Sec. 8-242. Declaration of policy.
Sec. 8-242. Declaration of policy. It is found and declared that there exists in the
state and will exist in the future a serious shortage of housing for low and moderate
income families and persons; that this shortage has contributed and will contribute to
the persistence of slums and blight and will tend to perpetuate the concentration of
families and persons of low and moderate income in the older urban areas of the state;
and that this shortage has been a major contributing factor to the deterioration in the
quality of environment and living conditions of large numbers of the citizens of Connecticut. It is further found and declared that it is imperative that the cost of mortgage
financing, a major factor materially affecting the supply and cost of housing, be made
lower in order to encourage the development and reduce the cost of housing for low
and moderate income families and persons, that the supply of housing for families and
persons displaced by public action or disaster be increased, and that private enterprise
and public agencies be encouraged and assisted to build and rehabilitate well planned,
well designed housing which will be made available to house families and persons of
low and moderate income and will prevent the recurrence of slums and blight. It is
further found and declared that there exists a serious lack of construction and permanent
financing for housing proposed to be constructed, rehabilitated, purchased and refinanced pursuant to government-insured mortgage programs and with government subsidies for low and moderate income families and persons, and that this lack of construction and permanent financing will severely limit the growth in the supply of housing
for such families and persons. It is further found and declared that there exists a serious
shortage of low interest rate financing available to low and moderate income families
and persons for the purchase or rehabilitation of existing dwelling units. It is therefore
found and declared that providing state financial assistance for housing for low and
moderate income families and persons through the making and purchase of mortgages
on such housing located in this state and the undertaking of the other financing arrangements set forth in this chapter to meet the aforesaid needs and achieve the foregoing
objectives, including mortgage loans to families and persons of low and moderate income for the purchase of existing dwelling units, are public purposes and purposes for
which public money may be expended for the public benefit and good. It is further found
and declared that in order to provide housing for families and persons of lower income
than the Connecticut Housing Financing Authority can presently assist, it shall be a
public purpose of the authority to invest a portion of its funds in mortgage or mortgage-backed securities at the maximum yield obtainable and to apply the income from such
investments to reduce the interest rate charged on housing for low and moderate income
persons and families and other mortgagees. It is further found and declared that municipalities in the state with a population in excess of seventy-five thousand or with population densities of three thousand five hundred per square mile of physically accessible
land area as determined by or predicated upon the 1970 United States Census have,
owing to their large size and long establishment as urban areas, urban problems that are
not as pervasive nor of similar magnitude in municipalities of a smaller size and that
this fact justifies limiting the provisions of subsection (34) of section 8-250, subsection
(b) of section 8-251 and subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 8-258 to those
municipalities of a population hereinbefore stated. It is further found and declared that
there exists in such urban areas a critical and growing need to maintain and to encourage
a proper balance of housing, industrial, commercial and community and recreational
facilities and to restore urban areas as desirable places for persons of all income levels
to live, work, shop and enjoy the amenities of town living and meeting, traditional to
the state. It is recognized that a sufficient number of attractive sites for housing exist in
the state elsewhere than in urban areas, that, during certain periods in recent times,
private mortgage financing at acceptable rates has been and may continue to be more
readily available elsewhere than in urban areas and that the superficial economics of
housing elsewhere than in urban areas has been and will continue to be an incentive for
citizens of the state to abandon their homes in urban areas or continue to live elsewhere;
however, it is found and declared that the state has a major investment in insuring that
urban areas do not further deteriorate because the cost (1) of accommodating continued
development elsewhere than in urban areas, in terms of additional fire protection, sewer,
water, education and energy requirements, of additional construction and maintenance
of highways and transportation facilities, of the additional destruction of natural areas
of the state, of the additional administrative and governmental requirements that result
as underdeveloped areas grow in population and of such other similar public improvements and services that government is required to finance as a result thereof and (2) of
redeveloping the urban areas, of the inefficient and underuse of the public facilities and
services presently available in the urban areas and of the increased expense of providing
safety for persons continuing to reside in deteriorating areas, is and will continue to be
an undue burden on the state, adversely affecting the health, welfare, safety and general
prosperity of the citizens of the state. It is further recognized that since the late nineteen-forties providing housing for low and moderate income persons and the redevelopment
of urban areas has been the subject matter of government action and assistance in this
state and that such action and assistance must continue; however, experience has shown
that balanced community development has the best chance of improving the urban areas
and that the proliferation of suburban sprawl is detrimental to the state, to its natural
