add extra comments or contact someone with questions. AHPP-Guidebook_RPA_120120.pdf. Community Land Banks and Land TrustsA community land bank is a nonprofit or governmental entity that acquires and manages underutilized, vacant, or foreclosed properties in the community. This is critical to addressing the two core challenges that very often delay and derail development applications: This inefficiency results in too few beneficial projects reaching completion, impacting housing supply and contributing to the affordability crisis. by Regional Plan Association and CT Department of Housing Afford CT Housing Database Center for Housing Opportunity Or a committee can be appointed by the municipalitys elected officials to take on the role and lead the effort. Affordable Connectivity Program - $30/Month Discount for Internet Service; All SNAP & Medicaid Members Eligible . As you are working to draft the elements of your plan, you can keep coming back to them, asking- Does this principle, goal or action advance our towns core values? Once adopted, your plan serves as a guide for elected and appointed officials who know they have the support of the community behind them as they are making decisions on development applications. How does this plan fit in with my towns other planning documents, like our Plan of Conservation and Development? Virtual engagement can also be used to extend engagement beyond the traditional public meeting conducted at a set time, with more frequent/on-going interaction, such as community asset mapping using dynamic web-based tools. Creating an inclusive planning process and communications strategy. April 20 23 Lane Affordable Housing Development on Clark PDF Affordable Housing Plan - APA Connecticut Chapter When considering the affordability of homes to potential first-time home buyers, prices in low opportunity markets have increased at a greater rate than income among renters in these markets, making it more difficult for renters to make a first home purchase. PDF Stonington Affordable Housing Plan - Stonington, Connecticut Dec. 17, 2020. Town of New Milford, Connecticut Affordable Housing Plan July 1, 2021 Revised as of July 7, 2021 Prepared by: Donald J. Poland, PhD, AICP Managing Director, Urban Planning & Strategy 1137 Main Street East Hartford, CT 06108 www.gomanyork.com . How does a town create a racially or socioeconomically diverse local leadership committee when many people of color are underrepresented in the community? For example, a proposed housing development may increase traffic or noise at one intersection, but on the whole, may generate fewer car trips than the same number of units built across a broader geography. This guidebook provides a framework for engaging communities in the planning process and recommendations for creating specific elements of the plan, including how to: Although one size doesnt fit all, the set of strategies and tools provided in this guidebook are intended to serve as a synthesized set of resources that make it easier for towns to successfully plan for more affordability. DataHaven works to make public data and information more accessible and useful for community action. This can be addressed by: Sustainable CT is a voluntary certification process that inspires and supports communities in becoming more efficient, resilient, and inclusive. FlyersPrint and digital flyers are helpful to building general awareness about the plan and for advertising engagement sessions. The Lamont administration developed it with input from a diverse group stakeholders. How are they doing so far? What exactly is an affordable housing plan and what should be included? This will likely include residents of your community, business owners, elected officials, educators, local developers, individuals who work in your community, and individuals who would live in your community if more affordable housing were available. Having a range of homes where people can afford to age in place, live in the community where they work, and access a community where theyd like to live, but cant afford will strengthen the economic and social sustainability of your town into the future. This includes the voices of people of color, as well as younger people, senior citizens and others who may be underrepresented in your community. Through the process, local leaders and residents can build a shared understanding of how homes that meet the needs of current and future residents can improve the overall health and economic vitality of their towns by creating space for a variety of housing that meets the needs of people of different ages and incomes. In accordance with CGS Section 8-30j, each municipality is required to adopt an Affordable Housing Plan by no later than June 1, 2022, and at least once every five years thereafter. Using the population and housing data recommended above along with HUDs Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, you can analyze the gap between the housing available in your municipality and the needs of residents living in your community. The Market Activity Index (strong/weak) classifies census tracts based on the amount of market activity that has taken place over five years, 2013 to 2017, sorting between strong or weak markets. These neighborhoods were outlined in red on the HOLC maps, henceredlining. While HOLC did not actually invest or divest a significant amount of capital according to these maps, private entities adhered to them much more stringently. For example, while your town may allow for the creation of accessory dwelling units, a closer examination of your zoning may reveal that parking requirements, dimensional criteria and/or strict standards on occupancy make it difficult to create such units in practice. Usually land banks make these properties productive again by making them appealing to the private market. While an online survey may be easy to use for many people in your community, it is important to also provide a printed survey option for those who may not have access to the internet or who may face accessibility or other barriers to utilizing an online survey tool. To avoid this pitfall, the municipality or community land trust may consider structuring the deed restriction such that the owner may retain some of the equity gains that have accrued to the property. Experts plan to explain what it means via Zoom. When it comes to housing development, towns very often find themselves in a reactive rather than a proactive position. The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority provides mortgages to first time home . Gathering data on residents income and how much they spend on housing costs is important for understanding the extent to which your housing stock is affordable to your towns residents. Determine up front what you would like to learn from the engagement session. For many towns, the largest housing equity issue is access: do people of lower income levels have access to housing in your community? Gather data on metrics like current population, population