LINCOLN -- The town's affordable-housing plan is one minor revision away from winning state approval.
Once Town Planner Albert Ranaldi submits a short clarification -- a job he said would take "about five minutes" -- he will receive a letter of approval "forthwith," said Michael Ahnrud of the Statewide Planning Office.
Under a state law amended last year, 29 communities must submit plans showing how they'll boost their stock of affordable housing to 10 percent. Five have received approval so far, according to Derry Riding of the Statewide Planning Office. Failing to submit a plan by June 30 could open a community to a rush of high-density development applications.
Currently, only 6.6 percent of Lincoln's housing stock is deemed affordable. Getting the nod from the state will give the town control over how affordable housing will be integrated into existing neighborhoods.
The plan proposes several strategies to add about 550 units by 2020:
Increase the density allowed by right in village centers and give tax incentives to property owners who deed-restrict new units as affordable for 30 years;
Require that 20 percent of all new residential developments of six or more units be designated affordable, even if the affordable units are built elsewhere in town;
Allow affordable accessory apartments on existing houses.
Members of the Town Council praised the plan yesterday as thoughtful and well-researched. But Manville resident Michael Ricard said allowing developers to build market-rate housing in one place and direct affordable housing to already-dense village centers was "very unfair to certain parts of town."
"You could be building houses in Lime Rock at a million dollars apiece. You could then build affordable units in Fairlawn or Manville, which are less affluent areas. It's completely unfair."
Ranaldi countered that it made sense to put affordable housing in village centers, which already have access to public sewer systems and are within walking distance of stores and bus stops -- important considerations for people who can't afford cars.
Others had problems with the state law itself. Council member Ronald A. Loparto said the state had erred in not counting rental units toward the 10-percent goal. The state counts rental units in communities that have more than 5,000, Riding said; Lincoln, with 2,800 units, doesn't qualify.
Ranaldi pointed out that rental units that are affordable now may not be tomorrow. "A landlord can change rents anytime."
Ranaldi said the most important part of the plan by far is its focus on public education. At a public hearing on the plan in September, residents voiced fears of having a housing project in their backyard.
But the definition of "affordable" is based on a town's median income. In Lincoln, a relatively wealthy community, an "affordable" house would be defined as one that a family of four making up to $54,300 could afford. "This is not welfare. It puts housing within the reach of the young and the elderly," Ranaldi said.
The plan as it stands is a set of general recommendations. To realize it, the town must revise its zoning code -- a process that requires public hearings and may take about nine months, according to Ranaldi.
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