State certificate of affordable housing completion; moratorium on applicability of section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes to certain affordable housing applications

section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes to certain affordable housing applications (a) As provided in section 8-30g(l) of the Connecticut General Statutes, certain applications for affordable housing development shall be subject to a moratorium for a period of three years from the publication by the Department of notice of issuance of a state certificate of affordable housing completion, or during a period of qualification for provisional approval of a state certificate of affordable housing completion. (b) The chief elected official of any municipality may apply to the commissioner for a state certificate of affordable housing completion. (c) An application for a state certificate of affordable housing completion shall include at least the following: (1) A letter to the commissioner signed by the chief elected official of the municipality; (2) A letter from an attorney representing the municipality, stating an opinion that the application complies with section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes and this section as in effect on the day the application is submitted; (3) On a form provided by the Department, a summary calculation of the housing unit-equivalent points required of the applicant municipality in order to qualify for a state certificate; (4) Documentation of the existence of the required housing unit-equivalent points, in accordance with the specifications of subsection (e) of this section; (5) The justification for claiming such points, with reference to the descriptions and point schedule set forth in section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes and subsection (i) of this section; (6) Certification by the applicant municipality that for each unit for which housing unit-equivalent points are claimed, a valid certificate of occupancy has been issued by the building official of such municipality and is currently in effect, provided that copies of such certificates of occupancy need not be submitted; (7) Certification that the municipality has identified and deducted, or otherwise excluded from the total housing unit-equivalent points claimed, all units that as a result of action by the municipality, municipal housing authority, or municipal agency, no longer qualify, as of the date of submission of the application, as providing housing unit-equivalent points, without regard to whether the units were originally constructed before or after July 1, 1990; (8) All documentation reflecting compliance with the notice, publication, and other procedural requirements set forth in subjection (j) of this section; (9) A fee sufficient to reimburse the department for its costs of publication of notices as set forth in sections 8-30g-1 to 8-30g-11, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. (d) The applicant municipality shall bear the costs of application notice, publication, and procedural compliance with respect to an application for a state certificate of affordable housing compliance. (e) Documentation of the existence of the housing unit-equivalent points necessary to qualify for a state certificate of affordable housing completion shall include the following: (1) A numbered list of all dwelling units that furnish the basis of housing unit-equivalent points being counted toward the qualifying minimum; (2) The address of each such unit; and (3) The housing unit-equivalent points and classification claimed for each such unit. (f) Each dwelling unit claimed to provide housing unit-equivalent points toward a state certificate of affordable housing completion by virtue of a deed restriction, recorded covenant, zoning regulation, zoning approval condition, financing agreement, affordability plan or similar mechanism shall be documented as an enforceable obligation with respect to both income qualifications and maximum housing payments, that is binding at the time of application for at least the duration required by section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes at the time of the development's submission to a commission, by the submission of a copy of one or more of the following: (1) Deed restriction or covenant; (2) Zoning, subdivision or other municipal land use approval or permit containing an applicable condition or requirement; (3) Report, if less than one (1) year old, submitted to the municipality pursuant to section 8-30h of the Connecticut General Statutes; (4) Local, state or federal financing, subsidy, or assistance agreement; or (5) Affordability plan, if adopted by the municipality and made binding. (g) The commissioner may, in the commissioner's sole discretion, request any additional information deemed necessary to determine the housing unit-equivalent point value of any dwelling unit claimed by the municipality or the applicant municipality's overall calculation of housing unit-equivalent points. The commissioner may also, in the commissioner's sole discretion, accept alternative documentation. (h) As provided in section 8-30g(l) of the Connecticut General Statutes, the housing unit-equivalent points required for a certificate shall be equal to two percent (2%) of all dwelling units in the municipality, but no less than seventy-five (75) housing unit-equivalent points. Units and housing unit-equivalent points that serve as the basis of approval of a state certificate, whether a provisional approval or issuance by the commissioner, shall not be the basis of a subsequent application. The housing unit-equivalent points necessary for a state certificate shall be calculated using as the denominator the total estimated dwelling units in the municipality as reported in the most recent United States decennial census. (i) As provided in section 8-30g(l) of the Connecticut General Statutes, dwelling units whose occupancy is restricted to maximum household income limits that comply with section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes and that qualify, based on binding restrictions on maximum sale or resale price or rent, as price-restricted dwelling units in compliance with section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes, shall be awarded unit-equivalent points toward a state certificate as follows: Type of Unit Housing Unit-Equivalent Point Value Per Unit Market-rate units in a set-aside development 0.25 Elderly units, owned or rented, restricted to households at or below 80% of median income 0.50 Family units, owned, that are restricted to households with annual income no more than: 80% of median income 1.00 60% of median income 1.50 40% of median income 2.00 Family units, rented, that are restricted to households with annual income no more than: 80% of median income 1.50 60% of median income 2.00 40% of median income 2.50 (j) Applications for a state certificate of affordable housing completion shall be submitted and processed as follows: (1) A municipality intending to submit to the department an application for a state certificate of affordable housing completion shall publish in the Connecticut Law Journal and in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality a notice of its intent to apply and the availability of its proposed application for public inspection and comment. Such notice shall state the location where the proposed application, including all supporting documentation, shall be available for inspection and comment, and to whom written comments