Connecticut's War on the Suburbs
Breach of Faith With the Spirit of Home Rule
And Local Control of Land Use
On July 26, 2022, Planning and Zoning meets to endorse a letter to be included in the introduction to the affordable housing plan. Mr. Hendrick, the Commission Chair took the liberty of adding the following sentence which was not in the letter presented to the Commission and approved on July 26: "We hereby recommend the plan for approval by the Board of Selectmen." Here is that letter with that added sentence highlighted.
See the 7-minute video of that discussion below. At 2:30 minutes into the discussion of the letter, the Chairman says very plainly the Commission's position that "stand-alone affordable housing projects do not bolster an integrated and diverse community." (also highlighted) He refers to such projects as "slums." When the Prospect Ridge expansion project is referred to the Commission for an 8-24 report, they are highly unlikely to return a positive and supportive decision. The Board of Selectmen should refer this to the Commission for an 8-24 report before another cent of State grant money is spent on the DOA proposal.
Special thanks to Mariah Okrongly, the only Commissioner with the courage to vote against approving this plan that ignored much of the Commission's input.
See the 7-minute video of that discussion below. At 2:30 minutes into the discussion of the letter, the Chairman says very plainly the Commission's position that "stand-alone affordable housing projects do not bolster an integrated and diverse community." (also highlighted) He refers to such projects as "slums." When the Prospect Ridge expansion project is referred to the Commission for an 8-24 report, they are highly unlikely to return a positive and supportive decision. The Board of Selectmen should refer this to the Commission for an 8-24 report before another cent of State grant money is spent on the DOA proposal.
Special thanks to Mariah Okrongly, the only Commissioner with the courage to vote against approving this plan that ignored much of the Commission's input.
Ridgefield is learning how State regulations that usurp the authority of the locally elected Planning and Zoning Commission can drive local public policy to build additional restricted low income housing for which very few current local residents would even qualify to live. Ridgefield has a poverty rate of 2% and restricted low income housing accounts for 3% of housing unites. Yet the State says Ridgefield must increase those units to 10%, which could only be filled by importing more poverty into Ridgefield.
The Affordable Housing Committee Chair, David Goldenberg, and his hired consultant, Glenn Chalder of Planmetrics, say we need this because over 34% of local households are "home-cost-burdened" since they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. But very few, if any, of these current residents have incomes low enough to qualify for deed-restricted housing that qualifies to satisfy the 8-30g mandated 10% of housing units. This argument is a canard. Don't be fooled by it.
Furthermore, 34% is not an anomalous number at just below the median for all Connecticut towns. Statewide the number is over 39%. And Ridgefield is next to the bottom among District Reference Group A towns.
The Affordable Housing Committee Chair, David Goldenberg, and his hired consultant, Glenn Chalder of Planmetrics, say we need this because over 34% of local households are "home-cost-burdened" since they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. But very few, if any, of these current residents have incomes low enough to qualify for deed-restricted housing that qualifies to satisfy the 8-30g mandated 10% of housing units. This argument is a canard. Don't be fooled by it.
Furthermore, 34% is not an anomalous number at just below the median for all Connecticut towns. Statewide the number is over 39%. And Ridgefield is next to the bottom among District Reference Group A towns.
The demand by ideologues from organizations like Desegregate Connecticut, the Regional Plan Association and the Fairfield County Center for Housing Opportunity think they know better than locally elected officials how to manage local land-use issues. They do not have the best interests of suburban households or Ridgefield at heart.
These ideologies have local agents who infiltrate appointed committees and elected commissions and who earn their livings as developers, consultants and association executives and staff, dedicated to spreading poverty evenly across Connecticut. This will not reduce or alleviate poverty but only divert attention from failing schools and social programs in over-populated urban areas.
The State is a giant income redistribution machine that now threatens to kill its golden goose… the suburbs. For example, Ridgefield residents file over 10,000 State income tax returns a year, contributing $110 million or over $10 thousand per return. Yet only $9 million of that, or 10%, comes back to the Town in intergovernmental revenue. While large urban areas like Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven get 2 to 6 times in intergovernmental revenue to what they pay into the State treasury in personal income taxes.
Ridgefield more than fulfills its moral obligation to its neighbors, not only through the redistribution of wealth through taxation, but also through philanthropy and its good example of hard work and civic pride. The State should not take that for granted, nor should it insult our local elected officials by mandating unrealistic and unpopular policies that make no sense on their face.
The Prospect Ridge Expansion Project is the kind of consequence of this kind of insanity and is recorded for you in videos below.
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Ridgefield is required by State statue 8-30j to submit an affordable housing plan every five years starting no later than June 1, 2022. The statue requires that the plan includes how the town plans to increase its inventory of low-income restricted housing, whether there is a demonstrated local need for it or not.
The Ridgefield Affordable Housing Committee is tasked with preparing this plan. The 13 page memo, the first page of which is pictured to the right, was sent to David Goldenberg on January 18, to share with the committee.
It demonstrates that Ridgefield's local need for such low-income restricted housing has already been largely satisfied. It demonstrates that:
Please click on the image to the right to download the complete memo.
The Ridgefield Affordable Housing Committee is tasked with preparing this plan. The 13 page memo, the first page of which is pictured to the right, was sent to David Goldenberg on January 18, to share with the committee.
It demonstrates that Ridgefield's local need for such low-income restricted housing has already been largely satisfied. It demonstrates that:
- Ridgefield's cost burdened household percent is normal and no cause for government intervention
- Low-income housing does bot decrease the amount of cost burdened households and may increase the percentage of cost burdened household
- Ridgefield does not have an abnormally large percentage of Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) households as defined by the United Way
- Low-income housing does not decrease the percentage of ALICE households and appears to increase that metric
- The wait list for Ridgefield Housing Authority units at 81 is much smaller than previously represented to the Board of Selectmen
- Only 16, or 20%, of those on the wait list are from Ridgefield and have been on the list on average less than one year.
- There are currently 6 vacancies and 17 units per year have turned over during the previous 24 months.
Please click on the image to the right to download the complete memo.
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The Ridgefield Affordable Housing Committee
Meets With Planning and Zoning Commission
Decides to Table the Prospect Ridge Expansion Project
Until the Affordable Housing Plan is Submitted to the State in June of 2022.
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The Ridgefield Housing Authority Conference Call
Discussion of Grant Application
Implying the Affordable Housing Authority
Will Develop and Manage the
Prospect Ridge Expansion Project
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Grant Application for $50,0000
Inaccurately Stating
That the Ridgefield Housing Authority
Will Develop and Manage
The Prospect Ridge Expansion Project
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The Ridgefield Affordable Housing Committee
Engages the Public In a Process to
Write an Affordable Housing Plan
But Finds the Public Understandably Hostile
About Sacrificing Open Space for
The Prospect Ridge Expansion Proposal
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Learn About How This
Is Negatively Impacting
Communities Across Connecticut