[ad_1]
elizabeth leggan
That day
LYME, Conn. — The town’s Affordable Housing Committee has outlined a vision for a first responder village that could help retain the young volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians who will form the backbone of the town’s emergency services .
Commission co-chairs Carol House and Carlen Gerber on Monday proposed their $750,000 purchase of a 3.6-acre property just over a half-mile from the Hamburg Road fire station. Proposal for real estate. They said purchasing the property and making minimal upgrades to the house and separate apartments would allow up to six volunteer firefighters to move in immediately at affordable rents.
The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to authorize First Selectman David Lahm to include the funding request in the proposed 2024-25 budget he will present to the Finance Committee next week.
The budget requires approval from the Treasury Department and then approval by voters at the annual town meeting in May.
Howes attributed the council’s sense of urgency to the recent death of the owner, who approached them six months ago about the possibility of using the site for affordable housing.
She said the woman’s heirs were ready to sell.
“It will be available soon, and if we don’t act now, we will lose it,” she said.
Officials declined to disclose the property’s address due to competition concerns. But a parcel matching the exact property description and ownership was listed in the assessor’s database with an assessed value of $612,800.
In a written proposal, the committee said it faced what fire department and Lyme Ambulance Association leaders described as a looming threat: Young recruits are receiving training and gaining experience in Lyme “but will soon move to more economical The place.”
Gerber acknowledged that the cost of purchasing and rehabilitating the properties must be borne by taxpayers and private donors because state and federal grants do not apply to programs that limit access to housing to one class of people.
“If the town wants to control who lives there, the town has to take action,” she said.
Lamm, who also sits on the Affordable Housing Committee, said he knows of seven members of the fire department or ambulance company who might be interested in the opportunity.
a way to start
Lyme Fire Chief John Evans said Tuesday that he supports the concept of providing housing for volunteers. But he stressed it was too early to say too much about the proposal.
By his count, there are currently about 18 active volunteers responding to calls.
“We have a younger group of members and finding housing in the area to retain them is a challenge,” he said. “A lot of my members have to live outside of town, so this is a step in the right direction.”
The proposal comes after the Planning and Zoning Commission last week declined to take action on a code change requested by the Affordable Housing Committee that would have allowed certain types of multifamily housing as long as it was 100 percent designated as affordable housing according to state standards That’s it.
Zoning Enforcement Officer Ross Byrne said Tuesday that planning and zoning commissioners, who are updating the town’s preservation and development plan, want to await the results of a survey expected to be released this spring to gauge residents’ interest in changes to a focus on tracts of mostly single-family homes. landscape.
The current conservation and development plan, approved in 2015, discourages multifamily development.
But in a presentation to selectmen, House said she believes residents are now willing to embrace modest multifamily housing options, such as two-story duplexes or four-story apartments rented at rents affordable to young and old. .
“There’s still a lot of work to be done on affordable housing,” she said. “But it’s a way to start, and it’s a cheap way to start, and it’s a quick way to start, and it solves our biggest problem.”
The First Responder Village proposal would not require any zoning changes because up to five unrelated people would be allowed to live together in a “family” residence under the definition set forth in the regulations.
If the planning and zoning commission ultimately approves the code changes, House said there would be room on the land for cottages or small multifamily units.
Pay Now or… Pay Now
The co-chairs said it would be cheaper to address volunteerism through affordable housing than to hire professionals to expand the workforce.
Gerber said paying firefighters would be a “huge” expense.
Fire Chief Evans said he will provide the Affordable Housing Committee with details about the cost of adding paid firefighters to the department so they can use the information when making their case to the Finance Committee and taxpayers.
He declined to weigh in on the idea that preserving housing for volunteers would avoid hiring paid firefighters.
“I think we really have to see what the trends are,” he said. “It would be great if there were no additional costs to the town, but I reserve comment at this point.”
Councilmembers John Kick and Christine White expressed support for including the funding request in the first-term councilmember’s budget.
But White said many details need to be worked out, including exactly how much repairs the main house will need and how rent will be managed.
She also raised an issue she warned taxpayers would be concerned about: “The fact that we’re going to buy a property for six people: is that a reasonable allocation of funds for affordable housing?”
(c)2024 The Day (New London, Connecticut)
Visit The Day (New London, CT) www.theday.com
Distributor Tribune Content Agency LLC.
[ad_2]
Source link