Greenwich staff brief commission on state housing-growth law; July 1 changes will remove small multifamily parking minimums

Town planning staff explained the multi-year process Greenwich must follow to implement Special Act 251, the state's housing growth law. Patrick and Tracy told the commission that implementation will proceed in phases through July 1, 2029, when the town must submit a housing-growth plan that maps how assigned targets will be met and how affordable and market-rate units will be distributed.

Staff said two near-term changes take effect on July 1: summary review for 2'9 unit developments in commercial zones (a truncated site-plan process that does not require a public hearing) and the elimination of local parking minimums for multifamily projects of 16 units or fewer. "The July 1st date also requires that towns have no parking minimums for developments of 16 units and less," staff said, adding that towns may adopt a mapped transit or conservation district to retain traffic-safety review authority and to address local parking needs.

Commissioners asked whether the town's existing rules already comply (Greenwich does not restrict unit counts in commercial zones), how the local map will work, and whether the town could require safety and traffic analyses under limited conditions. Staff explained that the town is preparing a draft map for the Western Connecticut Council of Governments review and waiting for a 35-day review by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; if the map is not in place by July 1, applicants for small multifamily projects could avoid local parking requirements unless a health-and-safety exception applied.

The commission left the item open and expects to act on the zoning-text amendments at the next meeting after internal reviews are complete and the state/regional comment periods end.