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January 12, 2023

Farmington approves housing moratoria for six months

RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED The outdoor pool at UpHouse, a 225-unit apartment redevelopment at the former Hartford Marriott Farmington hotel, will feature a lounge area and cabanas.
By Andrew Larson

Farmington’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved moratoria temporarily halting new single-family and multifamily zoning applications, following a public hearing Monday night.

Town Planner Shannon Rutherford said the purpose of the moratoria is to give the commission and staff time to “research and consider regulation changes to implement the town’s Affordable Housing Plan.”

The commission unanimously voted to approve the moratoria.

Initially, the proposed moratoria blocked zoning applications for a period of one year, but the commission opted to reduce the duration to six months based on a recommendation from attorney Robert DeCrescenzo, of Updike Kelly & Spellacy, who represents the town.

Rutherford said the town’s research will include inclusionary zoning regulations and fee-in-lieu programs. Fee-in-lieu programs allow developers to pay a fee as an alternative to meeting certain zoning requirements.

The moratoria do not apply to building permits or already-approved projects, including:

The town estimates that it has roughly 12,200 housing units, of which 943, or 7.73%, are deemed affordable, Rutherford said. That percentage is down from 7.93% as of 2010.

Towns without at least 10% of housing units deemed affordable are subject to affordable housing appeals under state law 8-30g. Affordable housing typically costs no more than 30% of a household’s income.

The Connecticut Home Builders and Remodelers Association opposed the moratoria during Monday’s public hearing, saying they were unnecessary, overly broad and lasted for an unreasonable duration.

Pete Harrison, director of DeSegregateCT, which advocates for zoning reform, said the proposal was misguided. He said that 31% of Farmington residents face housing-cost burdens, and that the moratoria would make it harder for families to move into town.

He cited Judge Robert Fuller’s treatise, “Connecticut Land Use Law and Practice,” which states that a moratorium must be “narrowly tailored to achieve a specific, stated objective, based on compelling reasons; and for as short a time period as the proposed regulation revision requires.”

DeCrescenzo, the town attorney, cited a decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court that gives a zoning commission authority to adopt “a limited temporary zoning regulation that imposes a short term moratorium.”

DeCrescenzo said he believed the one-year duration was “reasonable, given the stated purpose,” but suggested the commission could curtail it to six months.

Other towns have proposed similar legislation.

In March, the Planning and Zoning Commission in South Windsor approved a one-year housing moratorium that halts all applications for single-family and multifamily housing.

A state law passed in 2017 requires municipalities to submit affordable housing plans to the Office of Policy and Management every five years. As of the June 1, 2022 deadline, only 46% of towns had submitted plans, the Connecticut Mirror reported.

The Fairfield County town of New Canaan has sued the state Department of Housing over its recent denial of an application for relief from the affordable housing law.

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