Milford Rejects Massive Affordable Housing Project

Remember that proposed 257-unit affordable hosing complex that was proposed for Bic Drive, well the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously rejected the proposal Tuesday night.  

The reason it was rejected is because Milford has a one-year moratorium against affordable housing projects. 

Essentially, what that means is developers can no longer circumvent the city’s local zoning laws to put in large density housing projects that don’t conform to local zoning laws. 

Developers have been eying Milford because less than 10 percent of its housing stock is considered affordable according to state statute. 

If a community’s housing stock is below 10 percent affordable then a municipality must prove in court why the project isn’t necessary and can only argue health, safety and wellness. Usually, the developers prevail in court. 

But Milford has freedom from the state’s affordable housing statute until Jan. 1, 2015. 

This was the proposal:

Garden Homes Management, of Stamford, had proposed 257-units along Bic Drive.

Of the 257 units, 82 are considered affordable. The company is planning a 53,617 square-foot “H” type building, which would feature about 60 studio apartments and 190 one-bedroom units.

The size of the units range from 500 square-feet for a studio and up to 750 square-feet for a one bedroom unit. Rents would range from $845 to $1,150 a month. The company hopes to construct the project in 2016.

The development is proposed for 460 Bic Drive, which abuts the Bic Corp. office site and is adjacent to Subway’s World Headquarters and the Caswell Cove Condominium Complex.

The site is currently farmland and includes an existing house. Garden Homes Management Owner Richard Freedman has said in an email that “the site is highly appropriate for the proposed use.”