South Windsor eyes fair rent panel
Jan. 23—SOUTH WINDSOR — The Town Council is considering forming a new Fair Rent Commission, which state law requires larger towns to create no later than July 1.
The law states that any municipality with a population of 25,000 or more must adopt an ordinance establishing such a commission.
"We brought this forward to you after it was passed and we were asked to go look and see if we could work with our Capitol Region Council of Governments to see if there was a way to do it on a regional basis," Town Manager Michael Maniscalco told the Town Council last week at their meeting.
He said that after multiple meetings CRCOG determined it was not legally possible to have a regional fair rent commission that incorporated other towns.
In addition, many seniors who live in town are worried about a possible rent increase over the past year, Maniscalco said.
"A committee like this may have that opportunity to rearview that and at least shed some light on the reasons why there may be rents moving in certain directions," he added.
Windsor recently adopted a fair rent commission ordinance, and Maniscalco said he would like to base South Windsor's ordinance off that measure.
Windsor's commission would consist of seven members and three alternates.
The seven members would include two landlords, two tenants and three who are not a landlord or a tenant.
Councilman Marek Kozikowski said he'd rather base the South Windsor ordinance on model provided by the Partnership for Strong Communities, a nonprofit that advocates to end homelessness and affordable housing.
"I think it's always good to borrow good ideas from other towns, but I think we could start with the base of what's provided to us and customize that to what fits good within South Windsor," he added.
Planning and Zoning Commission member Alan Cavagnaro spoke in favor of establishing a local fair rent commission at Tuesday's Town Council meeting.
He said he interned with the recently deceased Rep. Quentin Williams, D-Middletown, who co-sponsored the fair rent commission bill.
Cavagnaro told the Town Council there are 1,230 rental units in South Windsor. The town has a total population of around 27,000.
"It gives renters the platform to voice their concerns," Cavagnaro said.
Councilwoman Karen Lydecker asked where commission members would get information on what is considered fair rent.
Cavagnaro said the state law gives thirteen conditions that members of a fair rent commission may look at when determining if the rent is fair or unfair.
One of the considerations the statute mentions is comparing rent prices for similar houses or complexes in the area.
Manisclaco said he would propose a draft of the ordinance for the Town Council to deliberate at a future meeting. The council meets again Feb. 6.
Collin covers South Windsor and East Hartford for the Journal Inquirer.
