Residents Oppose Stonegate's Affordable Housing Application

The heard comments at a public hearing Thursday night from residents of Stonegate Village in opposition to the .

"Anxiety, worry, disappointment are foremost in my mind as I realized I made a grave mistake and I am imprisoned here," submitted Lawrence Birch of 3 Cliff Road in a letter to the commission. "The unrest has disabled my ability to enjoy life as I had dreamed it might be and had worked and saved for for so many years."

Residents cited a loss of peace and quiet and simple preference for being surrounded by peers as reasons to oppose the change.

"It has taken me about 30 years to save for this house and it is my first and only house," said Diane Bassler of 6 Boulder Way. "It is in a 55 and older community which I thought I was going to enjoy for the rest of my life."

The age-restricted community opened in 2002 and planned on developing 80 lots on a piece of property just less than 20 acres. So far, there are 31 houses that are occupied, one house is a model home, and the rest of the lots are undeveloped.

Garden Homes manages the development in their application cite “anemic sales” and, despite claims of a reduction in the selling price of homes by 25 percent to 30 percent to attract buyers, only 10 have sold since 2009. The application says "no homes have sold in nearly six months and no sales are pending."

"You can believe us or not believe us but we think we have made a good effort to market it for 55 (years old) and we have not been successful, said Mark Branse, an attorney representing principal owners Third Garden Park, LP, of Stamford.

Larry Helfrich, a resident of Stonegate Village since 2005, disagreed and passed around postcards and flyers used by Garden Homes to market the properties. Helfrich said the photographs depicted a house that was not actually for sale but was "the best house with the best curb appeal."

 "Some call it bait and switch, I wouldn't," he said. "I just call it a marketing ploy."

"We are here under under 830G which allows us to see an affordable housing option that is not governed by your zoning regulations at all," said Branse.

The 830G is a specific type of application that, if approved, would convert the retirement community into an affordable housing development, thereby eliminating the age restrictions.

"Affordable housing" in this case requires that 30 percent of the houses in that development are designated to sell at specific price points below market value, as determined by HUD.

Those price points are available to people who earn up to 60 percent or 80 percent of the median income of the area or state, whichever is less.

Richard Freedman, president of Garden Homes, said that of the remaining 48 lots to be developed, 24 will be designated for affordable housing.

The median income in the Ledyard area is $83,200 and according to HUD's formula, a three-bedroom unit could sell for $158,938 if the household came in at the 80 percent level or $96,750 if the household were eligible for the 60 percent level.

Residents are worried that those price breaks would attract young families.

"It is not inconceivable that our age-group, 55-plus, will become the minority," said Robert Girard of 24 Cliff Road. "A complete reversal of what we bought into."