KENT, Conn.—The Planning and Zoning Commission last week decided that it needs further information about the stormwater drainage plan for the 13-unit affordable housing complex proposed adjacent to South Common and opted to require a review by the town engineer.
Kent Affordable Housing has been working on plans for the project for more than two years. The opening phase of the public hearing on its application lasted more than two hours, during which PZC members closely questioned KAH members about such things as parking, the number of trees that would be removed, drinking and wastewater systems, lighting and access for emergency vehicles. But it was the potential for increased flooding below the development that most engaged their interest.
The new development would sit on a one-acre parcel between the transfer station and the Kent Commons Park tennis courts. It is designed as an extension of South Common, a 24-unit affordable housing development created in 2003 by KAH, an independent 501(c)(3) organization.
Since it built South Common, KAH has created another 13 dwelling units at Stuart Farm on Maple Street Ext. and is currently attempting to add more units at the new site to boost the town’s affordable housing stock to 50 units.
Justin Potter, president of KAH, outlined the development of the plan for the PZC and explained why additional affordable housing is vital to the community. KAH has a waiting list of 40 to 60 families seeking a home in a town where property values have skyrocketed, particularly in the years since Covid. Templeton Farm, the town’s senior housing project, has a similar waiting list.
“According to Zillow, the median value of a Kent single-family home went from $364,000 in 2020 to $665,000 in 2025,” he told the commission. “In 2020, if you made $85,000 a year, you could afford a house; now you need about 180,000 a year.”
Employers find it hard to hire workers because they cannot afford to live in the town and about 100 families, including those lucky enough to own property, pay 50 percent or more of their income for housing, rather than the recommended maximum of 30 percent. Rental opportunities are few and prices are high.
Potter said KAH’s affordable units are open to people earning between 25 and 80 percent of the median income in Litchfield County, with rents ranging from $400 to $1,400 a month. “So, we have a good spread of incomes,” Potter concluded, “from $20,000 for a single person to $91,000 for a family of four.”
The new development would consist of a single building, nestled on the sloping lot so that the front would be two stories and the back three stories. In a nod to an aging population with mobility issues, there would be an elevator. The building’s design would be compatible with the façade of South Common.
The land is currently owned by the town but will be transferred to KAH once it receives all needed permits. The Inland Wetlands Commission approved its plan in August and the Sewer Commission has given its conceptual approval, but the PZC was not satisfied that the flooding that plagues the area downhill from the project will not be made worse.
To try to mitigate the amount of paving contributing to increased runoff, KAH is asking for a reduction of the number of spaces required for the 13 units from 26 to 18. Potter explained that overflow parking can be accommodated about 500 feet away in the South Common parking lot. He said that, ironically, if luxury apartments of the same size were planned, only 21.5 parking spaces would be required by zoning.
“Eighteen spaces provide the right amount,” he said. “Not too much, not too little. It comes with a cost in convenience, but we want to avoid paving an excessively large area.”
The issue of parking led to a discussion of emergency access to the site by first responders. The building will have an all-inclusive sprinkler system and will be constructed of fire-retardant materials. Potter said emergency vehicle would have access via a 20-foot-wide lane that would come within 50 feet of the building entrance.
It is further proposed that a construction road between the town transfer station and the building be maintained as a secondary access.
Kent Volunteer Fire Department Chief Alan Gawel termed the proposed addition of affordable housing as “fantastic,” but said a secondary access road “is important.” He further advocated for the right to use the area now serving as a gravel parking lot for the tennis courts as a staging area for a ladder truck if one is needed in an emergency at the housing development.
This suggestion provoked a testy rejoinder from First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer, who said he has advocated for the development, but “now we’re losing some of perspective of what we can and can’t do to maintain safety and maintain recreation.”
He said the area under discussion for the ladder truck is being eyed by the Parks & Recreation Commission for future recreational opportunities, such as pickleball. The secondary access road also infringes on the operations of the Public Works Department.
“It’s very much a balancing of priorities,” agreed Potter, adding, “In terms of our [current] application, we are fully compliant with the code.”
“I feel very strongly about access [at that point] but not necessarily having a gravel or paved parking lot,” Gawel said.
PZC Chairman Wesley Wyrick turned discussion back to the problem of runoff. “It’s a very small site and there is a lot going on,” he said. “My only concern is stormwater runoff.”
PZC member Chris Harrington said water backups in the area have been a factor for years. “Adding a large parking lot and a large roof that is collecting water and adding that to the stream system could be more troublesome,” he observed.
Roy Seelye, senior project manager at Cardinal Engineering Associates, said that a 100-year storm would, at peak runoff, add 2.8 cubic feet of water (21 gallons) per second from the housing development site.
“We did not analyze the entire brook area,” he conceded, “but intuition would tell me we are a minor part of entire watershed … and there would be no significant impact on the flow within the brook. Our water will run through the system long before water gets there from farthest point in the watershed.”
But the commission began to focus on requiring independent verification of the 70-page groundwater analysis submitted by KAH. The town would select the engineer, but KAH would have to pay for the additional study. This elicited consternation from members of the non-profit, who said that $280,000 has already been invested in the planning stages.
“We met with the Inland Wetlands Commission three times, and they approved our plan,” Potter said. “There is a 70-page report. To analyze the entire system is a very significant study that would take months. To pay for another report, aside from cost, there is a time element, especially if you’re looking for the impact of the entire watershed.”
But PZC members decided that they have asked for similar verification for other projects and should follow their own protocol
“You’re an applicant,” said Wyrick. “You’re not that special.”
KAH member Gregg Sheridan took umbrage at the remark. “I thought we were special because the town needs 20 units of housing, and we are supplying 13 of those. I thought we were forming a bit of a partnership here,” he said. “We have been responsible developers and the cost to do this water analysis is formidable. To impose that cost on us as nonprofit developers is unreasonable.”
“It’s a big project, a visible project, and it would be wise to have it reviewed,” Wyrick said.
The hearing was continued to October and Land Use Official Tai Kern was told to communicate the cost for the verification to KAH.
