Affordable housing, decades-old state law, drive gubernatorial debate

Oct. 27—Housing affordability, and the 30-year-old state law that helps govern it, has become one of the main issues of the 2022 gubernatorial race.

Connecticut's housing market is currently expensive, whether for renters or homeowners, and a law meant to bolster the number of the state's affordable housing units — known by general statute 8-30g — has become the crux of the housing discussion since Republican candidate Bob Stefanowski said he wanted to repeal it during a September debate between himself, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and Independent candidate Rob Hotaling.

The debate has made its way to the local level, with legislators such as Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, and Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, saying the law should be reviewed for its effectiveness.

On Wednesday afternoon, Hotaling convened a news conference in Hartford to double down on the debate with an expanded platform to amend, but not repeal, the law.

Hotaling said the law's formula should incentivize towns instead of developers to develop affordable housing. Connecticut legislators have tried to get around local resistance to multifamily construction through the law, which allows developers to sue towns if their plans for affordable housing are rejected. In these cases, it's up to the town to prove that the risk to public health or safety outweighs the need for affordable housing.

The law requires 10% of housing in cities and towns to be affordable to be exempt from the law. Once that threshold is met, developers no longer get an automatic court appeal if their plans are rejected for not meeting zoning regulations. The law has been credited for generating 8,500 units of affordable housing since its implementation 32 years ago.

In New London County, the percentages range from 1.2 percent in North Stonington and 1.7 percent in Old Lyme, to 4 to 6 percent in Waterford, Ledyard, East Lyme and Stonington, to 19 percent or higher in Norwich, New London and Groton.

"Towns could be persuaded to develop more affordable housing units if they are allowed to control their aesthetic, character, and zoning regulations while getting state support equivalent to what is currently budgeted for 8-30g," Hotaling said in a Wednesday news release. "I will work with all municipalities to prioritize affordable housing plans and ensure the state balances placement of properties with the involvement of each town's zoning committee to maintain the character of our towns."

Stefanowski told The Day this month that he believes the law unduly threatens local zoning control.

"8-30g doesn't work. I think it's 130 of 169 towns don't comply with it right now. It was put in place before the fall of the Berlin Wall," Stefanowski said. "I think we should repeal and replace it. We have hundreds if not thousands of unused buildings on the books in the state of Connecticut; why can't we redevelop some of those and create public housing?"

Lamont said the law could be reformed, but blamed the state's housing issues on its lackluster economy "over the last 30 years." He said the state needs to build out its housing and offer more options for people, specifically in transit or downtown areas. He referenced the state's initiative to have towns develop housing plans, identifying good locations for affordable housing, because he believes local control is important.

"I want the towns to take the lead. I would say the overwhelming majority are. Some of them are saying, 'Not in my backyard.' We said, 'Come up with a plan where ... you might like to do something," he said.

Part of Hotaling and running mate Chip Beckett's proposal unveiled Wednesday is $250 million in housing funding for a program run by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority for it to manage "investments in Connecticut" that will go toward creating more vibrant city centers.

Hotaling argued the state should seek out and support "two types of ignored housing opportunities: 'naturally occurring affordable housing' (NOAH) and 'middle neighborhoods." NOAH housing is residential rental properties that are affordable but not government-subsidized. "Middle neighborhoods" are "neither the poorest nor the wealthiest neighborhoods in a city, typically experiencing neither precipitous decline nor rapid appreciation," according to the Reinvestment Fund, a federally certified community development financial institution.

Hotaling is also proposing "increasing real estate taxes for new and large-scale developments while reducing taxes for infrastructure and middle/NOAH improvements," according to his campaign's news release.

A development is considered affordable under 8-30g when at least 30% of the units are set aside at reduced rent for those who make less than 80% or 60% of the area median income. HUD currently calculates the median at $102,700 for most of New London County. That means a family of four would have to make less than $90,080 at the moderate-income level or $67,560 at the low-income level to qualify.

Hotaling and Beckett cited a National Low Income Housing Coalition study and CT Voice for Children statistics in saying Connecticut is one of the top 10 most expensive places to live in the country, people must make at least $30 an hour to afford "a modest two-bedroom apartment," and more than 200,000 Connecticut households are spending more than half their income on housing.

There is both an economic and racial gap in home ownership in the state and the region. In New London County, according to 2021 data from the Urban Institute, 69% of Black households and 70% of Latino households rented their homes, compared to 27% of white households.

s.spinella@theday.com