New Canaan Zoning Panel Raises Affordable Housing Fee to 500 Percent
Planning and Zoning · Meeting of April 9, 2026
New Canaan zoning panel backs 500% affordable-housing fee, 1.5 density cap. The Planning and Zoning Commission, working through draft zoning text with consultants from BFJ Planning ahead of a June 2 public hearing, agreed to raise the town's inclusionary zoning fee-in-lieu from 300 percent to 500 percent of the state median income, or roughly $623,000 per required affordable unit. Commissioners also settled on a 1.5 floor-area-ratio cap for inclusionary developments in the business zone, paired with a rule limiting large units to 30 percent of a building's total.
Staff member Sarah Kerry told commissioners the town attorney has concluded new state "summary review" rules bar discretionary design guidelines on residential projects, prompting talk of a possible building moratorium or historic district designation. A public workshop on the broader zoning rewrite is set for April 21 at Lapham Community Center.
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Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of April 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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