Hartford Development Services Department

David B. Panagore
Director

Mission: The Hartford Development Services Department serves to promote the orderly development of the City by helping residents and policy makers plan for Hartford's future, and to provide professional and administrative services to developers, businesses, Hartford residents, City land use regulatory boards and commissions and other City agencies.

The Department is organized into five divisions: economic development, housing and property management, grants management services, licenses and inspections and planning.

PROJECT UPDATES

NEAR-TERM DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AGENDA

Economic Development Division

The Economic Development Division works to create an environment in Hartford conducive to growing and attracting business throughout the City and its neighborhoods through the following programs:

Small Business Development: Provides technical assistance to neighborhood businesses and entrepreneurs interested in starting new businesses.

Corporate Development: Works with industrial companies, commercial service firms and chain retailers on projects that retain and create new jobs and spur investment in the city.

Neighborhood Development and Redevelopment: Provides assistance to developers and neighborhood groups to ensure that blighted and underutilized properties are renovated and put back to productive reuse.

The Hartford Redevelopment Agency (HRA) establishes and manages Redevelopment Plans and purchases targeted properties for development.

For more information click here.

Housing and Property Management Division

The Housing & Property Management Division administers housing rehabilitation and construction contracts through several loan programs. These programs:

Provide down payment and closing cost assistance for the purchase of 1 to 4 family homes;

Provide low interest rate loans to finance home repairs;

Expand the supply of decent and affordable housing for low and very low-income persons/families;

Provides financing assistance for rehabilitation and new construction of one to four family homes; and

Assist residential tenants in Hartford who believe that their rents are excessive.

For more information click here.

Division of Grants Management

The Division of Grants Management secures, manages and administers U.S. Housing and Urban Development entitlement grant programs including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Shelter (ESG) and Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids (HOPWA), as well as other federal and state grant and loan agreements; and develops and manages several community development projects.

On an annual basis these federal entitlement funds are allocated to City departments and over seventy-five community-based organizations throughout the City, to rebuild and revitalize Hartford’s neighborhoods and support its low and moderate-income residents. The Grants Division also ensures funds are used appropriately in accordance with stringent federal regulations.

For more information click here.

Licenses & Inspections Division

The Licenses and Inspections Division ensures the health and safety of the public and the soundness and habitability of the City’s residential, industrial and commercial structures by enforcing the state building code and the city’s housing and zoning codes; and issues licenses and permits as required by state statute and municipal code.

Housing Code and Rodent Control Enforcement
Enforce State Statutes and Municipal Ordinances that protect the public health, safety and welfare in all:

Three-family or more

Mixed use residential/ commercial structures

One and two-family dwellings that are not occupied by the property owner.

Building and Trades reviews building permit applications and plans for code compliance, issue building permits and conduct on going building inspections to assist and ensure property owners and contractors build and repair housing, industrial and commercial buildings in compliance with applicable building codes.

Zoning – on Planning Division page. For more information click here.

Weights and Measures inspects weights and measures devices for accuracy and integrity.

For more information click here.

Planning Division

Promotes the orderly growth of the City by helping citizens and policy makers visualize Hartford’s growth opportunities, and provides professional and administrative services to the:

Planning and Zoning Commission

Inland Wetlands Agency

Historic Preservation Commission

Historical Properties Commission

Design Review Board

Regulatory Land Use Boards and Commissions

Zoning Board of Appeals

Zoning examines plans and permit applications for the issuance of permits and inspects properties for zoning compliance and enforcement.

Neighborhood Planning develops plans and strategies for neighborhood improvements and revitalization, and assists the fourteen Neighborhood Revitalization Zones to identify and eliminate blighted properties and to plan and implement neighborhood improvements by reviewing and approving neighborhood proposals.

For more information click here.