44-unit affordable housing is proposed

Stonington - A local developer is seeking approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission to build a $6.5 million affordable housing project on Route 1 in Pawcatuck, just west of Rutman's Wayside Furniture.

The Spruce Meadows project calls for 44 apartments and a community building on a 3-acre site at 100-102 South Broad St.

TFB3 LLC, whose principal is Thomas Buxton, has applied for a special use permit and groundwater protection permit from the commission, which will set a public hearing date.

Forty-three of the units would be located in two, three-story buildings which would contain a mix of one-,

two- and three-bedroom apartments. A caretaker apartment would be located in the community building.

Because less than 10 percent of the town's housing stock (4.25 percent) is deemed affordable, the project would fall under the state's affordable housing law, which requires that 30 percent of the units be affordable according to state guidelines. This means the commission could not reject the proposal unless it could prove that the project would create substantial health and safety problems that clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing in town.

An earlier letter to the commission from project attorney Timothy Bates said the commission would also not be able to consider issues it typically does such as the impact of the project on property values, schools and tax revenue and whether it conforms with zoning regulations, the town's comprehensive plan and neighborhood character.

Fifteen percent of the units would be available to those who earn 80 percent of the region's current median household income of $84,400 while another 15 percent would be available to those who earn 60 percent of the regional median income. Prices are based on requirement that the household's maximum monthly housing cost cannot exceed 120 and 100 percent, respectively, of the region's Section 8 Fair market rent.

The commission had previously approved a commercial-residential project on the site. TFB3 is looking for a waiver of archaeological, marketing and school impact studies as well as preparing a three-dimensional model of the project as part of its application.

The project calls for 79 parking spots, which is less than what is required. Bates wrote in the application that a traffic study will show that the spots are adequate for the project.

j.wojtas@theday.com