The purpose of the planned residential development
(PRD) regulations is to encourage the provision of affordable housing
by providing opportunities for a diversity of housing types and sizes,
especially for the elderly and young families, consistent with soil
types, terrain, infrastructure capacity and available services. A
minimum of 30% of housing dwellings must be deed restricted as affordable
units for a minimum period of 40 years.
Parcels of land will be considered for a planned
residential development special use approval only if they comply with
the following qualifying standards:
A. Zoning district: The parcel shall be located in a
zoning district which permits PRD development as a special use. PRD
development is prohibited in all Business Office Park (BOP) Districts
and Light Industrial (LI) Districts.
B. Site size:
(1) The minimum site size for a planned residential development
is as follows:
(a)
Residential district: two acres.
(b)
Commercial districts: two acres.
(2) The maximum site size: five acres.
C. Street location: The PRD site must be located on,
or have a minimum thirty-foot-wide direct access to, one of the following
specified streets within the designated zoning districts:
(1) Residential district:
(a)
Peck Lane south of the Boston Post Road.
(b)
Old Lambert Road south of the Boston Post Road.
(2) Commercial 1 and Commercial 2 Districts:
(a)
The Boston Post Road restricted to the south
side from South Lambert Road to Bull Hill Lane.
D. Sanitary sewers and public water: A PRD will only
be considered for a special use approval if the proposed units will
be connected to public sanitary sewers and if the proposed units will
be connected to the public drinking water system.
In order to allow for the orderly provision
of municipal services and so as not to overburden the infrastructure
capacity of the town, and so as not to have an undue concentration
of housing units, the following limitations will apply:
A. The maximum number of residential units to be approved on any one site is limited by the floor area ratio standards and the dwelling unit size standards. The Plan and Zoning Commission may approve fewer units on individual specific sites consistent with its findings relative to the approval standards contained in §
383-108.
B. There will be a maximum of 350 housing units authorized
in accordance with this article and prior PRD regulations from January
1992 until December 31, 2005.
C. A maximum of five acres on any one parcel in any district
may be utilized for housing units under this article and there shall
be a three-hundred-foot separation between parcels containing PRD
units. This separation distance is in addition to all other buffer,
landscaping and yard requirements.
D. No more than 50 units may be built on any one qualifying
site.
Each PRD shall constitute a "set aside development"
or "assisted housing" as defined in Connecticut Public Act 00-206.
A. Individuals and Families eligible for affordable housing
units will have an income, at the time of execution of a contract
of sale or lease agreement, that does not exceed 80% of the lesser
of the median family income for the New Haven/Meriden Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA) or the median income for the State of Connecticut
as established on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD).
B. At least half of the affordable dwelling units shall
be set aside for individuals or families with incomes no more than
60% of the median income as determined in accordance with Connecticut
Public Act 00-206.
C. In determining whether an applicant for an affordable
housing unit meets the qualifying criteria, the same factors and methods
of calculations used by the United States Department of Housing and
Urban Development in determining the area median household income
shall be used.
D. An "affordable housing unit" is a dwelling which,
if for sale, is offered at a purchase price, or, if for rent, is offered
at a contract rent, excluding utilities, that is affordable to households
whose income, after adjustment for family size, is at or below 80%
of the lesser of the median income of the New Haven/Meriden MSA or
the median income of the State of Connecticut as determined by the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
E. The unit will be considered affordable to households
meeting the income criteria if the household will not have to spend
more than 30% of their monthly income for housing.
In order to ensure the long-term maintenance
of common land and facilities and to prevent maintenance expenditures
by the town, the following shall be required:
A. PRD projects shall be approved subject to the submission
of a legal instrument setting forth a plan or manner of permanent
care and maintenance of open spaces, recreational areas, common parking
areas, and other communally owned facilities. No such instrument shall
be acceptable until approved by the Town Attorney as to legal form
and effect.
B. Any homeowners' association (HOA) created shall be
organized as a not-for-profit corporation with automatic membership
in the HOA when property is purchased in the PRD. This shall be specified
in the covenants which run with the land and which bind all subsequent
owners. Covenants for maintenance assessments shall also run with
the land. Included in the maintenance covenants shall be procedures
for changing them at stated intervals. Deeds shall specify the rights
and responsibilities of property owners to the HOA. The HOA shall
also be responsible for liability insurance, local taxes, and the
maintenance of all commonly held facilities through the use of a pro
rata share formula for all property owners.
Subsequent to the approval of the final residential
plan and prior to the issuance of a building permit and a certificate
of zoning compliance, the applicant must execute and file with the
Town Clerk an agreement with the Town of Orange. Said contract will
describe the following:
A. Terms of the final residential plan.
B. Procedures for establishment of maximum income for
the occupants of the affordable housing and price limits on sale,
resale, rental, sublease, or conversion to common interest ownership
and subsequent sale of the affordable or elderly housing units. This
shall include current calculations applying these Regulations as of
the month prior to application.
C. Provision for increases of the specified income, sale
price or rent of restricted affordable units.
D. Covenants in favor of the Town of Orange incorporating
the terms and conditions of the contract, which covenants shall run
with the land and be enforceable by the town.
E. Subordination to the interest of other liens against
the property to the affordable deed restrictions.
F. The complete affordability plan.