Studies show that the development of multi-family housing generally does not negatively impact property values of nearby single-family homes. This is true regardless of housing type (townhomes, apartment buildings, etc.), even with extremely high density development. Nearby homeowners may even see an increase in property values, and larger projects including substantial commercial activity may result in even more wide-spread increases beyond the neighborhood itself.

Studies also show that 100% affordable housing projects often have a positive or neutral effect on nearby property values as long as they are well designed and well managed. Positive or neutral effects are most likely when new housing is part of a neighborhood revitalization effort or sited in already stable neighborhoods.

Sources:
The Center For Housing Policy
Arizona State University Stardust Center
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

Over the last eight years 71% of all required affordable units through the City’s Below Market Rate Program have been built on-site. The current regulation requires that all developments with ten or more residential units provide affordable units on-site, although a developer may request that the Zoning Board allow them to provide a fee-in-lieu instead.
 
Fee-in-lieu funding is then provided to eligible affordable housing developments with the intention of being leveraged to produce more units, or units that are not typically provided on-site, such as deeply affordable, family-sized, and/or homeownership units (which are prioritized in the City’s Housing Affordability Plan). All large non-for-profit developments in recent history have relied on fee-in-lieu to make their projects financially feasible. Examples include David Martin Apartments, Washington Crossing, and Franklin Apartments.

Example: 72 Franklin Street provided 53 units of affordable housing for extremely-low income households (25%-35% AMI) using $3.7 million in fee-in-lieu funding instead of 25 units for very-low income households (50% AMI) on-site.

Sources: City of Stamford Land Use Bureau, The Stamford Advocate

The Stamford Public Schools Long Term Facilities Plan shows projected enrollment slowly declining through the 2031-2032 school year, despite development trends, with the highest student enrollment being 16,600 in 2019-2020. While the general population grew over the last decade alongside new development, the number of children in Stamford under the age of 18 decreased from 26,287 to 25,166 over the same time period (ACS 5-Year 2010 & 2020).

Source: Stamford Board of Education 2022 Presentation to the Board of Representatives

As of June 2023, a City of Stamford survey of vacancy rates in over 50 newer apartment buildings, which are concentrated in Downtown and the South End, showed an average occupancy rate of 94.9%.

Redeveloping property into commercial, residential, or industrial space is an incredibly expensive undertaking. If developers believed the Stamford apartment market was oversaturated and apartment buildings were empty, then interest in residential development would cease. In truth, the Stamford apartment market is very strong and there is a dire need for more housing for people of all ages and income levels, and in different neighborhoods of the city.

What can be built is regulated by zoning. 82.4% of the land in Stamford is zoned for single-family houses only.

Over the last ten years the city has not put forward any proposals that would change land currently zoned for single-family housing to multi-family housing. In fact, the city proposed two zoning changes that zoned land from commercial uses to park uses. These two were for Mill River Park and Trefry Park in Springdale.

Over the past decade, there were only two private applications to rezone single-family zoned land to a different zoning designation. One application included two lots on Belltown Road. The other application was the expansion of the Trader Joe's parking lot on High Ridge Road on land that was already owned by the shopping center. Less than one acre combined was rezoned as part of those two actions over the past 10 years.

• Increases in housing supply slow the growth in rents.
• The chains of moves sparked by new construction free up apartments that are then rented by households across the income spectrum.
• New supply is not a significant contributor to displacement and gentrification.
• More permissive land use regulations lead to more housing over time. 

Yes. Upon receipt of an application, the Land Use Bureau forwards the submitted materials to various city departments which include the Transportation, Traffic and Parking Bureau, Engineering, Water Pollution Control Authority, Fire Department, Planning Board, Environmental Protection Board and others to assess the impacts of the application.

 If the project applied for has an adverse impact, the developer is required to remedy that impact in connection with an approval. As a result, developers regularly improve roads, sidewalks, storm and sanitary sewers, traffic signals, and often contribute to open spaces by way of funding or building parks or providing public access.

The City’s Zoning Regulations require in many districts that open space be provided on-site at ratios for building residents. In addition, the city requires that new development open space that is open to the public. Examples of this include public waterfront access on private properties in the South End and in Waterside. 

In Downtown and the South End, developers are also required to provide five percent of the lot area as Publicly Accessible Amenity Space (PAAS) on sites one acre and larger and provide street trees. If a sidewalk is not wide enough (i.e. less than 10 feet wide), developers must also give up land in favor of the City to conform with sidewalk requirements.

