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Seymour board approves NVCOG housing survey request from affordable housing committee
Summary
The Board of Selectpersons approved a motion to allow the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments to perform a housing survey requested by the Seymour Affordable Housing Committee, which said the survey will help determine local need and public attitudes toward workforce housing; members asked staff to confirm cost and circulate the housing needs assessment.
The Seymour Board of Selectpersons voted to permit the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) to conduct a housing survey at the request of the Town's Affordable Housing Committee.
Maryanne Robinson, chair of the affordable housing committee, told the board the committee has met for more than a year and identified two central obstacles to affordable housing in Seymour: insufficient developer interest and limited public engagement. Rosalie Abro, a committee member, said the committee wants a survey modeled on a recent Oxford effort to better understand local views on workforce housing and to inform future planning.
Board members asked staff to confirm whether NVCOG will perform the survey at no charge and, if not, where funds would come from because committee budgets are limited. A motion to allow NVCOG to perform the survey was made by Teresa and seconded by Fred; the board voted 5-0 to approve the request and directed the Town Manager to contact NVCOG to confirm costs and share the town's housing needs assessment with board members.
Committee members told the board they will seek broader public engagement to clarify what residents mean by “affordable housing” and to identify whether the town’s present affordable housing percentage (reported in the meeting as roughly 5%) can be improved toward the stated 10% threshold.
