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First Selectman appoints Affordable Housing Committee and urges work on 8‑30g deed restriction
Summary
First Selectman Dan Lent appointed five members and two alternates to a new Affordable Housing Committee and asked the panel to focus on removing a 40‑year deed restriction tied to Connecticut’s 8‑30g law and exploring alternative enforcement and funding approaches ahead of a proposed spring ordinance.
First Selectman Dan Lent announced appointments to a new Affordable Housing Committee at the Easton Board of Selectmen meeting on Feb. 5, 2026 and urged the group to take up changes related to Connecticut’s 8‑30g statute.
Lent named Jeanne Newman (D), Sherri Chromow (U), Maureen Hanley (R), Jessica Deutsch (D) and Beverlee Dacey (R) as committee members and Kelly Wendt (U) and Robert Wyatt (U) as alternates. He said the committee should examine removal of the 40‑year deed restriction tied to 8‑30g, consider alternative enforcement mechanisms and explore potential funding models that could pair affordable housing with land‑conservation strategies.
The committee is expected to develop an ordinance for consideration at the spring Town Meeting and Lent said he would call its first meeting. Kristi Sogofsky suggested drafting the ordinance for the spring meeting; no vote on the ordinance was taken at this session.
Why it matters: Changes to how Easton responds to 8‑30g and the deed‑restriction framework could affect where and how affordable units are sited in town, alter developer obligations and influence property‑value dynamics that town officials cited as a consideration when increasing conservation land.
Community response at the meeting was mixed but largely supportive of local conservation; a public commenter urged donations to CitizensForEaston.org to prevent development, and several residents thanked the board for its volunteer work.
Next steps: The board has appointed the committee and asked staff to confirm interest from a few additional candidates; the committee will be expected to draft language for the spring Town Meeting and report back to the board.
