Is New Haven in-law apartment plan 'commonsense zoning' or 'more congestion'?
NEW HAVEN  Opinions abound about accessory dwelling units  aka in-law apartments in the city with many strong ones expressed on all sides over the past couple of weeks. Part of the debate, for residents and officials, centers on whether whether allowing such accessory dwelling units would increase the availability of affordable housing in New Haven and whether the issues are linked. Increasing congestion remains is concern  ADUs and affordability  I see those are separate issues, said City Plan Commission Chairwoman Leslie Radcliffe, making reference to one of the key reasons City Plan staff had for recommending the change, which was part of a larger zoning proposal that grew out of recommendations from the citys Affordable Housing Task Force. Radcliffe also noted this week that ... There are just so many questions that I have.  I dont think we can talk about ADUs and affordability at the same time, if were going to continue to link them together, said Radcliffe. I think this is something that we really dont need to be in a rush to do, Radcliffe said. Congestion  Residents have come out for and against the proposed change, which would make legal a practice that long has been widespread throughout the city. We dont need any more congestion in the Hill, said Greenwich Avenue resident John Carlson. Being a resident basically 15 years in Hill South, the only place where I know where this would work are in homes with existing driveways, Carlson said. So Im against this ADU proposal. Hill South doesnt need any more congestion.  Mary E. O'Leary /Hearst Connecticut Media /  Wooster Place resident Anstress Farwell, executive director of the New Haven Urban Design League, is in favor of ADUs, but said she understands the concerns of Hill South residents about possible congestion and lack of parking. Elizabeth Holt, director of preservation services for the New Haven Preservation Trust, said in a letter that she believes the link between ADUs and affordability is questionable at best. She said she believes the proposal should be withdrawn in light of all the concerns raised. Resident Kevin McCarthy said he is against the change and skeptical it would increase the availability of affordable housing. Developers are businesspeople, McCarthy said. They will set rents as high as they possibly can.  But Nash Street resident John McFadyen was in favor of it. I think this is commonsense zoning, said McFadyen, who said that a few years ago he was able to legally dig out our basement and add a one-bedroom apartment to our home.  The change increased our taxes by 30 percent but allowed us to add the most affordable housing unit on our block, he said. It increased our grand list value by $100,000.  Lighthouse Road resident Neil Olinski also was in favor of allowing accessory dwelling units. The biggest thing is, this will improve property rights, giving homeowners rights to do more with their houses, Olinski said. City Plan Vice Chairman Edward Mattison said he has been interested in the issue for years. The problem is that the devil is in the details, he said. What hes found from talking to people not just in the area but around the country is that in some places its working out and some places its not, he said. City Plan Executive Director Aicha Woods told the commission that in its first phase, which would only allow ADUs where the propertys owner is living in one of the units, any changes would be very mild, with all allowed changes to dwellings needing to fit within existing envelopes, or existing buildings. Mary E. O'Leary /Hearst Connecticut Media file /  The first phase would not result in a lot of ADUs, she said. More would be allowed in the second phase to follow, she said. Phase 2 also would have some specific design guidelines ... and make it easier to build new structures on properties.  The proposal to allow ADUs would do so without requiring additional parking, and reduce minimum lot size from 5,400 square feet to 4,000 square feet. The Board of Alders representative on the commission, Adam Marchand, D-25, said he wondered whether the move would actually increase the supply of affordable housing.  Commission member Ernest Pagan said he had some reservations where we dont know what this is going to do with some of the more dense neighborhoods. But he said he also sympathizes with people on fixed incomes who want to live with a relative so they can stay in their home. All neighborhoods are not the same in the city of New Haven, said Radcliffe. Woods pointed out that this is the beginning of a process and there will be plenty of opportunities for residents to express their opinions before anything changes. I also want to just really make clear that any ADU is subject to the same kind of building codes as any other kind of construction, she said. ... I want to make clear that we are not taking away any of those requirements. Its just a zoning matter. Were taking away some of the barriers.  After hearing more from residents on the proposed zoning text change to allow accessory dwelling units this week, the City Plan Commission closed the public hearing. But commission members will continue talking about it at a special meeting at 6 p.m. July 7 on Zoom, with the link to be posted with the agenda on the City Plan Commission website at https://bit.ly/35wZd1G in the days preceding the meeting. I think a lot of the questions that I had not thought of were raised by the public, Radcliffe said. The meeting also will include a public hearing on the new inclusionary zoning proposal before both the City Plan Commission and Board of Alders. City Plan then will make a recommendation on ADUs to the Board of Alders, which has the ultimate power to approve or reject the proposed change. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com