Danbury zoning commission reviews state-mandated ADU, TOD and design regulation updates

Danbury Zoning Commission members on April 14 reviewed a package of state-mandated revisions to the city's zoning regulations that would add accessory apartments (ADUs) in the downtown TOD district, introduce a new mixed-use transit-oriented district, update multifamily design standards, and align the city's manufactured-home definition with a state size requirement.

Associate planner Ali Smith, who led the presentation, said the accessory-apartment update is a state mandate and would be limited to the DTOD zoning district. "It is going to be located within the DTOD zoning district," Smith said, and the amendment would allow an accessory apartment to be up to 30% of the usable gross floor area of the principal residence while other accessory uses remain capped at 25%.

Smith told commissioners that ADUs would also carry operational limits: they cannot be leased for fewer than 30 days, must follow the standard zoning-permit process, and must meet building and fire codes and, when applicable, health-department approvals for well/septic systems.

Commissioners asked whether ADUs would count toward Danbury's 10% affordable-housing requirement. Smith said ADUs would not automatically be deed-restricted; only if an owner voluntarily places an ADU under a deed restriction would it count toward the city's affordable-housing percentage under the state statute cited by staff.

Planning Director Waleed Al Bakri said the draft includes an owner-occupancy and a three-year ownership requirement intended to prevent quick resale or "flipping" of ADUs. "So it wouldn't work if somebody's selling a property that the new owner will legally have an accessory apartment," Al Bakri said, describing the licensing and ownership steps a new owner would need to take.

The presentation also covered updated design standards for DTOD and other mixed-use properties to create a more cohesive downtown character (rooflines, awnings, setbacks and landscaping), a new "transit community middle housing" definition allowing 2-to-9-unit developments in certain commercial or mixed-use zones, and a proposal to allow applicants to submit a parking demand assessment to justify fewer parking spaces than a strict minimum.

Staff said the city's existing manufactured-home language would remain but the width allowance would be changed from 35 to 40 feet to meet state requirements; staff emphasized this is a sizing alignment rather than a new use.

Councilman Rotello, attending as a member of the public, raised broader state-level concerns: he asked whether the state might remove municipal opt-outs for ADUs and whether a state provision allowing up to 15 units per acre near transit stations could affect neighborhoods near Long Ridge. Smith and Al Bakri said that, under the draft, ADUs are limited to DTOD and that the 15-units-per-acre provision was not in effect locally at the time of the workshop.

Al Bakri told the commission the draft regulations were with city attorneys for review and staff hoped to file the official application with the zoning commission within two weeks, with the goal of adopting the regulations before the state's July 1 deadline. He also said the city is at about 10.51% affordable housing and noted a senior housing project expected to provide 79 new units, with a minimum of 80% of those units designated affordable.

The workshop concluded with staff thanking commissioners and colleagues. There were no final votes on the zoning text at the meeting; staff will return with the formal application after legal review.