By Kerri Williams

WESTPORT – A proposed text amendment for offsite affordable housing that has been controversial and resubmitted more than once is back for consideration before the Planning & Zoning Commission on Monday.

Text Amendment 864, which would allow for offsite affordable housing for developments in the Inclusionary Housing Overlay District at the discretion of the P&Z, will be discussed again in a public hearing that was continued from last month.

In the January hearing, Rick Redniss, of the Stamford land-use firm Redniss & Mead, submitted a plan for both onsite and offsite affordable housing for a development at 785 Post Road East. The proposal includes special needs housing offsite at 3 George St.

While some commissioners came out in favor of the special needs’ housing, others voiced concerns that the new text amendment could open the door for more offsite affordable projects in town. 

“My concern is that we could be opening the barn door,” said Alternate Commissioner Michael Valante during January’s meeting. “…We have to think about what is good for the town.”

Commissioner John Bolton told Redniss that he would like to see more “limiting language” in the text amendment before the commission reconvenes on Monday.

In a letter to the commission dated this Wednesday, Redniss referenced offsite affordable regulations recently added in Fairfield that are “remarkably similar to what we have been discussing.” 

Redniss went on to say that the wording of the Fairfield regulations can help Westport to “narrow the applicability” of the proposed text amendment.

“In Westport, you walk before you run,” Redniss said at the January meeting.

Some highlights of the Fairfield regulations include: the words “sole discretion” appearing multiple times; offsite option limited to for-sale units; and the criteria stated simply. Redniss cited several ways that Westport could restrict the number of qualifying projects, including making developments with a final Zoning Certificate of Compliance (ZCC) not eligible for the offsite alternative. Doing so would limit the number of current qualifying projects to those at 785 and 1620 Post Road East, he said.

In a Pre-App, or a non-binding forum held during the meeting, Redniss also proposed last month for a home at 3 George St. to be turned into special needs housing as part of the affordable housing requirement for 785 Post Road East. The George Street home, which would be run by the company Abilis, would be similar to another residence for people with developmental disabilities at 136 Riverside Ave. 

The Riverside Avenue home has received widespread praise, according to Redniss. Several family members of residents there and townspeople spoke at the January meeting in favor of special needs housing, pointing out that there is a waiting list for those in need.

But in a letter to the commission, Peter Perry, president of the Oakview Homeowners Association, said the affordable housing tied to 1141 Post Road East has not been successful, in the association’s perspective.

“Does the town actually care about what happens to the property after it was purchased?” Perry asked in a previous letter. While the letter did not cite details, Perry said he would like to meet with commissioners to give his feedback.

Commissioners are also being asked to approve an additional two townhouses being located on the second and third floors of the commercial building at 785 Post Road East. 

There was some confusion at the January meeting that the new townhouses would be the ones deemed as affordable in the new plan. Redniss clarified that the new townhouses would be designated market rate and that one of the original units would be classified as affordable under the plan, which involves the agency Homes with Hope.

Kerri Williams

^{_{Kerri Williams is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter at the Norwalk Hour, as Living editor at the Darien News-Review, and managing editor for the Norwalk Citizen-News. For Westport Journal, she is a reporter as well as a gardening columnist, writing “Cultivating with Kerri.” She recently published her first children’s book – “Mabel’s Big Move,” based on her daughter with special needs.}}