change over time, race, age, and household configurations for your town and region. Communicate quickly by minimizing the amount of text and using abbreviations where possible. While some residents may have the availability and schedule flexibility to attend community meetings, others may not. At least once every five years, every municipality must prepare or amend and adopt an affordable housing plan. Bringing together local leaders to proactively plan for affordable housing. For detailed information on AFFH requirements in Connecticut and how to meet them, please reference the Connecticut Fair Housing Centers AFFH guidebook. Use this data to understand the kinds of housing opportunities that are available in your town. PDF Affordable Housing in Connecticut - American Planning Association Starting with a dialogue about values is a helpful way to begin the planning process and provides a foundation for developing the contents of your plan. The percentage of cost burdened homeowners rises approximately 30 points between those earning more than the median income and those earning 80% AMI. The increasingly expensive housing market in combination with racial segregation is a key factor in the wealth gap between people of color and their white counterparts in Connecticut. What do Connecticuts General Statutes say about it? Consider discussing your goals with neighboring municipalities, or collaborating with your local Council of Governments to consider the housing needs of the region. With that end-goal in mind, craft a clear agenda and make it available to participants prior to the meeting so they know what to expect. As part of this goal, you may also want to consider how your production goal may demonstrate progress towards achieving an 8-30g moratorium, if applicable. A communications strategy outlines how your town will engage clearly and effectively with your community to create your affordable housing plan and will guide your community engagement activities. For population projections refer to the Connecticut State Data Center or your regional Council of Government. These specific questions may differ from town to town depending on findings from the housing and population data above, but fundamentally, the housing gap analysis should indicate the number of people in different income bands who are housing cost burdened or overcrowded, and the number of units available in the town affordable to each band. view report pdf share menu of land use regulations to review for ways to . 3rd FloorPrinceton, NJ 08542, 60 Union Street If you do not have your own registration system, it may be helpful to use a free online service like Eventbrite to help participants register for events digitally. Conversations on the values that the community holds are most often positive and productive, creating and reinforcing a shared sense of purpose. What are current barriers to access? To best utilize ADUs to help you meet your affordable housing goals, your municipality may consider: FundingCommit dedicated funding to support affordable housing development. . A second measure that is part of the reform plan aim to change the . One of the most effective strategies that can be applied to implement the development recommendations of your communitys affordable housing plan is to make the process more inclusive, predictable and efficient. Most often, this will be a hyperlink, whether it leads to a news article, a sign-up form for an engagement session, a survey, or a website to access further resources. While there is no state statutory mandate that local land use regulations and decisions be consistent with your Plan of Conservation and Development, 8-2 of the Connecticut General Statutes states that zoning regulations, shall be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan, and in adopting such regulations the responsible municipal body, shall consider the Plan of Conservation and Development.. Jan 2022 Regional Plan Association's 100-Year History in Connecticut RPA explores our 100-year history in Connecticut through archival reports and photographs as we celebrate our Centennial. An AFFH AI combines demographic, socio-economic, and housing supply data from your municipality and region to identify housing needs in your community. The best way to build support for your towns plan is to create an inclusive planning process that provides meaningful opportunities for resident participation in the process from the beginning. Including a policy statement on consistency between the POCD and your land use regulations makes your plan more meaningful with respect to implementation. Preview strategies in your goal statement: Though your actions will undoubtedly evolve, previewing them in the goal statement will help your community envision a way forward. Use virtual polling tools, such as the poll feature on Zoom, to keep your audience engaged and capture information. Federal policies pre- and post-WWII influenced financial systems to institutionalize discrimination, and local approaches to land use control show us how segregation proliferated and later normalized within our state. B. Equity and accessHousing equity goals will vary with each municipality. (a) As used in this section, inclusionary zoning means any zoning regulation, requirement or condition of development imposed by ordinance, regulation or pursuant to any special permit, special exception or subdivision plan which promotes the development of housing affordable to persons and families of low and moderate income, including, but not limited to, (1) the setting aside of a reasonable number of housing units for long-term retention as affordable housing through deed restrictions or other means; (2) the use of density bonuses; or (3) in lieu of or in addition to such other requirements or conditions, the making of payments into a housing trust fund to be used for constructing, rehabilitating or repairing housing affordable to persons and families of low and moderate income. Affordable Housing Plan - East Hartford, Connecticut Nuanced solutions are needed to make Connecticut affordable such as jobs, business creation and tax breaks to struggling families. This is a crisis of housing affordability (i.e., the need for affordable housing) and the social and economic ramifications IHZ program established to guide communities to proactively plan for affordable housing; Technical assistance from the Housing Connections of Connecticut program, a partnership between Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the Connecticut . By providing meaningful opportunities for residents to help shape the plan, you engage residents in a productive dialogue on the policies and strategies that your town will ultimately work to advance to create more affordable housing. A Push for Zoning Reform in Connecticut - The New York Times - Breaking It is easy to share Google Forms surveys via email or an embedded link, and they can be completed easily on computers or mobile phones. We recommend using Google Forms, a free, user-friendly platform. In Connecticut, effective July 2017, with compliance by July 2022 At least once every 5 years every municipality This administrative tool is a meaningful way to encourage appropriate development by providing certainty for developers and curbing escalation of project development cost that can occur with a long, drawn out approvals process. There is also a Low Development Activity market type, which classifies census tracts where population growth is stagnant and vacancy rates are high. FAIR ACRES EXPANSION . Lamont to sign health care affordability . Therefore, as you are creating an affordable housing plan to address the housing needs identified in your towns housing needs assessment, it is important to understand your local and regional housing market. 