MIDDLETOWN -- With a proposed ordinance amendment and development
plans in the works, the town is on its way toward achieving its
affordable housing goals.
The town is 62 housing units shy of meeting the state's affordable
housing rate requirement of 10 percent, said Assistant Town Planner
Samantha Hogan.
At 8.9 percent, it has one of the highest affordable housing rates in
the state, she said.
As required under the state's Low and Moderate Income Housing Act,
municipalities had to obtain state approval of their affordable housing
plans, which encourage the development of affordable housing and give
officials a say in where the units will be built and how they will look.
The law requires 10 percent of housing in each of the state's 39 cities
and towns to meet the state's definition of "affordable" -- subsidized
and income restricted -- within 20 years' time.
The town will have reached 10 percent long before that, Hogan said.
"Within the next few years we will have met that goal," she said.
Its plan, which was approved in May, includes a former motel on West
Main Road being renovated into 10 special needs units, construction of
eight units on Sunset Long Road near Maple Avenue, and 45 to 50
affordable housing units being built as part of the Anchorage housing
development plan.
All of the housing projects are being developed by the nonprofit Church
Community Housing. Renovations on West Main Road have already begun, and
work along Sunset Long Road should begin this year, Hogan said.
Even after meeting its 10 percent goal, town officials hope to encourage
further development by streamlining the application process for
developers who include affordable housing in their plans, she said.
Recently amended state law has outlined a framework of the permit review
and approval process for low and moderate income housing, she said.
Under the new law, developers with at least 25 percent of affordable
housing included in their projects may request a shorter process by
having all application reviews handled by the Planning Board.
Normally, large development projects require months of meetings with a
number of offices that may include the Planning Board, the Zoning Board,
the Conservation Commission, or the Roads and Utilities Commission,
depending on the project.
Municipalities statewide will be developing similar legislation, with
their own changes specific to their own development plans, Hogan said.
The Town Council will consider the ordinance amendment to establish the
new review procedures at its next meeting, she said.
In the face of increasing development with more market-rate units,
developing new methods to encourage affordable housing is necessary,
Hogan said.
"It's an ongoing process to ensure that we always have 10 percent of the
housing be affordable," she said.
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