Housing advocates push for money, reforms

Karoline Ashford used to live in New London public housing and feels like she won the lottery when she was accepted into the Bayonet Apartments.

“It’s much better for your mental health. You feel better and you feel like a person,” Ashford said.

Bayonet Appartments is a 28-unit mixed-income development built by Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities.

CEO Julie Savin said she thinks it’s important that developers get away from traditional affordable housing and build more mixed-income projects.

“Economic diversity is the backbone to every single community,” Savin said.

But she said developers say they need help. They need money but they also spend much of their effort convincing towns to allow for these types of developments.

“It translates because it’s your kids, it your parents, or your brother or sister,” she said about building support.

Then there’s infrastructure.

The state Department of Housing tries to help towns support the construction of more multi-family homes, including funding for things like sewer and water.

The hurdles remain too high in some municipalities, though.

“Infrastructure both on the local level and the national level is important for the creation of any kind of housing,” Housing Department Housing and Community Development Manager Miguel Angel Rivera said.

Congressman Joe Courtney, (D-2nd District) said the federal government can help, including offering assistance to home buyers and grants for builders. He also supports tax codes to encourage more construction.

“The homebuilders know it, the realtors know, housing advocates know it,” Courtney said. “They’re lining up to really see if they can push a pro-housing agenda.”

Republicans like Mike France, running against Courtney, are also open to tax changes.

He says the real solution, though, is cutting spending to bring down inflation, including the jump in home construction costs.

“Putting a Band-Aid on it by throwing money at it, taking other people’s money and giving it away in grants and other things does not solve the problem and we need to do that,” France said.

Advocates also say they want more zoning reform, particularly in towns where local rules restrict the construction of multi-familiy homes.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration has tried to find ways to encourage zoning change, but he has so far rejected a push from Democrats in the legislature to mandate reform statewide.