The Planning and Zoning Commission violated the federal Fair Housing Act and the state Discriminatory Housing Practices Act in its “effective denial” of a housing development application last fall by Central Park Associates LLC, the company charges in a lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed last October, seeks to set aside a Sept. 14 2010 decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission to attach numerous stipulations to Central Park’s application for a housing development.
The stipulations were so cumbersome it constituted a denial of the application, the developer’s lawyer states.
Central Park wants its development application granted and for the town to pick up the tab for lawyer fees.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March 18 at 2 p.m. at Superior Court in New Britain.
A copy of the lawsuit is posted below. Article continues after the document.
Background
Central Park had approvals from the town to build 82 age-restricted housing units on about 58 acres in the area of Larkay Road and Christian Street.
However, the company went back to the P & Z to change the plan. Instead of putting an age restriction on the units, Central Park wanted to build 164 units, with a certain percentage classified as “affordable” under state law.
In September 2010, members of the Oxford P & Z approved an application from Central Park, with 52 stipulations — including that the units be age restricted.
The Central Park application came on the heels of the town losing an affordable housing lawsuit against a company called Garden Homes.
The Central Park lawsuit points to many of the points a judge made in his ruling against Oxford — namely, that Oxford doesn’t have much in the way of affordable housing, nor is it doing much to promote affordable housing in town.
In court documents, Matt Ranelli, Central Park’s attorney, points out that Oxford has an acute need for housing for “moderate and low income households,” and claims that only 1.37 percent of Oxford’s housing qualifies as assisted housing, units mortgaged through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, or deed-restricted to moderate or low income households.
It also claims that Oxford’s percentage of those types of housing has actually declined from 1.5 percent since Connecticut’s affordable housing statute became effective in the early 1990.
Ranelli wouldn’t talk to the Valley Indy about the case.
Fran Teodosio, the town’s attorney, said the two sides in the case have been talking to each other.
“We had one pre-trial up there and it was very productive and we’re set for another on on March 18,” Teodosio said.
Classifying some of the housing under the state’s affordable housing regulations gives developers leverage over towns that don’t have provisions locally to accommodate affordable housing.
According to the courts, Oxford has weak regulations when it comes to affordable housing — which allows state rules to usurp local zoning.
The town is currently working on an incentive housing zone that is supposed to give local authorities more say in where affordable housing can be built.
