Municipalities in Fairfield County have until April 15 to apply for a housing program through which they can receive direct technical assistance to help them implement their local affordable housing programs.
The program resulted from a partnership between the state Department of Housing (DOH) and the Fairfield County Center for Housing Opportunity (FCCHO), and is open to municipalities with populations under 90,000.
Officials said five municipalities will be accepted to participate. The technical assistance can include updating zoning regulations, streamlining the development application process, pre-development assistance, design assistance, data collection, financial tools, and connecting with developers.
The program also includes the ability for those selected to engage in a peer-learning cohort with technical experts, state agencies, and each other to work through and solve challenges, said Melissa Kaplan-Macey, Chief Initative Officer for the Center for Housing Opportunity.
“The peer learning cohort will be an opportunity for participants to glean insights, exchange best practices, and learn from each other’s successes and challenges,” Kaplan-Macey said.
Interested municipalities can apply here.
Kaplan-Macey said this is a new endeavor that came from DOH Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, who connected with FCCHO to co-design a program that will help local communities with the technical support they need to move forward in turning their local affordable housing plans into action.
Mosquera-Bruno said the program will help connect municipalities to experience and resources that can help smaller cities and towns.
“I know these issues can be challenging at the local level, and I recognize that sometimes all it takes is a little bit of help to get things started. I believe this initiative can kick start that activity. I encourage every municipality in Fairfield County with a population under 90,000 to apply,” Mosquera-Bruno said.
The need for affordable housing plans has been a widely-discussed issue for several years. But since the pandemic – which saw a big influx of new residents from larger cities like Boston and New York – the state’s housing inventory at every price point shrunk.
Municipalities in Connecticut were require to adopt an affordable housing plan by June 1, 2022. Of Fairfield County’s 23 municipalities, 13 approved and submitted a plan to the state’s Office of Policy and Management ahead of that deadline.
According to a 2022 report completed by FCCHO, the state’s housing crisis is magnified in Fairfield County, which has the highest rate of income inequality of any metropolitan area in the United States and is one of the nation’s most racially segregated places.
“Extreme wealth coexists with extreme poverty, and the housing stock and health outcomes of residents reflect this: Residents of the state’s largest city, Bridgeport, have a life expectancy that is a decade shorter than residents who live 20 minutes down the road in Westport,” according to the report.
“The overarching aim of the (new) program is to support and streamline the implementation of locally driven affordable housing initiatives,” Kaplan-Macey said.
