Old Lyme — The guiding principles for the Affordable Housing Commission include a commitment to preserving "small town" priorities and values.

Each municipality in the state is required by law to come up with a plan by June 1 for increasing the amount of affordable housing within its borders. Old Lyme's commission last week held the first of two workshops to engage the community in the process.

"Our aim is to develop a common sense plan, squarely aimed at the needs of Old Lyme residents, while recognizing that we're part of a bigger economic picture," the commission said in its presentation.

A poll of roughly 40 people who attended the virtual workshop found 89% of respondents believe the town needs more housing, including options for those who struggle to pay the bills because they're spending too much of an already low paycheck on a place to live.

The poll found 86% of respondents were in favor of allowing accessory dwelling units — separate living spaces in or on larger residential properties and commonly referred to as in-law apartments — as a way to increase housing availability. Construction of duplexes got approval from 76%, and small clusters of starter homes came in at 67%.

The state considers units affordable when, through subsidy or deed restrictions, residents of a household making 80% or less of the area median income don't spend more than 30% of their income on rent or mortgage payments. In Old Lyme, the median household income is $88,600. So, for example, a family of four that brings in less than $79,900 qualifies for affordable housing, according to the commission.

The commission said about 1 in 4 households in town fit the income criteria to qualify for affordable housing, which amounts to more than 800 households — yet there are only 85 housing units in town considered affordable by state standards. A majority of those units are for seniors.

Section 8-30g

The smaller-scale options presented by the commission, like in-law apartments and duplexes, stray from the large-scale model of affordable housing that has proliferated since the state in 1989 added Section 8-30g to its statutes to promote fair and diverse housing options. The statute puts the onus on a town's land use commissions, if they want to reject a proposed development, to prove in court that public safety and health concerns are greater than the need for affordable housing.

Once 10% of a municipality's housing stock meets the state's definition of affordable, Section 8-30g no longer applies.

Critics of the statute say the real benefits are reaped by developers who use it to build a higher number of apartments than they might otherwise get approval for, as long as at least 30% of the units are set aside as affordable, meaning rented or sold below market rate.

Statistics cited in the Affordable Housing Commission's presentation show that developers whose plans are rejected win on appeal about 70% of the time.

Once one-tenth of housing units are considered affordable, the town is exempted from the 8-30g statute. But many people — including those on the Old Lyme commission — argue that adding more market rate units than affordable units at one time effectively "moves the goalpost" so the target can't be reached.

"To meet the 8-30g 10% exemption target, Old Lyme would need about 500 new affordable housing units at a minimum, and up to over 2,000 depending on how many market rate units are also developed," the commission said in its presentation.

The commission in its guiding principles said it will comply with statutory requirements but "will not be driven by arbitrary goals and thresholds." It also expressed a commitment to meeting the needs of residents in all stages of life and preserving Old Lyme "as an essentially small town."

Commission Chairman Michael Fogliano said that means the commission is driven by the needs of the community rather than the promise of being exempted from the 8-30g statute once 10% of its housing stock is affordable.

He emphasized the statute does not require towns to meet the threshold that he described as unrealistic for a town with unique limitations.

"At the current development rates and given where we are in Old Lyme, at a little less than 2% of the housing stock being affordable, it would take the better part of 100 years to meet the 10%," he said.

He said a capacity study being conducted by the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments with money from a $15,000 state grant will give the commission a better idea how much room there is for more housing in town once infrastructure and environmental realities are factored in.

"That will inform the goals we set," he said.

'Scaled to work'

Fogliano said Old Lyme and other towns along the Connecticut River and the shoreline face challenges that make large-scale development impractical, including environmental sensitivity and a lack of water and sewer infrastructure.

In Old Lyme, 20% of the land is protected as open space or by conservation easement. Of the available land, factors like watersheds, watercourses, wetlands and ledge make some of it unsuitable for development.

The commission in its recommendations called for "efficient development, scaled to work within limitations on land, water and sewer."

That means promoting small- to medium-sized developments made up of multifamily units, duplex-type units and clusters of starter homes, as well as accessory dwelling units and the "adaptive reuse" of existing properties.

Fogliano said the commission is putting together a request to use a portion of the town's federal pandemic relief funding to turn an existing property into affordable housing. The commission doesn't have a specific property identified yet and hasn't determined how much it will be requesting, according to the chairman. Requests will be reviewed by a committee formed last year by the Board of Selectmen to make recommendations about how to spend the town's $2.162 million in American Rescue Plan funding.

The focus on small- to mid-scale development doesn't mean the commission is dismissing larger developments entirely, Fogliano said. "It's not something we feel we're going to look to create opportunities for but, if a developer were able to solve for some of those limitations, it's not something we would rule out," he said.

Old Lyme's Affordable Housing Commission was preceded by an exploratory committee first proposed in 2018 after HOPE Partnership and the Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development — both of which specialize in affordable housing developments in the region — proposed the River Oak Commons affordable housing project to the town in 2018 and later withdrew the project in summer of 2019 due to intense local opposition during the permitting process.

The project called for a 37-unit affordable housing development to be built on land along the Interstate 95 north Exit 70 off-ramp and Neck Road (Route 156). It was approved by both the town's zoning and wetlands commissions but had divided residents on whether its proposed location was suitable for a development of that size.

The commission is planning another community workshop in March, with a draft plan expected to be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for approval in May.

e.regan@theday.com