New development is a significant contributor to the City’s tax base and results in stabilizing the taxes of all remaining properties.  

According to the Stamford Tax Assessor’s office, in the last ten years, the value of all new buildings constructed in Stamford (mostly apartments) has been about $2 billion. This amount equals about 10% of the grand list. Over the same period, the city workforce and school enrollment have increased less than 5%. Consequently, without the new developments, taxes would be at least 5% higher today, possibly more. 

Sources:
Tax Assessment FAQ 
SPS Board of Education Operating Budget White Book 2023-2024 
Stamford Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 

While it is true that renters do not receive a bill for real estate taxes, they are still contributing to the funds that their landlord will pay their taxes with. In this way, renters are indirectly paying property taxes to the City of Stamford. Renters should be just as concerned with property tax increases as homeowners as increases in property taxes will likely mean higher rent costs during lease renewals.  

Additionally, if a renter has a motor vehicle then they would be required to pay property taxes on their motor vehicle directly to the City of Stamford which is put towards things such as education, infrastructure and public services

Click here for more information on the City of Stamford’s Assessor’s Office.

The City of Stamford rarely, if ever, gives any sort of tax break to a for-profit developer. The types of tax abatements the City provides are specified in Chapter 220 of the Stamford Code of Ordinances and include tax abatements for low or moderate income housing, seniors, veterans and others, but not for market rate housing. All tax abatements must be approved by the Board of Representatives.

On occasion, when a project is providing a meaningful number of jobs, the State of Connecticut may offer some tax incentives, but this is completely independent from the City.

Despite recent development, flow to the sewage treatment plant has remained constant over the last 10 years. The main reasons for this are that new development generally has more water-efficient plumbing and appliances, and older, less efficient buildings, are being upgraded. Additionally, new development contributes to infrastructure improvements through connection and sewer fees.

In 2023, the WPCA reported that on average, the sewage treatment plant is at less than two-thirds of its capacity. Furthermore, flows to the sewage treatment plant are more impacted by rainfall totals than by new development.

Source: Stamford Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA)

Sources: 
Presentation by Aquarion Water Company to the Zoning Board 
Aquarion Interactive Water Usage Calculator

It is significantly more eco-friendly to live in an apartment compared to living in a single family home.

Families living in apartment buildings with five or more units use about half as much energy as other types of homes. Lower energy use in apartments can be partially explained by their smaller living space. Additionally, apartment units are bordered by other units or common areas on one or more sides and typically have fewer windows, limiting exposure to exterior temperatures.

Ecologists have found that by concentrating their populations in smaller areas, cities decrease human encroachment on natural habitats. Denser settlement patterns yield energy savings and urban households emit less carbon dioxide than their suburban and rural counterparts.

Many apartments feature LED lightbulbs, motion detectors and adjustable lights, plus energy-efficient washers, dryers and dishwashers — all of which help save on energy usage and costs. Similarly, low-flow sinks, toilets and shower-heads help minimize water use, bringing down waste and water bills. Apartments that have roofs with high solar reflectivity indexes reflect solar heat and help lower the inside temperature, which reduces the need for air conditioning.

You can see the relative climate impact of your neighborhood on this interactive map prepared by the New York Times. You will see that the areas of Stamford where there are multi-family buildings the climate impact per household is significantly less.

Sources:
The United States Energy Information Administration
Bloomberg
The Washington Post

It is well recognized that office buildings generate more vehicle traffic than residential developments. A 1,000 sq ft residential unit on average generates .37 car trips in the morning versus 1,000 square feet of office space which generates 1.52 car trips in the morning.

Bike lanes are a more efficient use of road space to move people. Based on the below graphic from the National Association of City Transportation Officials, one 10’ vehicle lane can only move 600-1,600 vehicles per hour (the majority of which have one person in them) while a 10’ two way bike lane can move 7,500 bikes an hour. Biking is also a green form of transportation with no carbon emissions.

Source: https://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/introduction/why/designing-move-people/

Developments near a transit station are called Transit Oriented Development or TOD. The proximity of transit stations to the development results in fewer vehicle trips since residents, employees, and visitors have the option of taking transit instead of driving. The Connecticut Department of Transportation has recognized that TOD results in a 20% reduction of vehicle trips compared to non-TOD developments. Additionally, a study from the University of Utah found that on average, TOD sites have  50% reduction of vehicle trips than the ITE standard. Building near transit results in fewer vehicle trips than development away from transit.

 Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204616302687