Planning staff reminded the commission that the town's adopted affordable housing plan must be updated on a five-year cycle and that Simsbury's next update is due in January 2026. Staff explained the state's affordability definition (housing costs equal no more than 30 percent of a household's income for households at 80 percent of area median income, or AMI) and noted that the Hartford-region AMI used in discussion is substantially higher than many local residents' incomes, which affects what counts as "affordable" under the state definition.

Staff reviewed summary housing counts from the 2020 census and program tallies cited in the meeting record (town total housing units cited as 10,057; 289 units reported as government-assisted; 28 deed-restricted units were noted). The commission discussed past actions, recent adoption of inclusionary zoning tools and other policy options identified in the Simsbury Housing Advisory Committee recommendations.

Developer Mike Nelson, representing the Luminary Apartments project, told the commission the project is under construction and committed to delivering 20 percent of the approved unit count as affordable units (37 units) over the next two years as they become occupied. Nelson said the developer is using the state's Build for Connecticut financing program and requested town consideration of a tax-abatement approach for the affordable units to make them financially viable long term. "If we use Build for Connecticut and we get a tax abatement where it's maybe half the normal tax rate, then developers like myself are gonna want to do affordable because it's a win for everybody," Nelson said.

Staff said the commission would be involved in updating the affordable housing plan, that the town has housing-policy recommendations to consider (including possible housing funds and incentives), and that staff will return with draft revisions and opportunities for public input.

Provenance: discussion on the affordable housing plan and developer update spans roughly 39:26 through 1:02:05 of the meeting transcript.