The quest to boost the amount of affordable housing in the region took some stumbling steps forward in two local communities recently. While we take it as a positive that officials in both Lyme and Stonington appear to be more seriously considering the need for more affordable housing in their towns, it’s apparent that challenges remain for both communities.

In Stonington, a man who owns several businesses at Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, Rhode Island, filed a special permit application to build a 113-unit affordable housing project in the Pawcatuck section of town. Eugene Arganese, as the principal of Fair Housing of Connecticut LLC of Trumbull, proposes to build townhouses on a 4.2-acre property on Liberty Street that is the site of the former Rosalini’s nightclub. The exact number of units deemed affordable isn’t yet firm, but to be considered an affordable housing development, 30% must fall into that category.

In Lyme, the Affordable Housing Commission is looking at a cluster of houses on a floating zone surrounded by open space. The town is seeking to purchase about 30 acres of land that could be developed by an established affordable housing developer. The exact number of housing units has not yet been determined, but likely will be five or fewer.

While we recognize and commend the efforts to bring more affordable housing options in these towns, there are unique challenges to overcome before residents might actually benefit from such housing.

The developer who proposed the Pawcatuck housing has been a proverbial thorn in the side of Westerly officials as he’s repeatedly ignored permit stipulations and zoning regulations at his beach businesses. The Westerly Sun reported, for example, that he failed to secure necessary state permits before constructing an outdoor bar at one business and also flaunted COVID-19 regulations during the pandemic. It’s uncertain whether his Westerly track record could be repeated in Pawcatuck.

Of bigger concern is the fact that affordable housing proposals in Stonington are focused on the village of Pawcatuck at the eastern end of town. Stonington officials must find ways to promote a more even geographic distribution of affordable housing options, including the more rural northern reaches of town, in Mystic at the town’s western border and closer to the borough of Stonington.

In Lyme, in reviewing a draft plan for a floating affordable housing zone that would allow for two-bedroom units ranging from 900 to 1,500 square feet, officials emphasized the need to tuck the housing into the woods.

Day reporter Elizabeth Regan reported that both Phyllis Ross and Carol House, who serve on the town’s Affordable Housing and Planning and Zoning commissions, noted a need to minimize the visual impact of affordable housing in town.

Ross is reported as saying: “They will be attractive units, but we don’t necessarily want people to see them from the street.” House said: “We’re not going to line them up on (Route) 156, looking ugly. These are going to be attractive places in the woods.”

Are they hiding the housing so current residents don’t have to see them or are they building them in the woods for the benefit of the new residents?

Officials also called unreasonable an Open Communities Alliance estimate that Lyme’s fair share of affordable housing units should total some 231. Lyme officials said they thought a fair number was closer to 30.

While we welcome the fact that officials in both Lyme and Stonington are talking more seriously about the need for affordable housing in their communities, these cases also are discouraging in some respects. First, towns continue to strive to confine such housing to a small fraction of their overall community footprints. More concerning is the fact that even as overwhelming evidence that skyrocketing costs has put homeownership well outside the realm of possibilities for so many state residents and rising rental costs are unduly straining many family budgets, negative stereotypes about affordable housing, and the type of people who will live in it, appear to remain steadfastly engrained.

It’s this attitude, as much as constrictive zoning regulations, that must be overcome if southeastern Connecticut is ever to provide appropriate priced housing for all its residents.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.