Creating Weston's Affordable Housing Plan
The goal: improving housing options for all life stages and lifestyles, while protecting existing community attributes.
Introduction
Connecticut is an expensive place to live and the lack of housing affordability in many communities often means that young people can’t afford to live in the towns where they grew up, older residents can’t afford to downsize within their community, and people employed in lower paying jobs can’t afford to live where they work.
Offering diverse housing, including affordable units, is an investment in the community. It can be a catalyst for talent retention, health, wellbeing and quality of life for all residents. Recognizing that there is no "one size fits all" approach, the Town of Weston is developing an Affordable Housing Plan to identify ways to increase the diversity of housing types and the number of affordable housing units in a manner that supports community housing needs and aligns with community goals, while recognizing Weston’s unique infrastructure, resource and ecological characteristics.
This Plan will build off of recent efforts including the Town Center Plan and Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). The POCD noted that there is a lack of housing diversity in Weston. The Town Survey and POCD workshops showed a clear appetite for exploring how to allow for more housing choices in Weston, especially in the Town Center. Participants also supported the idea of exploring the possibility of "open space" or "cluster" subdivisions in other potentially suitable locations in Town. Concurrent with the Affordable Housing Plan, the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) is developing a Village Center District, which will explore ways to encourage commercial development and housing diversity within an expanded Town Center. These two planning processes are the next steps towards completing the Town Center vision and furthering the POCD's goal of improving housing options.
Results of the POCD workshop exercise focused on housing
The Plan will be funded in part by a grant from the CT Department of Housing.
We encourage you to scroll through this webpage, learn more about Affordable Housing in Weston, and provide input during this process. At the bottom of the page, there is a link to a brief survey where you can share your perspective on local housing strengths and areas of opportunity. Thank you for your interest and participation!
What is Affordable Housing?
Affordable housing is typically defined as housing that costs no more than 30% of a household’s income.*
The State has adopted a statutory definition under which "affordable housing" is housing which, due to deed restriction or subsidy, will cost a low-income household no more than 30% of their income. A goal of State law is for 10% of housing units in every town to be "affordable" due to deed restrictions or subsidies. For this purpose, a low-income household is a household making less than 80% of State or Area Median Income (AMI), whichever is less. Under this definition, a family of four making less than $78,500 per year or an individual making less than $54,950 per year in Weston could qualify for deed-restricted or subsidized housing. [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Income Limits]
AMI is more tailored to individual towns. Weston falls within the "Stamford-Norwalk, CT HUD Metro Fair-Market-Rent Area, which also includes Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Westport, and Wilton. Based on currently applicable AMI, a family of four making less than $95,000 per year or an individual making less than $66,500 per year in Weston could qualify for deed-restricted or subsidized housing. [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Income Limits]
Housing can also be affordable due to prevailing market conditions. These "naturally-occurring" units are privately owned and operated, and would be affordable to low and moderate-income households based on the market-determined price rather than any subsidy or deed restriction. While these units are needed for a healthy and diverse housing market, low-income households have to compete with other households to live in these units, and market forces can cause price fluctuations. "Naturally-occurring" affordable housing is not recognized as "affordable" by State statute.
- *The common measurement of affordable housing need based on the 30% cost burden likely overstates needs in high income areas where households may more easily afford to spend higher percentages of their incomes without negatively impacting other needs. (Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2018)
Who needs affordable housing in Weston?
Access to affordable housing is a need in every Connecticut town, including in higher income communities like Weston. Based on median household income in the 2019 American Community Survey, in Weston, 409 households (14%) are considered low-income when using the local AMI. These households include seniors, young adults, some municipal staff, and people who work in lower-wage jobs. In the same year, 84% of low-income households in Weston spent greater than 30% of their income on housing and as a result might have difficulty affording other necessities such as food, transportation, and medical care.
Low-income households are not the only ones who spend more than 30% of their income on housing. 615 households (26%) that are not considered low income spend more than 30% of their income on housing. In total, 34% of all households in Weston spend more than 30% of their income on housing. [2019 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates] These households may feel compelled to leave Weston in the future for a community with more housing choice.
How much affordable housing does Weston have?
Under the State definition described above (that requires a deed restriction or subsidy), as of 2019, only 8 units, or 0.23% of Weston’s total housing units were deemed affordable. [There are no available statistics indicating the number of naturally-occurring affordable units in Weston.]
Weston's real estate market has experienced a significant resurgence in recent months. Thus, while Weston's naturally occurring affordable housing units may be currently affordable to low-income households these units may not be affordable in the future if rents or home sale prices continue to increase. In addition, these units may not be occupied by low-income households. Low-income households have to compete with higher income households for the same units.
Data Analysis & Needs Assessment
Click through the slides below to explore the current conditions in Weston.
