Letter To Editor: 'Regarding Affordable Housing In Ridgefield'

Affordable housing is welcome and needed in Ridgefield, but the process should be fully transparent.

At the October 21st Board of Selectmen meeting, the Affordable Housing Committee Chairman requested that the Selectmen approve a request for a $30-$50K state grant to be used to pay for a feasibility study for a 150-unit affordable housing project.

The 150-unit development would be situated on 15-acres of town-owned property between Prospect Ridge Road, Ivy Hill Road, Halpin Lane, and the Ridgefield Rail Trail.

The purpose of a feasibility study is to understand all aspects of a project and to become aware of any potential problems that could occur while implementing the project.

The initial proposal includes a hypothetical unit distribution of 60 affordable elderly units. The proposal also includes 90 affordable (two and three bedroom) family units with maximum income limits ranging between 40% and 80% of the state median income.

I voted against spending taxpayer money for a feasibility study on a proposed plan that has not been discussed by the residents of Ridgefield.

Before approving a study that will advance us down a path toward a substantial project such as this, we should form a citizens commission to study and recommend the highest and best use for town-owned property that reflects the desires of our residents. Essentially, we should follow a similar process that we used when evaluating the town-owned Schlumberger property.

There is also legislation (LCO 3562) being drafted for the January legislative session that may remove significant local control of planning and zoning decisions. In essence, we may be looking at a completely different set of laws affecting our local control of zoning and land use decisions on affordable housing in our town. We should not embark on a 150-unit affordable housing project before we know how our state legislators will vote on anticipated new zoning legislation.

Let's not rush to put the horse before the cart. I believe it is in our best interests to tighten up the process, inform our residents, and wait a few months to see what happens with the current draft zoning legislation. It's simply not the right time to start the biggest affordable housing project in Ridgefield's history.

Bob Hebert, Board of Selectmen