Noankers invited to share thoughts on housing rental opportunities
Oct. 9—GROTON — The Noank Zoning Commission is holding an informal public information session at its Oct. 18 meeting for residents and property owners to share ideas about enhancing possibilities for long-term renting.
The commission meets at 7 p.m. at the fire house on Ward Avenue.
An information sheet that Chairman Rick Smith sent out explains the purpose of the session and lists five questions the commission identified to initiate discussion:
1. "Should the size (square footage) of an apartment be limited?"
2. "Should the size of a lot on which an accessory apartment could be added or expanded from an existing structure be limited?"
3. "Should the number of separate structures allowed on lots of a given size be limited?"
4. "Should the number of such accessory apartments owned by one property owner be limited?"
5. "What are the implications for parking, particularly in the village?"
The sheet says the commission is interested in hearing views on the desirability of enhancing affordable renting opportunities, these five questions, and other thoughts.
This conversation stems from the Connecticut General Assembly's May 2021 passage of Public Act 21-29, which required municipalities to allow accessory dwelling units on the same lot as single-family homes as of right ― meaning that no public hearing, variance or special permit is necessary ― and prohibited certain regulations around parking space requirements. But the law allows municipalities to opt out of these provisions, through a delineated process.
The Noank Zoning Commission voted unanimously on June 15, 2022 to opt out because the uniform standards in the act couldn't be amended in the future. Commissioners disagreed with the act's mechanisms to meet the goal of enhancing affordability and felt opting out would provide more options.
The Noank Fire District Executive Committee agreed with this position and voted unanimously to accept the zoning commission's position.
The information sheet stated the commission "now feels that it is in Noank's best interests to explore approaches to address the larger goals in the legislation, in ways that are more satisfactory to the local community."
