Stratford commission pauses decision on 225 Lordship Boulevard after debate over who benefits from affordable units
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Summary
Developers proposed keeping an approved 100-unit building but shifting all affordable units to 80% of area median income to yield more affordable units without adding density. Planning staff and some commissioners warned the change would eliminate lower-cost (60% AMI) units that serve the most vulnerable; the item was tabled for further analysis.
The Stratford Zoning Commission paused action on a revision to the previously approved 225 Lordship Boulevard housing project after heated exchange over whether the change would worsen access to the town's lowest-cost rentals.
Attorney Raymond Rizzio, speaking for 225 Lordship Boulevard LLC, described two alternatives: the originally requested increase to add a floor and 27 units under Conn. Gen. Stat. ' 8-30g, or an alternative his client proposed at the hearing to keep the building at the approved 100 units but change the affordability mix so that roughly 35'36 units would all be deed-restricted at 80% of area median income (AMI). Rizzio said the conversion would let the developer provide more affordable units without increasing density or the building's approved footprint, and that the project includes 267 parking spaces (about 1.35 per unit) and 20,000 square feet of self-storage buffers to adjacent uses.
Planning and zoning administrator Jay Hebanski told commissioners the tradeoff is significant: the plan the commission previously approved includes 30 affordable units, split between 15 at 60% AMI and 15 at 80% AMI. Approving the applicant's proposed conversion to only 80% AMI would remove the 60% AMI units that rent for substantially less and are aimed at the town's most financially vulnerable residents. Hebanski said the choice before commissioners is whether to prioritize reduced density or keeping the lower-cost units that more directly serve people at the lowest incomes.
Commissioners asked for details on deed restrictions (the applicant said the affordable units would be deed-restricted for 40 years) and for flood resilience measures for the Lordship site; the applicant said finished residences would be built above the floodplain and that final engineering and town building-permit review would implement FEMA- and town-engineer-required stormwater measures.
After deliberation the commission voted to table the item and asked Jay Hebanski to prepare a comparative table showing (a) the previously approved 100-unit plan and its 60%/80% mix, (b) the applicant's originally requested 127-unit alternative, and (c) the applicant's 100-unit/80% AMI-only proposal. No formal approval or denial was issued. The commission left the public record open for further consideration.
