BRANFORD — Residents have a rare chance to weigh in on what type of housing they want in town by completing an online survey, the first such survey conducted by the town.
The project is a tool for the town to develop a housing plan by June 2022 that would address affordable housing, among other types of residences, as required by state law.
The survey, to be completed by Dec. 5, takes about five to seven minutes to complete and can be done on a smartphone, according to town officials.
It’s just about affordable housing, First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove said.
“It’s not just income-based,” he said about Branford’s housing needs.
The town’s goal, Cosgrove said, should be “having appropriate housing stock that meets various age demographics … so people in all stages of life can stay in Branford.”
There is much affordable housing in town, said Cosgrove, pointing to the large number of multifamily units. However, that alone does not meet the legal state definition, which requires that lower rents are deed-restricted, he noted.
“Branford actually exceeds the state minimum that they’re looking for, because we have a pretty diversified housing stock,” he said. The town this year has approved some 450 apartment units to be built.
However, Cosgrove would like to see more “turnover in the housing stock,” where residents in all stages of life can afford to stay in Branford.
The need, as the first selectman sees it, from talking with townspeople, is transitional housing for seniors. “They’ve raised their families, but they’re looking to downsize,” he said. “They’re not ready to go to an apartment.
“I talk to a number of people,” Cosgrove said, who tell him, “‘It’s too big. I’d love to sell my home but I can’t find anything in Branford.’ They’re looking for a smaller home that is affordable.”
As far as the survey, he said, “I’m interested to see what bears out — what I’m hearing anecdotally — if we need to adjust that mix, which would provide that turnover in housing and give people the option to stay in Branford.”
The survey aims to get public input before town officials start to come up with the new housing plan, Town Planner Harry Smith said. “Every plan we do, we try to get some public input component.”
The time frame on this plan is tight, so the Planning and Zoning Department opted to do an online survey to reach out to more people, Smith said. They’ve posted links to the survey on social media, announced it on community access television and the link is placed prominently on the town website.
As far as responses, “The more, the better,” said Glenn Chalder of Planimetrics in Simsbury, the firm doing the survey.
Part of the survey’s intent is to find out how people view affordable housing and whether they know what it actually is.
“The phrase ‘affordable housing’ is a term that most people don’t use in daily conversation. So when the term is presented to them, I think the interest is finding out what people think that is,” Chalder said.
One loose definition of affordable housing is when someone who earns “typical wages” does not spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to Chalder, who added that formulas to determine affordable housing in a community are far more sophisticated.
Basically, it’s geared to “the average person” who can’t find housing that they can afford.
One question may seem pretty general to survey-takers, but is important, Chalder said: “What kind of flavors of housing have you lived in? Where have you lived before?’”
He described his own “housing story.”
“When I was born, my parents lived in a two-family, then moved to a single-family. I went to college and lived in a dormitory, lived in an apartment, a small condominium …” Chalder recalled.
Smith wants the public to answer and think about the question, “Do we have a good mix of housing for our future housing needs?”
Chalder noted that those who need housing need it now. Unfortunately, he said, with lengthy approval and permit processes, developments “couldn’t get off the ground for three or five years.”
Plus, Chalder said, affordable housing is not only a term that is misunderstood, but has negative connotations for some. “Sometimes, people are afraid of affordable housing or talk negatively about it — until they find somebody in their family or household that needs it.”
Smith said housing is “connected to everything else about the town — connected to its vitality, its growth, its livability and its future.”
To view the survey, go to branford-ct.gov or surveymonkey.com/r/BranfordHousing.
