Fairfield County Affordable Housing Town Plans Graded: See How Your Town Did

CONNECTICUT — Several Connecticut towns are advancing plans to build more affordable housing, but much work needs to be done across Fairfield County, according to a housing advocacy group.

Fairfield County’s Center for Housing Opportunity published a series of scorecards that grade towns on their plans. The group collaborated with DesegregateCT to score each town’s plan.

Scores are based on housing needs assessment, goals and action and implementation strategies, among other criteria.

“The scorecards project is important because it shines a spotlight on promising ideas and plans to increase housing equity, while raising awareness about areas where we are falling short as a region on an issue that impacts all of us,” said Mendi Blue Paca, incoming CEO, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation in a statement.

Here is how Fairfield County towns scored:

• Stamford: 4
• Danbury: 3.5
• Bethel: 3
• Fairfield: 3
• Westport: 3
• Stratford: 2.5
• New Canaan: 2.5
• Weston: 2.5
• Greenwich: 2.5
• Brookfield: 2
• Easton: 1.5
• Redding: 1.5
• Wilton: 1.5
• Monroe: 1.5
• Newtown: 1.5
• Sherman: 1
• New Fairfield: 1

Westport embraced the state law planning process and worked to include private and public-sector resources, Westport Planning and Zoning Commissioner Danielle Dobin said in a statement.

“Residents, and interested parties from outside of Westport, worked collaboratively with the Planning & Zoning Commission to plan for new affordable housing developments that preserve Westport’s small town feel, historic resources, green spaces and the suburban lifestyle that attracts residents here,” Dobin said.

Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons said affordable housing is a fundamental part of her goal as mayor.

“We are proud of the affordable housing plan which our community produced after rigorous public engagement, and we thank Fairfield County’s Center for Housing Opportunity for drawing attention to the plan and holding us accountable for its results,” she said in a statement.

State legislators passed a law in 2017 that required towns to submit their affordable housing plans by June 2022; 114 towns have submitted their plans as of Sept. 14, according to the CT Mirror.

Some town officials complained that the scorecards favor larger towns, which tend to have better staffing to help with affordable housing plans, according to the Mirror.

Local zoning control advocacy group CT 169 Strong also criticized the scorecard report and called it subjective and somewhat misleading.

“If a truly objective grading system for Affordable Housing plans were possible, the legislature would have likely included that in the legislation,” the group said in a statement.

Fairfield County has the greatest need for affordable housing out of all Connecticut’s counties, according to FCCHO. About another 25,000 affordable homes are needed for residents who make between 0 and 30 percent of the area median income.