Zoning Board of Appeals says Willard Road landlord must count parking fees toward workforce rents

NORWALK, Conn. — The Zoning Board of Appeals rejected an appeal from the owner of a Willard Road apartment complex asking for parking fees charged to tenants of “workforce housing” units not to count as part of rent.

Willard Apartments LLC, owner of The Beacon apartment complex at 10 Willard Road with 219 apartments, had filed the appeal of a July 23 cease-and-desist order from Deputy Zoning Inspector Ian Hall that said some of the complex’s 22 workforce units were priced too high once parking was added.

Representing the landlord, attorney Justin Glaser said parking is a choice, not a necessity, and should not count toward a tenant’s rent. He distinguished parking, which he called “entirely elective,” from things like utilities “required for habitability.”

If parking fees were to count toward a tenant’s rent, why not things like pet or storage fees?

“It is an extremely slippery slope,” Glaser said, and has the effect of disincentivizing developers and property owners from including workforce housing units in their buildings.

“At what point does that rent, to be dramatic here, become zero?” Glaser said.

Representing the city, Assistant Corporation Counsel Matthew Sapienza said that Glaser had raised some interesting questions — but that the building’s landlord should raise them with state lawmakers or the Planning and Zoning Commission, not the Zoning Board of Appeals.

That’s because the cease-and-desist order was based on a rule that cited a state regulation that carves out things like television and IT services.

“Appellant’s counsel seems to have raised some practical considerations that I think are worthwhile to chew on, but I think those corrections are probably foremost made in the state legislature in the state regulation or secondarily by our local zoning authority in our zoning regulation,” he said.

“I think the elective point is an interesting point but it’s not included in the state regulation or our zoning regulation,” Sapienza said. “It’s a potentially useful distinction, I just don’t see it there now.”

Zoning Enforcement Officer Tammy Maldonado noted that other landlords of workforce housing apartments do not exceed the maximum rents allowed with parking fees.

“I think the issue here is really with the statutory language,” she said. “As staff, that’s our obligation, we have to refer to whatever our regulations reference. There’s no wiggle room, I can’t make speculation about the legislation’s intent, what they really meant, did they mean to reduce profit for developers? Those (questions) are beyond the scope.”

“I think we got it,” board member Andrew Conroy said.

The board then denied the appeal by a 4-1 vote, with Conroy, Lee Levey, Danielle Sanchick, and Steve Ferguson voting to deny and Anthony Simari voting to sustain.

Glaser did not return a message seeking comment.

After the vote board members said the issue was interesting to think about. Sanchick said she’d be curious to know how other towns handle it.

“I think the language needs to be tightened to a far greater extent,” Levey said. “I see the ambiguities and they’re disturbing but I have to support the zoning enforcement officer’s decision and the law department in this matter.”