Key Points
- Wilton faces a choice between joining a regional housing growth plan and developing its own.
- Questions about developable land and infrastructure remain as WestCOG works toward recommended affordable housing goals.
- P&Z is also considering a subcommittee to review the town’s comprehensive zoning rewrite.
Why It Matters: The planning process will help shape where and how Wilton accommodates housing growth, while compliance carries implications for future 8-30g moratorium eligibility.
Just a few months after passing a series of state-mandated changes to the zoning regulations pertaining to parking, traffic mitigation and transit-oriented middle housing, Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) is preparing for the next phase of meeting Connecticut’s housing requirements.
Under Connecticut’s new housing law, Special Session Public Act 25-1, An Act Concerning Housing Growth, Wilton must either agree to sign on to a regional housing growth plan being developed by the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG) or else develop its own unique plan.
Director of Planning and Land Use Management Michael Wrinn told commissioners at P&Z’s Oct. 26 meeting that he expects the town to face that choice next June or July.
If the town opts to develop its own plan, it will have until June 1, 2029, to complete and submit it to the state. Missing that deadline would make Wilton ineligible for a future 8-30g moratorium until the plan is submitted and approved.
“It’s a real pain in the neck,” Wrinn said of the complex, multi-step process that is getting underway.
Planning Process Will Establish Affordable Housing Goals
The planning process for the first five-year housing growth plan begins with the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM), which must determine overall housing growth targets for the state as a whole and for each of the nine planning regions. PA 25-1 requires OPM to provide these targets to the COGs by Dec. 1, 2026.
Wrinn told the commissioners that WestCOG has already begun gathering data for its regional plan.
“They have all of the towns involved in meetings trying to get data on infrastructure [and] regional housing, because eventually we’re going to set a number for regional housing needs … the state’s going to set that number and then they’re going to try to divvy it up among the different towns,” Wrinn explained. “That’s going to have to do with … how much open space do you have, or developable land actually, that is available in each municipality. And that gets tricky.”
Wrinn said that the available space determination will factor out parks, deeded lands and land with excessively steep slopes and factor in things like infrastructure, actual housing need, sewer system access and soil porosity for septic systems.
“It gets pretty complicated,” Wrinn said.
The goals of the housing growth plan are to identify zones and land parcels that can be used for the construction of affordable residential housing by summary review — that is, without holding public hearings with P&Z — as well as to lay out strategies for increasing affordable housing and identifying projected infrastructure needs.
With Decision Point on the Horizon, Unanswered Questions Remain
“Eventually this will be coming up probably by June or July,” Wrinn said. “And then the town is going to have to make a decision: Are we going to go with WestCOG and the regional plan, or are we going to create our own plan? And then you have to answer why our plan is acceptable, why our numbers would be correct.”
Wrinn also told commissioners that whichever option Wilton decides to go with, both P&Z and the Board of Selectmen (BOS) will have to sign off on it.
Because the process is still in its earliest stages, there are many questions still to be answered by OPM. For example, Commissioner Margit Ritz asked whether land owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT-DOT), such as the portion of Allen’s Meadow leased by the town, would be counted.
“Now, that’s where we … have to start looking,” Wrinn replied. “Is it dedicated park land? Do we have a lease on it? … If we had a five year lease, does that count? I don’t know. Those are the details that we have to ask and figure out. ”
Wrinn also pointed to the potential impact of new multifamily housing on school enrollment. The Wilton Public Schools’ latest 10-Year Enrollment Projections project 28 students for every 100 multifamily housing units — a factor to consider as the town plans for housing growth, even as overall K-12 enrollment in Wilton is expected to decline over the next two years.
“I thought that was pretty interesting,” Wrinn noted.
Despite the many unanswered questions at this stage, Wrinn expressed confidence in WestCOG’s approach, noting that they have “some good people there” working on it.
“I think the key is let’s see what WestCOG comes up with and how that’s distributed,” Wrinn said.
P&Z Mulls Subcommittee to Review Zoning Regulations Rewrite
Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Department will be working on the housing growth plan requirements at the same time as Wilton’s zoning regulations are undergoing a comprehensive, 16-month rewrite scheduled for completion in October 2027.
With that in mind, Wrinn suggested that P&Z might want to establish a subcommittee to review the draft regulations as they are prepared by Hartford-based consulting firm IMEG.
“I don’t think it’s going to be something where you’re meeting every two weeks by any means, but you will have … an extra meeting a month at least,” Wrinn said.
“I think that probably is a good idea,” P&Z Chair Ken Hoffman said, suggesting that further discussion be tabled until all commissioners were present. Three commissioners — P&Z Vice Chair Mark Ahasic, P&Z Secretary Michelle Saglimbene and Commissioner Colin Christ — were absent from the Oct. 26 meeting.
Commissioner Trevor Huffard wondered whether a review committee could include members of the community, but Wrinn suggested keeping it “in house” for the sake of simplicity.
“I’m hoping we’re not going to get into a lot of wordsmithing,” Wrinn said.
