December 2022-First Selectwoman’s Update
Advocates, Planners, Legislators and Developers Want to Change Wilton Center and or the Area Around the Train Station……What Do You Want?
Advocates: DesegregateCT, a pro-housing coalition, has signaled they will again advocate for state legislation requiring as of right overall average density of 15 units per acre in an area within a half-mile of a train station with, among others, a requirement of only 10% affordable units.
What does overall average density mean? The overall average density is the average density for a designated area, not the density for each individual lot within the area. Until the entire area has an average density of 15 units per acre, there isn’t a density cap on any one property. For example, a 50-acre area comprised of multiple properties, as defined, would require 750 housing units to achieve an overall density of 15 units per acre and reach the cap for as of right development. (750 units/50 acres = 15 units per acre). As an example within the half-mile, the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) previously approved a 74-unit apartment building at 300 Danbury Road with no affordable units. Under DesegregateCT’s proposal, a much larger project could be built as of right on the property, with only 10% affordable units.
What does as of right mean? As of right means a qualifying multi-family development would no longer be required to obtain a special permit from P&Z, as is currently required.
What area is within a half-mile radius of the Wilton Center Train Station? There are approximately 500 acres within a half-mile of the Wilton Center Train Station. See this draft map. Some versions of the DesegregateCT proposal would restrict use of the overall average density to properties with public water and sewer. See this draft map for those properties.
Last month, DesegregateCT emailed “…the pressure for the state to take meaningful action on the housing crisis will be even greater than last session, which all work in our favor”. On Wednesday, they shared the following after an announcement of co-chairs for the Planning and Development Committee, which is expected to entertain their bill, “We think these appointments are a great sign for the pro-homes vision in the statehouse for Connecticut over the next two years.”
On Wednesday, a new housing coalition, Growing Together, announced their legislative priorities, which included a fair share housing zoning and planning initiative similar to what was adopted in New Jersey, which would allocate responsibility for new affordable housing to each CT municipality based on a number of factors, including wealth, not to exceed 20% of overall housing. Wilton currently has approximately 6,400 housing units.
The new housing would be expected to be built as part of mix of market rate and affordable projects and government supported projects. The group’s one-pager about fair housing zoning and planning is available here. According to news reports, this group also expressed optimism for this legislative session, noting it wasn’t an election year.
Legislators: The 2023 Legislative Session begins on January 4th. Whether or not you support the above proposals or if you are undecided, I encourage you to watch for any submitted bills. After reviewing, share your views with our legislators and the Legislature’s Planning and Development Committee, the committee expected to consider any proposed bills.
Local Planners: The P&Z Master Planning Subcommittee expects to wrap up their work, present a recommendation to the entire P&Z in January and hold a public hearing on the recommendations later in January/February. The Subcommittee is expected to recommend an overlay form-based zoning option for property owners within Wilton Center and an overlay zone without form-based zoning on Danbury Road from Wolfpit to Pimpewaug. The proposal would be an available alternative to the current zoning regulations for the areas.
The draft Master Plan is available here. Page 18 includes a map of all the properties being considered for development and those that have the potential for development. A discussion of draft recommendations begins on page 71. All master planning documents are available here.
Look for more information about the public hearing in January.
Developers: A number of developers in the area of the proposed Master Plan have had pre-application discussions with P&Z. One, 12 Godfrey Place, submitted an application with a proposal to create a multi-family transit-orientated residential district within a half-mile of the Wilton Train Station with a density of 56 units per acre on a minimum lot of .5 acres and, among others, 10% required affordable units. P&Z will continue to consider the application at their meetings in January. The public is expected be able to provide comments at meetings in January or February.
Free COVID Test Kits. Yesterday, the federal government announced residents may order 4 free COVID test kits online at https://www.covid.gov/tests.
Commercial Office Building Activity. Earlier this month, ASML purchased the 300,000+ square foot commercial office building at 20 Westport Road. The building had been vacant since Bridgewater’s move to Stamford. This was a great solution for ASML and a win for Wilton.
Our overall vacancy rate is expected to decrease from almost 50% to +/-28%.
The sale of this office building and another at 40 Danbury Road in October confirmed our expectations for the October 1, 2023 revaluation. Declining commercial office building values will likely result in a shift of some property taxes previously paid by commercial office building owners to other taxpayers.
Town Hall Personnel Changes. During November and December there were changes in three appointed public-facing Town Hall positions. Longtime Chief Building Official Bob Root retired. Longtime Assistant Building Official Mark Lawrence was promoted and appointed to Chief Building Official. Acting Tax Collector Jessica Baldwin was promoted and promoted to Tax Collector. We are always pleased to be able to promote from within. Congratulations to both. Following a personal move, Assessor Sarah Scacco resigned to assume an Assessor position closer to home. She will provide assistance until a new assessor is hired. We are grateful for both Bob's and Sarah's service and wish them the best with their new adventures.
December Events. The date for the Menorah Lighting was reported incorrectly in the emailed edition of the November Update. The date is December 19th on the Town Green.
My best wishes to you and our community for a peaceful, prosperous and happy new year. Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to those celebrating.
Lynne A Vanderslice
First Selectwoman