A public hearing for the proposed construction of affordable housing on Christian Street and Larkay Road has been set for May 6.
The proposal — presented by Central Park, LLC to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 24 -– arrived in Town Hall one day before an 11-month moratorium on affordable housing applications imposed by the commission was to take effect.
Developer Matt Zaloumis, of Central Park LLC, hopes to change a 2006 approval he has from the town for a 58-acre parcel between Larkay Road and Christian Street.
He has approvals to build an 82-unit, age-restricted condo community there.
However, Zaloumis is now requesting to alter the approval to allow 164 two-and-three bedroom units, with 54 “affordable” condos, as defined by state law.
Including affordable units in an application gives a developer more leverage, because the state law meant to encourage affordable housing trumps local zoning.
The 164 condos would be spread out in 42 buildings. Forty of the buildings would contain four units each. Two buildings would have just two units.
Zaloumis said the recent economic downturn influenced his decision to change the project.
The commission approved a moratorium on all affordable housing applications to start Feb. 25 in order to conduct workshops for developing affordable housing guidelines.
That moratorium expires January 15, 2011, at which point the commission hopes to have affordable housing guidelines added into the town’s zoning regulations.
The commission set the date for the public hearing Thursday without discussion.
Currently the town’s available affordable housing stands at 1.9 percent as compared to the10 percent required by the state.
The town is also waiting for an Appellate Court ruling on a court approval for Garden Homes Corp. to build a 113-unit “mobile manufactured community” along Donovan and Hurley roads.
Economic Development Director Herman Schuler said Thursday considering the town’s current affordable housing status — it’s a good idea to work with developers.
“This could be a very good project and the town should be supportive,” he said.
Shuler added the commission should not waste time on getting affordable housing regulations in the books.
“The commission’s focus should be on approving affordable housing regulations as soon as possible,” he said.
Affordable housing workshops have been scheduled for March 11 and March 30 at 7:15 p.m., which will be followed by a public hearing and town meeting for approval.