2. Conn. Gov. Lamont to sign health care affordability bill | fox61.com And although Farmington adopted its plan in July 2021, over 30 towns . At least once every five years, each municipality shall prepare or amend and adopt an affordable housing plan for the municipality. The difference in prices between high and low opportunity areas makes it difficult to move between markets as a first-time homebuyer. Another important piece is understanding how your town currently uses its land and what your zoning says about what types of housing can be built where. How does this plan fit in with my towns other planning documents, like our Plan of Conservation and Development? It is helpful to have social media accounts across multiple platforms, including but not limited to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The strength of your housing market is an important factor to consider as you are developing the goals and actions of your affordable housing plan. For example, you may already have systems in place to reach current residents of your community, but reaching those who work in your town might require different approaches. Completed 1st DRAFT Housing Affordability Plan June 2022 Final draft of Plan prepared and posted July 2022 And in Connecticut also prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, age, marital status, source of income, or gender identity or expression. Both CGS 8-23 (planning) and 8-2 (zoning) direct municipalities to consider the need for affordable housing, both locally and at the regional level, and to adopt zoning that encourages the development of multifamily dwellings and housing at different price points. Created in partnership with FCCHO partner Regional Plan Association and partners across the state, this is a user . Changing zoning and parking regulations to allow the creation of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) is an efficient way to increase housing opportunities in low-density areas. PDF Roxbury Housing Affordability Plan - APA Connecticut Chapter Once you have created your plan goals, you are ready to think about how to make them a reality. Also called inclusionary housing, inclusionary zoning regulations incentivize or require the creation of affordable housing as part of all market-rate housing developments. Facilitators and presenters should complete a trial run of the engagement session ahead of time. Sustainable CTs housing actions align with the best practices in this guidebook. Printed MaterialDoes your community have a central business district that generates heavy foot traffic? In your engagement sessions or official publications, it may be necessary to include translations on print materials and slides, or have an individual present to translate. But as the June 1 deadline approached, many missed the mark. All content 2023. Affordable Housing Plan and Process Guidebook. Action steps may include training for municipal staff, housing officials, and real estate agents. In addition to the favorable financial conditions made available to suburban homeowners, most suburban localities were given the ability to maintain racial and economic segregation through the use of exclusionary zoning barriers, most noticeably by imposing single-family districts all across their jurisdictions. Critically, a communications strategy can help to frame a positive narrative around affordable housing in your community as an asset that relates to other community priorities such as economic and social sustainability. The Connecticut Department of Housing, together with Regional Plan Association and partners across the state, have worked together to create this guidebook to . This will make the process clear for everyone, including staff, elected and appointed officials, developers and the public. Clear and predictable timelines are another essential element of transparent and effective community input and reliable government approvals. (a) An affordability plan shall include at least the elements set forth in section 8-30g (b) (1) of the Connecticut General Statutes and shall at a minimum contain or comply with the following: PDF Connecticut Department of Housing Releases "Planning for Affordability Because a different Market Activity score can be reached for the homeowner market and rental market, a census tract can have a strong homeowner market and weak rental market. If your digital media is accessible for text-to-speech engines, it will also make your materials more accessible for non-English readers. Having a productive conversation about the accessibility and equity of your communications requires speaking explicitly about race and class in your community. It is important that communities recognize that the strength of the regional and local housing market impacts the ways that the financing package for an affordable housing development is constructed. Please find more information on Connecticut General Statute 8-30g on the State of Connecticut's website: Affordable Housing Unit (CGS 8-30g) Income Limits: . In addition, understanding the socioeconomics of people who work in your community is also important in figuring out the gap between those who live in your town and some of those who might like to, but cant afford to. Planning for Affordability in housing in Connecticut, USA No categories found for this post. This Guidebook is intended to answer those questions by providing a best practices guide for both the process of developing an affordable housing plan and the elements of the plan document itself. AFFORDABLE HOUSING. leaders propose temporary cuts to affordable housing requirements and impact fees to unlock thousands of stalled homes . The Connecticut Department of Social Services is pleased to bring you information from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services . To be effective as a guiding policy document that supports the development of affordable homes in your town, your plan needs the support of the local community. Effective July 24, 2017, Connecticut General Statute, Title 8, Chapter 126a, 8-30j requires every municipality in the state to prepare an affordable housing plan at least once every five years.

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