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Fairfield Board Denies 'Affordable' Housing Plan

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Town officials have denied a controversial development plan on Homeland Street in Fairfield. The Town Plan and Zoning Commission members unanimously rejected the idea to add extra homes to a single-family lot in the name of affordable housing.

“The proposal does not advance the available affordable housing at all,” said Planning and Zoning Chair Bryan LeClerc. “No additional units of affordable housing will be built that can’t otherwise be built under our existing regulations.”

James and Brian Sakonchick, owners of 206-214 Homeland St., asked the commission to turn the lot into a “Homelands Opportunity District.” The change would then allow them to build another single-family home with a distinct garage apartment.

The apartment would be designated “affordable” under the state’s housing laws. That distinction would allow the Sakonchicks to build the new house while keeping the existing single-family house intact, despite the area’s requirements for lot sizes.

The commission members were not convinced that the development would actually increase affordable housing in Fairfield. Commission member Douglas Soutar noted that an affordable apartment could already be added to the existing house within the town’s rules. The second house, he said, was unnecessary.

Commissioners also criticized what they called an “incomplete” application from the Sakonchicks. The two did not submit a traffic study to determine the impact extra cars would have on the neighborhood. Commission members were also unclear as to how big the garage apartment would be, saying the size changed throughout the application process.

“The applicant simply does not meet his burden for this item,” LeClerc said.

The proposal’s public hearing, held last month, brought out dozens of neighbors protesting the addition. The major complaint was that approving the change would create too much development in an already dense area.

“We have received, I think, the largest volume of public comment on this application that I can remember,” Soutar said. “Hundreds of residents are deeply concerned about this neighborhood.”

Neighbors in the area also gathered enough support on a formal petition to force a “supermajority” approval vote on the proposal, meaning two-thirds of the commission would need to vote in favor. In the end, however, the plan failed to get any supporting votes.  

 

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