may be submitted. Such application and documentation shall be made available in the office of the municipal clerk for no less than twenty (20) calendar days after publication of notice. If, within the comment period, a petition signed by at least twenty-five (25) residents of the municipality is filed with the municipal clerk requesting a public hearing with respect to the proposed application, either the municipality's legislative body or its zoning or planning commission shall hold such a hearing. A copy of all written comments received, responses by the municipality to comments received, and a description of any modifications made or not made to the application or supporting documentation as a result of such comments, shall be attached to the application when submitted to the commissioner. (2) As soon as practicable after submission of an application, the department shall notify the applicant in writing whether the application is complete with respect to the information required. If the application is deemed complete, it shall be considered received on the date of original submission. If the application is not complete, the department shall identify in writing the additional information necessary, and the application shall be considered received on the date the department receives the additional information requested. If the applicant fails or refuses to correct any deficiencies within a reasonable time, the department shall deny or reject the application. (3) If the department requests additional information, the time limits for publishing notice of receipt of the application as specified in subsection (6) of subsection (j) of this section and issuing a decision as specified in section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes shall commence when the department receives the requested information and the application is complete. (4) After determining that it has received a complete application, the Department shall promptly publish in the Connecticut Law Journal a notice of receipt of such application. Such application, including all supporting documentation, shall be made available to the public. Written public comment shall be accepted by the department for a period of thirty (30) days after such publication. (5) The department shall evaluate the application, including all documentation submitted and public comments received, to accurately determine the number, classification and housing unit-equivalent points, if any, of all dwelling units claimed. The department shall calculate the total housing unit-equivalent points based on the values assigned in section 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes. The department may, as necessary, verify or modify the housing unit-equivalent point total claimed by the municipality. The department shall determine whether the municipality has satisfied the minimum criteria for a state certificate of affordable housing completion. The department shall also determine whether all units which must be deducted or otherwise excluded from total housing unit-equivalent points pursuant to subsection (c)(7) of this section have been properly counted and whether proper adjustment has been made. (6) The department shall provide the municipality, within ninety (90) days of receipt of a complete application as specified in sections 8-30g-1 to 8-30g-11,inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, with a written decision stating the reasons for approval or rejection, and shall make such decision available to the public. If the department approves the application, it shall publish in the Connecticut Law Journal a notice of its issuance of a state certificate of affordable housing completion. (k) If the department fails to act within the time set by section 8-30g(l) of the Connecticut General Statutes, the application shall be deemed as having been granted provisional approval. A moratorium shall then take effect upon the date of completion of publication by the municipality of a notice of the provisional approval in both the Connecticut Law Journal and a newspaper with general circulation in the municipality. The latter notice shall be at least one-eighth page, shall be published in a conspicuous manner, and shall clearly use the words "provisional approval." The municipality shall promptly provide the department with a certified copy of the published notice. The department shall act on a provisionally-approved application as soon as practicable. Upon issuing its decision, the department shall issue a written notice to the municipality and shall publish a notice of its decision in the Connecticut Law Journal and a newspaper with general circulation in the municipality. The provisionally-approved moratorium shall terminate upon issuance of written notice of disapproval to the municipality. Dwelling units claimed toward a state certificate of affordable housing completion that is provisionally approved, or provisionally approved and later denied by the department, may be claimed again on a subsequent application, so long as the moratorium resulting from provisional approval was in effect for less than one hundred eighty (180) days. (l) The commissioner may revoke a state certificate of affordable housing completion at any time upon determining, after written notice to the municipality and a reasonable opportunity for response or explanation, that an application contained materially false, misleading, or inaccurate information or was otherwise approved without compliance with the criteria of Section 8-30g [FN1] and sections 8-30g-1 to 8-30g-11, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The commissioner shall issue written notice of a decision to revoke a certificate of affordable housing completion and shall publish a notice of revocation in the Connecticut Law Journal. Such revocation shall be effective upon issuance of written notice to the municipality. Use of dwelling units and housing unit-equivalent points claimed toward a certificate of affordable housing that is approved and later revoked pursuant to this subsection shall be at the sole discretion of the commissioner. If a municipality, in the judgment of the commissioner, knowingly or intentionally misrepresented any portion of an application for a state certificate, the commissioner may, in addition to revocation, refuse to approve a re-application for a state certificate for up to three (3) years from revocation. (m) The department shall prepare and update periodically a list of all municipalities that have been issued a state certificate of affordable housing completion or have obtained provisional approval by publication of valid notices. Such list shall identify the expiration date of each state certificate or provisional approval. The department shall make such list available to the public. Such list shall be updated each time a municipality is issued a certificate or obtains provisional approval. (n) A municipality that has been issued a state certificate of affordable housing completion may, at any time, submit an application for another moratorium, provided that such application shall be considered a new application, shall comply in full with these regulations, and may not utilize any dwelling unit that provided housing unit-equivalent points for any previous state certificate. Any application intended to maintain a moratorium without interruption at the expiration of a previously-approved state certificate shall be submitted so as to allow the department sufficient time to process the application in accordance with these regulations.