A State law passed in 2017 (Statute 8-30j) requires every municipality to prepare or amend and adopt an affordable housing plan at least once every five years. In 2020, the Town of Barkhamsted received a grant from the Connecticut Department of Housing to undertake a proactive planning process and lay out a strategy for meeting the housing needs of existing and future residents and workers. The Town then created the Barkhamsted Housing Plan Steering Committee and contracted with the Northwest Hills Council of Governments to provide professional planning facilitation of the housing plan development process. The Steering
Committee met monthly to guide the process as described on the following page and to ensure that the community was engaged in the conversation around housing needs and strategies throughout the process.
Through this process, the Town developed a goal to support the creation of 25 new affordable housing units over the next five years. This Housing Plan lays out strategies that can be implemented over the coming years to help the town meet this goal.
