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Stamford planning board backs zoning text change to protect below-market-rate units after 1201 Washington Boulevard sale
Summary
The Planning Board voted unanimously June 24 to recommend a zoning text change requiring review and replacement or fee-in-lieu when BMR units are lost, and to give displaced BMR residents priority for future units; the change responds to the sale of 1201 Washington Boulevard to Yukon.
Stamford’s Planning Board on June 24 unanimously recommended a zoning text change intended to protect below-market-rate (BMR) units after the sale of 1201 Washington Boulevard to Yukon, which is converting the building toward student housing. Ralph Blessing, land use bureau chief for the City of Stamford, told the board the proposal responds to an unanticipated loss of nine BMR units at the Boulevard and seeks to reduce the city’s reliance on voluntary, ad hoc solutions.
The proposed amendment would require zoning approval for the loss of affordable units, mandate a one-for-one replacement of lost BMR units where feasible, allow a fee-in-lieu payment to the city’s affordable housing trust fund when replacement housing is not provided, and create priority placement for displaced BMR tenants when new BMR units become available. Blessing said the text change also addresses cases where bonus floor area or other zoning bonuses were granted and the amenity tied to those bonuses is later removed; the amendment would either require removal of the bonus area or a higher fee-in-lieu to compensate the city.
Blessing described two operational options being pursued for residents of the Boulevard: (1) allow some residents to remain until replacement units at the Burlington Coat Factory site (74 Broad Street) are available, or (2) provide interim housing with the seller or owner covering the rent difference until permanent alternatives are ready. He said those arrangements have thus far been voluntary and that the proposed text change would codify protections for future conversions that remove BMR units.
Board members pressed staff on implementation details. Blessing said students are expected to start moving into the Boulevard building with leases honored until expiration, and that the Burlington site’s completion is tentatively expected in 2026. He described the city’s BMR program as having per-building waiting lists rather than a unified list and said the proposed text would change default affordability-plan rules going forward to permit priority for displaced residents when a new project comes online.
On enforcement and cost calculations, Blessing said the fee-in-lieu level has been increased (more than doubled in the proposal) to approximate the cost of the amenity the bonus initially purchased and to deter developers from removing promised public amenities. He emphasized the proposal is aimed at preventing future losses and sending a clear policy signal to developers and property owners.
The board voted unanimously to forward the text change as a referral to the zoning board. The zoning board is expected to consider the item at its next available meeting per its scheduling rules.