resources and to all of its inhabitants. It is further recognized that the conditions in
certain parts of urban areas have caused the mortgage lenders to refuse to risk their capital
on attractive housing even to persons able to afford such housing without assistance. It
is further found, as more particularly set forth in the plan of conservation and development for Connecticut that the declared policy of the state is to discourage the development of areas which remain in their natural state and to encourage the further development and revitalization of the other areas of the state. It is therefore found and declared
that in order to encourage the development of a balanced community of all income
levels in the urban areas it is necessary and appropriate that mortgage financing for
construction, reconstruction, purchase and refinancing of housing in urban areas for all
levels of income more readily be made available. It is further found and declared that
the erosion in the value of one, two or three-family homes due to the decline of economic
conditions in the state has precluded the refinancing of mortgages on such property in
a manner that could increase homeowner disposable income and contribute to the general
economic recovery of the state and that it is beneficial and in the public interest that the
state extend mortgage guarantees to mortgage lending institutions to provide refinancing
mortgage loans when the decline of home values has precluded such lending. It is further
found that energy costs of operating residential buildings have increased greatly in recent
years creating a severe economic burden for families and persons of low and moderate
income and making it difficult for such persons to afford basic housing needs; and that
it is highly probable such energy costs will continue to increase rapidly in the future. It
is therefore found and declared to be in the public interest and for the public benefit and
good to protect Connecticut residents from further increases in energy costs by providing
state financial assistance for the purchase, construction and installation in new and existing buildings of energy conservation measures and renewable energy systems providing space heating or cooling, domestic hot water, electricity or other useful energy. To
achieve such purposes for the foregoing reasons, the General Assembly determines that
the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority should be provided with the additional
powers set forth in subsections (34) and (36) of section 8-250, subsection (b) of section
8-251 and subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 8-258 and that the expenditure
of public moneys therefor constitutes a serving of a needed public purpose and is in the
public interest. It is further found and declared that there continues to exist in the state
and will exist in the future a serious shortage of housing; that federal programs providing
subsidies for housing of low and moderate income persons and families are being curtailed or eliminated; that federal legislation has limited and restricted the ability of the
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority to issue obligations, the interest on which is
exempt from federal income taxation, to finance housing for low and moderate income
persons and families and in urban areas; that it is imperative for the state to continue to
create and maintain a climate conducive to attract investment in multifamily housing
in the state and that the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority has demonstrated its
capability for raising funds for such purpose. To achieve the purpose of continuing to
attract such investment and to continue housing finance programs for shelter for its
inhabitants, the General Assembly determines that the issuance of the obligations authorized pursuant to subsection (o) of section 8-252 and the expenditure of the proceeds
thereof constitutes a serving of a needed public purpose and is in the public interest. It
is further found and declared that the high cost of housing in the state, relative to the
cost of housing in other states, is a significant impediment to the promotion and maintenance of economic development in the state and it is imperative that such competitive
disadvantage be moderated to the extent possible through employer-assisted housing
efforts or other means.
(1969, P.A. 795, S. 2; 1972, P.A. 208, S. 1; P.A. 74-104, S. 1, 12; P.A. 75-465, S. 1, 7; P.A. 76-13, S. 1, 7; 76-118, S.
1, 6; 76-435, S. 18, 82; P.A. 79-578, S. 1, 3; P.A. 82-393, S. 1, 3; P.A. 83-587, S. 9, 96; P.A. 93-248, S. 1; 93-308, S. 1,
12; 93-435, S. 94, 95; P.A. 96-180, S. 9, 166.)
History: 1972 act expanded policy statement to provide for lowering cost of mortgage financing and for encouragement
of construction of housing units for low and moderate-income families; P.A. 74-104 added specific provision concerning
low interest rate financing for purchase of existing dwellings; P.A. 75-465 added provision for use of investment income
to finance housing for those "of lower income than the Connecticut housing finance authority can presently assist"; P.A.
76-13 included financing for rehabilitation of existing dwelling units; P.A. 76-118 greatly expanded section to include
provisions specifically relating to urban municipalities; P.A. 76-435 made technical changes; P.A. 79-578 added provisions
concerning financial assistance for energy conservation measures; P.A. 82-393 added language concerning the issuance
of taxable obligations; P.A. 83-587 made technical changes; P.A. 93-248 added specific provision concerning employer-assisted housing; P.A. 93-308 added provision re residential mortgage refinancing guarantees, effective July 1, 1993; P.A.
93-435 changed effective date of P.A. 93-308 from July 1, 1993, to June 9, 1993, effective June 28, 1993; P.A. 96-180
made technical changes in references to Sec. 8-258, effective June 3, 1996.
Broad provisions of statute cannot be interpreted to eliminate authority under Sec. 8-253a(1) to grant or withhold
consent to prepayment of loan because an affordable housing developer may obtain a more favorable mortgage rate from
a private lender. 281 C. 277.