Fair share is one of the priorities of the new consortium, Growing Together CT, of which OCA is a proud Steering Committee member.
Fair Share is the recognition that there is a role for every town in Connecticut in meeting the affordable housing needs of all of Connecticut residents - and the need is enormous.
Throughout the state nearly 140,000 households are extremely low income and severely cost burdened. Our Fair Share methodology allocates that need for affordable housing to each town, based on a fair assessment of their responsibility and capacity to build affordable housing. Adopting a Fair Share system in Connecticut will:
- Allow municipalities to comply with Connecticut law which requires towns to "encourage the development of … multifamily dwellings" to meet the regional affordable housing need and to “promote housing choice and economic diversity, including housing for both low- and moderate-income households.” (Connecticut's Zoning Enabling Act, General Statutes § 8-2)
- Begin to reverse a century of racial and economic segregation, perpetuated by so-called "race-neutral" zoning regulations.
- Give towns control over how they want to meet their obligation for affordable housing, as long as they accomplish their Fair Share!
OCA has spent years researching the best solutions for holding towns and regions accountable to producing enough affordable housing, and what we've found is that a Fair Share system is the best fit for Connecticut.
This system allows planning and zoning commissions flexibility and control over how they achieve their Fair Share of affordable housing, while providing a reasonable assessment of each town's responsibility.
Report: Fair Share Housing Model for Connecticut, 2020, prepared for and in collaboration with Open Communities Alliance by David N. Kinsey, PhD, FAICP, Kinsey & Hand, Princeton, NJ, November 2020, revised May 2021
Excel Workbook Model: OCA Fair Share Model v2 5-17-21