Danbury is in the middle of drafting a new 10 year plan of conservation and development. Public hearings were held recently.  A committee is examining the cost of housing as part of that draft plan.  The group includes the Directors of Planning, Health and business organizations. 

Consultant Francisco Gomes gave a presentation acknowledging that even though Danbury is one of the more affordable municipalities in Fairfield County, it is still very expensive.  He noted that more than 50-percent of renters in Danbury are spending at least 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities.  In order for a renter to be able to afford a two-bedroom Danbury apartment, the minimum wage would have to be $33.60. 

Rents have increased 23 percent since 2010 to a median of $1,460 for a 1-bedroom apartment. 

Danbury is one of only 30 municipalities in Connecticut that exceeds the state requirement that at least 10 percent of housing be considered affordable.  Danbury is at 12-percent, but deed restrictions on affordability expire after 40 years.  If the City falls below the 10-percent minimum, Planning Director Sharon Calitro cautioned that an affordable housing developer would have certain rights of appeal with the state to circumvent land use board decisions. 

Consultants estimate that Danbury will grow by 6 percent over this decade to 90,000 people in 2030, and would need 2,150 new apartments and 470 new “owner-occupied housing units.”  Danbury’s fastest growing populations are 18-to-24-year-olds and those older than 55.