East Lyme ― The state’s affordable housing law loomed large over the Zoning Commission’s approval of local developer Jason Pazzaglia’s plan for 20 additional townhomes in his North Bride Brook Road development, bringing the total number of units in the environmentally sensitive area to 100.

Thirty of the townhomes will be reserved at reduced rates for households on the lower end of the income spectrum, starting with those who make less than 80% of the area’s median income. Based on rent limits from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a family of four bringing in $91,760 annually would qualify for a $2,386 rental payment per month for a three-bedroom apartment.

The commission voted 4-2 Thursday to approve the project, with Democrats Gary Pivo and Denise Markovitz in opposition.

Pivo said the need for affordable housing in town is overshadowed by the environmental threat to nearby water bodies, which members of the public have emphasized feed into one of the largest alewife spawning runs in the state.

He argued the reduced rents in Pazzaglia’s project aren’t low enough to help address the real need in town. The East Lyme Affordable Housing Plan in 2022 said the town’s efforts to bolster affordable housing should focus on rental housing for households making less than $75,000.

Pazzaglia's affordability plan for the development specifies only half of the units set aside at affordable rates are reserved for those who make less than 60%, which is $74,340 for a family of four.

“It’s pretty easy to establish that our interest in protecting Bride Brook, Bride Lake, the state park estuary and the beach clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing,” Pivo said.

Harry Heller, Pazzaglia’s attorney, emphasized during the public hearing that there are strict limitations laid out in the affordable housing law to discourage commissions from denying applications that would help meet the needs of lower-income families. The law requires commissions to provide sufficient evidence that the risk to public health or safety outweighs the need for affordable housing, and that reasonable changes cannot be made to mitigate the risk.

An independent analysis by Steven Trinkaus of Trinkaus Engineering LLC, commissioned by a resident because of concerns about development in the environmentally sensitive area, raised numerous stormwater runoff issues. Brandon Handfield of Yantic River Consultants LLC, the firm retained by Pazzaglia to develop the erosion and stormwater control plan, addressed about a dozen of Trinkaus’ points during the Feb. 15 public hearing.

Bill Scheer, the acting town engineer at the time, said in a Feb. 13 memo he was satisfied the application met the requirements of the 2004 Stormwater Quality Manual and local requirements.

The first update to the manual in 20 years will be effective March 31. Some members of the commission and the public argued the most up-to-date standards should be used, but Scheer said in a letter to the zoning department the 2004 version remains current and is “the most appropriate design reference to be used for revisions to a previously-approved project.”

Scheer recommended Pazzaglia’s engineer perform quarterly inspections of erosion and sediment controls and stormwater treatment basins during construction. He said that’s when a majority of issues involving runoff occur. He said inspections after that should occur annually.

Chairwoman Anne Thurlow voted to approve the application based on her confidence in town officials who signed off on the project.

“I think we’ve had engineers in town hall that are completely satisfied with the stormwater proposal,” she said.

She reiterated the affordable housing statute has established a high bar when it comes to rejecting zoning applications.

“I just feel that it’s not anything we can ever win in court, and I just feel taxpayers’ money is valuable and I’d hate to see it spent on something we cannot win,” she said.

She noted Pazzaglia’s attorney had asked Pivo to recuse himself based on comments Pivo made in a September episode of the local cable access show, “The Renshaw Report” and in campaign materials last year.

Heller last month said the comments revealed a “predisposition” against his client’s development that has “the potential to taint the proceedings.”

Pivo twice refused to recuse himself at the public hearing, which spanned two meetings.

According to Thurlow, “that could be an issue in a court.”

e.regan@theday.com