Rep. Tom O’Dea, New Canaan Housing Authority Chair Scott Hobbs Respond to New Haven Mayor’s Baseless Claims
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NEW CANAAN – Deputy House Republican Leader Tom O’Dea, who represents parts of New Canaan and Wilton in the Connecticut General Assembly, and New Canaan Housing Authority Chair Scott Hobbs responded to New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker’s comments during a public hearing this week on local zoning issues. In his remarks, the mayor asserted that certain Connecticut towns, including New Canaan, actively seek to deny housing to people of color and low-income individuals through discriminatory zoning practices.
In response, Rep. O’Dea issued the following statement:
“I was outraged by New Haven Mayor, and New Canaan native, Justin Elicker’s comments during Monday’s Planning and Development hearing. New Canaan is a community that welcomes people from all walks of life. While there are instances of racism in Connecticut, such acts of hate and discrimination have no place in our town. To claim that New Canaan actively seeks to exclude certain groups of people from our community through local zoning is absolutely false and unfounded. This sort of divisive rhetoric is counterproductive to the common cause of providing affordable housing to those who need it.
Continued Rep. O’Dea, “Housing is notoriously expensive in Fairfield County, mainly due to our proximity to New York City, and we realize this has been an issue for countless people. That said, many of us are opposed to state control of local zoning because we believe our local leaders and zoning experts are best equipped to address these very real issues, and that state mandates will only impede local efforts to develop viable solutions. I believe in our local leaders and I believe in the people of New Canaan. We pride ourselves on inclusivity, tolerance, and respect for all, and we will not tolerate accusations to the contrary. Rather than attack his fellow Connecticut residents, we invite the mayor to work with us to address these problems in a coordinated local approach that will yield the best outcome for all Connecticut residents.”
Scott Hobbs, a member of the New Canaan Housing Authority for twelve years and Chair for the last six, has helped oversee the renovation and doubling of affordable units such that New Canaan has achieved enough progress towards the state goal for affordable housing in order to get a 4-year moratorium from 8-30g rules. With the completion of currently ongoing projects, New Canaan will achieve an additional two 4-year moratoriums.
Mr. Hobbs stated, “I am deeply disturbed by unsubstantiated and intentionally antagonistic language by government officials. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker made broad comments about my town of New Canaan that our zoning was specifically set up ‘to keep out communities of color’. If he were trying to imply that New Canaan’s high real estate prices are intentionally racist, it would be good if he would specifically identify how the free market exchanges of property are deliberately preventing people of color from living in New Canaan.
Continued Mr. Hobbs, “If he is stating that he believes it is important that New Canaan attempt to provide forms of more affordable housing to people lower on the economic ladder, then I wish that he would have done more homework. New Canaan has a long history of attempting to provide subsidized housing in our community in spite of the very high costs associated with doing so. New Canaan built the original Millport Community in the ‘60’s which was expanded in the early ‘80’s. Around the same time, local citizens worked with the town to provide additional housing at Canaan Parish. In the early 2000’s, New Canaan implemented a specific fee on all building permits dedicated to funding additional affordable housing options. With these funds and lots of work by the community, we will have fully renovated 100 units and added an additional 113 units by the end of next year. This is in addition to working with several specialty organizations to provide low-income housing for seniors and those with special needs.”