New Canaan panel approves minutes, preps May 19 housing forum

Other Committee · Meeting of May 6, 2026

New Canaan's Affordable Housing Committee polished its presentation and survey ahead of a May 19 public workshop on where to build affordable housing. The panel unanimously approved its April 29 minutes on a motion from member Jane, then reviewed a revised slide deck from Christa Nielsen explaining the state's 8-30g statute and the points New Canaan needs to preserve local control over development through a moratorium already secured to 2028. Members debated ranking sites including the lumberyard, Locust Avenue and Richmond Hill, with the Morse Court lot floated as a possible parking complement rather than a standalone option.

A roughly 30-question draft survey, 17 pages printed, will ask residents to weigh site and scheme trade-offs. "There are trade-offs and there isn't a perfect site," Nielsen said. The group tentatively set a debrief session for Thursday, May 28.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 837 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of May 6, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — May 6, 2026 — The town's Affordable Housing Committee unanimously approved its April 29 minutes Wednesday, then spent most of its meeting fine-tuning the presentation and public survey it plans to use at a May 19 workshop on where the town should build affordable housing.

Committee members reviewed a revised slide deck covering the mechanics of the state's 8-30g statute, which allows developers to bypass local zoning in towns that lack sufficient affordable housing, and the points the town needs to accumulate to earn a four-year moratorium restoring local control over development. The committee said it has already banked enough points for a moratorium through 2028 and is now planning for 2032 and beyond.

The Full Story

The meeting, held by video conference, opened with committee member Jane moving to approve the minutes of the panel's April 29 session; the motion passed on a unanimous voice vote. The committee then turned to public outreach for the workshop. Jane and fellow member Hillary reported that a frequently asked questions page is now live on the town's affordable housing webpage, that a press release with a link to the FAQ page is ready to go out, and that the committee's chair, Chris, produced a flyer for distribution. Town staff members Tucker and Greg are expected to help post the materials internally and include them in the first selectman's newsletter, with a Monday deadline for the May 14 edition. New Canaan Sentinel editor Peter Barheight has received the flyer and plans to run it in two consecutive Friday editions, along with a press release. A resident identified only as Diana is scheduled to give the Sentinel an interview this week, and members said they were also reaching out to the Democratic Town Committee, the Republican Town Committee and the group New Canaan Moms about the outreach.

Most of the meeting was devoted to a walk-through of the presentation slides, led by committee member Christa Nielsen, who authored the deck. She said she added a disclaimer noting that construction cost estimates are preliminary and will be refined once a preferred site is chosen. The group also revised a slide defining affordable housing as housing that costs no more than 30 percent of a household's income, is deed-restricted or government-assisted, and is priced at 80 percent of the state median income.

Members discussed how to present the site rankings for the workshop. The lumberyard site has moved to the top of the list, followed by Locust Avenue and then Richmond Hill, with the Morse Court parking lot potentially available as a complement to Richmond Hill rather than as a standalone option. Committee members debated whether the presentation should describe three sites or four, since Morse Court's status keeps shifting between a paired option and an add-on. They also discussed limiting the amount of detailed architectural rendering material shown to the public, opting instead to have the architecture firm Amenta Emma, represented by a staff member identified as Miles, bring large-format boards with a single image and key facts, such as acreage and parking counts, for each site.

The committee reviewed a draft public survey, roughly 30 questions long and 17 pages when printed, that will ask residents about their views on each site and development scheme, including comparisons such as a 156-unit versus a 163-unit scheme proposed for the lumberyard site. Members discussed shortening a proposed ranking question by instead asking respondents to pick their top three to five priorities out of about 14 evaluation criteria, rather than ranking every item.

"There are trade-offs and there isn't a perfect site." — Christa Nielsen, committee member and presenter

"I think this survey is probably 25 percent education and 75 percent feedback." — Christa Nielsen, committee member and presenter

"When I think family in affordable housing, I don't think two seniors." — Jane, committee member

Why It Matters

The May 19 workshop is the committee's main chance to gather public input before recommending to town officials which sites, among the lumberyard, Locust Avenue and Richmond Hill properties, New Canaan should pursue for affordable housing development. The town has already secured a moratorium under the state's 8-30g law through 2028, but planning is now underway for the next threshold in 2032. Breakout groups at the workshop will be capped at six to eight people per table so facilitators can capture usable feedback, and the survey discussed Wednesday, once finalized, is expected to open shortly after the public meeting to gather broader input on the site and scheme options under consideration.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approval of the April 29, 2026 committee meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously

• Action: Debrief session following the May 19 public workshop — Tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 28, 2026, at 7 p.m. via Zoom, to be confirmed at the committee's May 13 meeting

No other formal votes were taken at this meeting.

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Affordable Housing Committee meeting, May 6, 2026