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Stratford zoning commission adopts new workforce-housing rules after public hearing
Summary
The Stratford Zoning Commission approved a text amendment to expand workforce-housing rules covering a defined South End corridor. The measure sets eligibility, 40-year deed restrictions and a hiring-priority window for town employees and teachers; commissioners and staff raised floodplain, height and administration questions.
The Stratford Zoning Commission on Jan. 29 adopted a text amendment to expand how workforce housing can be developed in parts of the town, approving the measure 4-1 after a public hearing and follow-up administrative vote.
The amendment, proposed by Gold Coast Properties LLC, creates a targeted workforce-housing framework limited to a corridor around Lordship Boulevard and part of Stratford’s South End and lays out rules for renovation and new construction, unit mix, parking and deed restrictions designed to count toward the town’s affordable-housing credits.
The change matters because it narrows where workforce housing may be located while adding provisions the applicant said would guarantee credit toward Stratford’s affordable-housing totals. “If you include the 80% AMI requirement in the regulation, you will ensure that for each unit built the town will receive one full credit towards its affordable goal,” attorney Benjamin Proto told the commission. Proto represented Gold Coast Properties and spoke at the hearing.
What the amendment does and what proponents said
Under the adopted language, the new workforce-housing option would apply in a half-mile corridor centered on Lordship Boulevard — from the Bridgeport–Stratford line toward the Army Engine Plant — and be allowed only in certain residential and commercial zones identified in the text. The amendment separates approaches for renovating existing structures and for new construction, sets a density/height envelope and includes landscaping, lighting and driveway standards familiar to the commission.
The applicant also proposed that units receiving workforce designation be deed-restricted for 40 years and that, for the first 30 days after units are offered for lease, town employees and teachers receive first priority to apply. “They get the first choice of this housing before it’s open to the general public,” Proto said.
Supporters at the hearing argued the program brings state incentives and financing to projects, making 80% AMI units feasible for developers and more valuable to the town’s credit totals. Former state House speaker Jim Eamon and consultant Steven Shapiro described the state-level funding and incentives and urged the commission to adopt rules that would lock in long deed-restrictions rather than the shorter state defaults.
Concerns raised by commissioners, staff and residents
Commissioners and municipal staff cautioned that parts of the proposed geography lie in FEMA-designated flood zones and that Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) staff had submitted a comment letter raising that issue. “If it’s new building, it would have to meet all FEMA requirements,” Proto said in response to the chair’s question about the DEEP comment.
Town staff and the fire department flagged operational and safety questions tied to the proposed height and density in some locations. Jay Hebansky, Stratford’s planning and zoning administrator, told the commission he had provided staff comments and requested that the applicant coordinate with staff; Fire Chief Jermaine Atkinson and the fire marshal advised the commission that aerial apparatus access, turning radii and rear access would need detailed review once a site plan is filed.
Public reaction at the hearing was mixed. Some speakers said workforce housing near jobs makes sense; others — especially residents of nearby Oronoke/Oronoke Village and the adjacent condominium development — opposed building heights and density, raised stormwater and traffic concerns, and asked that the commission conserve the character of the neighborhood.
Formal actions taken
The commission opened the public hearing on the workforce-housing text amendment on Jan. 29. After taking testimony, the commission closed the public hearing on that item (procedural motion recorded at the meeting) and later, during the same meeting’s administrative session, voted to adopt the text amendment as presented. The adoption passed on the final administrative vote 4-1. (The public hearing had previously been closed by motion.)
What this does not do
The amendment creates a regulatory pathway and standards; it does not itself approve any specific project. Any development proposed under the new workforce-housing rules still must return to the commission with a site plan and all required technical studies and permits, including floodplain compliance and fire- and public-safety reviews. Proponents repeatedly said they would work with staff if the commission wanted the applicant’s provisions integrated into the town’s existing workforce ordinance.
Where it goes from here
Commission members asked the applicant to work with town staff to resolve issues raised in the staff memorandum and DEEP comments and to supply the technical site-level information if and when a developer brings a particular property proposal under the adopted rules. The commission’s legal counsel and staff emphasized that site-specific permitting and technical approvals will govern any subsequent project under the new regulation.
Ending
Adoption of the text amendment gives the commission a new local tool to encourage workforce housing near employers in the South End while reserving the commission’s normal site-plan and permitting scrutiny for any specific project that follows.
