PLYMOUTH, CT - The town has been awarded a $50,000 grant to fund a study of work force housing options - housing alternatives that supporters say encourage economic health. The grant is part of the state's Housing for Economic Growth program, which provides incentives for municipalities to create work force housing, through the use of Incentive Housing Zones.
Work force housing targets households that earn 80 percent of the median income, which is currently $52,941 in Plymouth, said Francis Pickering, Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency regional planner. Affordable means that this target group would spend less than a third of household income, or $1,400 to $1,500, on rent, Pickering said. "Creating affordable housing stock across the state has long been one of my administration's top priorities," Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in a press release. "It is even more important as the national economy slows." CCRPA will conduct the study for Plymouth.
Incentive Housing Zones are overlaying zones that offer developers the option to develop more densely than normal, if 20 percent, or one in five units, is designated affordable for a period of 30 years, Pickering said. However, underlying zoning regulations remain the same, Pickering said. The developments may be denser in terms of apartment units, or in terms of single-family homes on smaller lots.
The financial incentive that towns receive from the state is $2,000 for each unit, when the town implements the Incentive Housing Zone, even if the units are not developed, said Carl Stephani, executive director of CCRPA. The state then provides $5,000 per single-family unit, or $2,000 per multi-family unit for each permit issued in the zone, Stephani said. The town also benefits financially from an increase in itsgrand list.
The study CCRPA will conduct will take into account the following aspects of Plymouth: inventory of current housing, demographics, infrastructure to support housing, environmental constraints, land use, zoning and public services. The study takes a "holistic approach," Pickering said. It is the first step in the process, and it assumes no commitment from the town to move forward with work force housing. The town also has the autonomy to decide on the type and amount of units in an Incentive Housing Zone. "We're just taking a look right now, to see how feasible it is," Pickering said.
According to Pickering, 75 percent of the homes in Plymouth are owner occupied, and people are being priced out of the market. One of the main ideas behind work force housing is that public employees, such as teachers or police officers need access to affordable housing in towns where they are employed. Work force housing also increases housing options for young professionals, single individuals, young couples and other groups that don't need, and can't afford a large home on a big lot, Pickering said.
Source: BristolPress.com