Affordable Housing in Oxford

Affordable housing is a state-mandated, court-enforced reality for every town in Connecticut.  I don’t like and don’t agree with the State telling us what we have to do, but that is the reality nonetheless.  More than four years ago, developers started forcing Oxford to accept high-density projects with few controls over them because we didn’t have any real regulations of our own.  As of today, we still don’t.  Only the Planning & Zoning Commission has the power and authority to change this, and so it is imperative that they complete and approve regulations that will protect the Town while satisfying the courts.

One of the major reasons why my wife and I moved to Oxford is because of the rural character of the town.  We loved it, and don’t want to see that character lost.  The good news is, we don’t have to.  We’ve also raised three children here, and would like them to have the ability to stay in town once they are ready to build lives of their own.  Providing housing that is affordable to younger people; to teachers, to young couples starting out, to workers that provide many of the services we rely on every day, is a good thing.  A town stays vibrant when there is a mix of generations, and right now there is a big gap in that mix. 

We already have ‘high density’ housing in town- Oxford Greens & Meadowbrook.  We also already have apartments and mixed-use developments (meaning commercial and residential in the same building), so these are not radically new concepts.  The apartments and mixed use buildings are hardly distinguishable from the rest of the development in town, and both of the age-restricted communities have been developed attractively, so it is possible to have ‘high density’ developments that would not be a blight on the town. 

The Planning & Zoning Commission is made up of Town residents, elected by Town residents.  They have been working diligently, but need to complete the process of developing strict regulations for affordable housing without delay.  As First Selectman I will encourage ALL Planning & Zoning members to work together to implement effective and comprehensive regulations to not only ensure that Oxford retains its beautiful, natural character, but that the issues of taxes, infrastructure, and the effect on our schools are also considered.