Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The CHESS (Community Development, Housing, Education, Social Services, State & Commerce) Committee met in the Democratic Caucus Room at 888 Washington Blvd, Stamford, CT, and by Zoom. In attendance were Co-Chairs Pollack and Sylvestre, Committee Members Reps. Goldberg, Gross, McKeown, Price, Walston, and Wirz; Rep. Yaeger was excused. Also present were Reps. Camporeale, Hill, Hughes, Hyatt, Pelliccia, Shaw, and Weinberg, along with Ralph Blessing (Land Use Bureau Chief) and Emily Gordon (Director of Housing and Community Development). The agenda and minutes list the meeting as Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.; the provided timestamp for this summary is 2026-10-21T11:30:00+00:00. The Committee held a public hearing on an ordinance amending the Stamford Housing Affordable Trust Fund, approved it as amended 7-1-0, and considered whether to reject a $1,500,000 allocation to Southfield Village Limited Partnership (Beacon Communities LLC) for the Southwood Square Apartments. The rejection motion failed 0-8-0.
Chair Pollack opened the public hearing at 6:30 p.m. and closed it at 8:00 p.m. Many members of the public spoke in opposition to the proposed ordinance. Public comments focused on maintaining direct tenant representation on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board, opposing any reduction in the number of trustees, preserving transparency and Board of Representatives oversight over expenditures, and expressing concern about increasing the expenditure-review threshold from $100,000 to $1 million. A central concern repeatedly emphasized was the importance of ensuring that individuals who actually reside in affordable housing have direct representation and a voice on the Board. Additional concerns included housing affordability, rents, maintenance conditions, displacement, and potential conflicts involving development or housing-management interests.
The Committee discussed trustee composition, resident representation, qualifications for public trustees, quorum, oversight of expenditures, and the proposed $1 million review threshold. Three amendments were approved:
The ordinance was then approved as amended for final adoption by a vote of 7-1-0, with Rep. Walston opposed.
Emily Gordon presented the proposed allocation. The funding would rehabilitate and preserve 315 mixed-income units at Southwood Square Apartments, including 233 affordable units. The units include one- to four-bedroom homes with affordability levels at 25%, 50%, and 60% of area median income, plus market-rate units. The scope includes kitchen and bathroom renovations, new appliances, low-flow fixtures, partial decarbonization, new electric heating and cooling, new electric domestic hot water, new high-efficiency gas domestic hot water for the townhomes, new windows and roofs, and envelope improvements and electrical work at the Chester Addison Community Center. Gordon described the investment as under $5,000 per equivalent affordable unit. The total project cost is $202 million, including acquisition; hard/construction costs are $62 million.
There was a schedule discrepancy in the presentation: Gordon initially said the project is expected to begin in December 2026 and end in June 2028, then corrected that the construction timeline is May 2027 through November 2028 based on a more updated presentation. During renovation, residents would be temporarily relocated for roughly two to three nights for critical work, with relocation assistance, hotel accommodations, moving help, and alternative spaces provided while kitchens are renovated. Rep. Wilson recalled a difficult renovation experience on Connecticut Avenue and said she was glad relocation professionals are involved. Rep. Wilson also asked whether this was the first renovation since the property was built around 2000; Gordon indicated it was the first significant renovation. Rep. Gross asked whether the project adds or subtracts units; Gordon confirmed it is a rehabilitation and preservation project with no change in unit count.
Rep. McKeown explained the rejection process: because the recommendation exceeds the established threshold, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund's funding recommendation comes to the Board of Representatives, which has 45 days from receipt to reject it. The recommendation was received on or about September 17, 2026, making the deadline approximately November 2, 2026. Because the Board's next regular meeting is November 4, 2026, due to the election, a special meeting would be required before the deadline to reject the allocation; otherwise the recommendation is deemed approved.
Back everyone. The time is 10 48. And really quick, I just want to share. Thank you, Representative McEwen. Um for the next item. If you would like to before we take on the item, explain beforehand what is happening with the dates. And then the motion. Sure. So with respect to this item, my understanding is that this is a funding request that's been approved by the um uh the board of trustees for the affordable housing trust. Um and per the existing ordinance uh after it submits a recommendation, excuse me, if the funding request is in excess of a certain dollar threshold, which here it is, they submit that request to this board um as a recommendation. I'm sorry, representative uh McEwan. My apologies, Representative Wilson is trying to get into the meeting, Angie. Sorry. Okay, I promoted her. Okay, thank you very much. Um please continue, Representative. Uh so uh those decisions from the Affordable Housing Trust come to us in the form of a recommendation. Um we have 45 days from receipt of that recommendation to reject it. Uh and if we fail to do so or elect not to do so, um, the decision of the housing, the board of trustees stands. Um the awkwardness here is it was submitted to us, I believe, on September 17th. 45 days out from them would place it approximately on November 2nd due to the election. Our next board meeting is November 4th, which would put us outside of that timeline. So the two options before the the committee and ultimately the board is either hold a special meeting prior to November 2nd if we want to um exercise our right to reject the item or simply let you know time do its thing and uh the item will be de facto approved. The decision of the housing the the board of trustees withstand. Okay, thank you. So uh I will entertain a motion to take on chess 32.025, a rejection item of an allocation of 1,500,000 to Southfield Village Limited Partnership to rehabilitate and preserve the 315 units of mixed income housing at Southwood Square Apartments. Second and opening up, Emily, would you like to present? Sure. Um Southfield uh limited partnership is requesting um as was just stated 1.5 million dollars to rehabilitate 315 units of mixed income housing. 233 of those units are affordable units, and the remainder is uh market rate, and this is through all phases of the Southwood Square project. Um the existing units support a range of housing sizes, uh one bedrooms through four bedroom households, um, and affordability levels with units at 25%, 50%, 60%, and as I said, market rate as well. Um, so that's uh of the area meeting income. The project is expected to begin in December of this year and end in June of 2028, and will include uh essential capital repairs and energy efficiency improvements. Um this would help maintain the existing affordability of the neighborhood um as a preservation project. Um so um, and this is this is a very when we looked at this as the very small per um per unit um investment. Uh we we look at it as equivalent units. There's a um there's a way that you can calculate it in the zoning code basically to account for affordability level and unit size, and um we uh calculated that this is under five thousand dollars per equivalent affordable unit. Um so a very uh reasonable amount um for the Twiddle project. Um I also just wanted to just uh go into more of the scope of work. So this includes kitchen and bathroom renovations, new appliances, uh low flow features, um, and partial decarbonization, new electric heating and cooling, new electric domestic hot water, new high efficiency gas, domestic hot water um for the townhomes.