Sec. 8-242. Declaration of policy. - Connecticut Statutes

      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.