Only municipalities can decide whether housing is created in their towns and the HOMEConnecticut program, officially known as the Connecticut Housing Program for Economic Growth, was designed to complement that reality. It is a voluntary, incentive-based land use program created by the General Assembly in 2007 and begun in 2008. The program, administered by the state's Office and Policy Management (OPM), provides towns with incentives if they choose to create an Incentive Housing Zone in a smart growth location in their community.
An Incentive Housing Zone (IHZ) is an area which has a zoning overlay that allows developers to increase housing density in exchange for creating mixed-income housing. The program provides municipalities with complete control over the location, amount, type and design of the homes created, while also offering a tool that allows all residents of a town to have input into housing decisions: where it should be built, what it should look like, or whether it should be created at all.
Connecticut has a low supply of affordable homes and most of Connecticut's existing affordable housing is located in only 18 percent of its towns and cities, with significant impacts on the state:
The HOMEConnecticut program is a tool that towns can use to create mixed-income communities with both affordable and modest, market-rate homes throughout the state.
Towns that choose to create more housing using the HOMEConnecticut program can create an Incentive Housing Zone (IHZ) with only two requirements:
To assist in these efforts, towns can qualify for no-strings-attached planning grants. When an IHZ is created, towns also qualify for incentives of up to $2,000 for each unit allowed to be built in an IHZ, and up to $2,000 per every multifamily unit building permit issued or up to $5,000 for every single-family building permit issued within the IHZ. Towns may use the incentive money for any purpose.
Though still a very young program, the original $4 million in funding for the program has gone far. The first $2 million was spent on technical assistance grants that have allowed towns to seek locations for Incentive Housing Zones and to gather both expert analysis and input from local residents. More than 50 municipalities have taken part in the program and the first five have applied for State of Connecticut Office of Policy Management (OPM) approval of the first IHZs.
Because of the state's fiscal crisis, $1 million was rescinded by the General Assembly to pay state expenses in 2010, but $1 million is soon slated to be spent on zoning incentive payments to the municipalities with the first IHZs. Another large group of municipalities is preparing an additional round of IHZ applications for OPM’s approval.
The HOMEConnecticut program is helping to set the stage for thoughtful local planning of dynamic, mixed-income communities throughout the state. In addition, the program provides a way for towns to create mixed-use development that incorporates both housing and economic development. By allowing towns to plan for mixed-income housing and mixed-use development in smart growth locations, the program will foster communities throughout the state that are both economically and ecologically sustainable.