Solving the ongoing housing crisis in Connecticut will likely require converting existing housing stock into additional affordable units, according to a new study.
The Affordable Housing Finance Study, commissioned by the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG), outlines recommendations to help Western Connecticut municipalities reach their affordable housing goals. The recommendations would affect mostly the areas anchored by Danbury, Stamford, and Norwalk.
Goman+York, the organization that created the study, focused its recommendations on changes that would make the highest impact on the overall availability of affordable housing at the lowest cost, though it accepts that any development will come with an expense. The study also recognized the challenge of ensuring a return on investment when designating large units for affordable housing, pricing those units at a lower rate than the overall market.
Chief among their recommendations was the conversion of existing commercial stock to housing units, and focusing on large, high-density rentals. High-density rentals – with a focus on large rental units catering to affordable housing – allow for a “more viable and less expensive approach to expand the supply” of affordable housing.
Additionally, converting existing single-family homes into multi-family units would add more housing at the lowest possible cost. This includes converting basements, attics, or large garage spaces into housing, as well as converting large homes into duplex, tri-plex, or quadplex units.
The Connecticut legislature attempted to pass a bill during this year’s session to make it easier for developers to convert existing commercial buildings. S.B. 416 – An Act Concerning the Conversion of Commercial Real Property for Residential Use – passed out of the Senate after a few hours of debate. It was added to the House calendar but never received a vote on the House floor.
If the bill had been passed, it would have allowed municipalities to approve these projects assuming they were in line with existing fire and other safety codes.
Opponents of the bill argued that it wasn’t needed, because they did not believe that zoning laws were the barrier to these types of conversion.
The study’s findings disagree.
“While zoning is seen as a significant barrier to affordable housing, its influence on home and rent value is not as prominent as believed, and market forces play a more substantial role in determining prices,” the study begins before adding, “Zoning does, however, limit supply and contribute to the scarcity of affordable housing.”
The study also found that some creative solutions, like eliminating size requirements for eligible units and increasing tax incentives for providing affordable housing, could also help bridge the gaps. These changes, however, are outside of the capability of municipal governments.
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