After nearly 12 hours of sparring, Connecticut House of Representatives narrowly passed a sweeping housing bill that calls for several forms of zoning reform.
The house bill is more than 100 pages long and includes several new housing initiatives, with the goal of increasing affordable housing. It was approved in the House with an 84-to-67 vote.
The bill focuses on key issues such as transit oriented development, addressing homelessness, and zoning reform. Proposed changes to zoning laws have sparked concerns among conservative lawmakers.
Despite the House approval, the bill still needs to gain State Senate approval, which is expected to vote on the bill later this week.
Work, Live, Ride is one of the main proposals within the bill. It promotes the establishment of Transit Oriented Districts (TODs), which boost affordable housing construction near transit hubs.
Pete Harrison, Connecticut director for Regional Plan Association, the nonprofit that proposed Work, Live, Ride, said he feels positive about the odds of the State Senate passing the bill.
“Our lesson last year was it's really hard to get one housing bill through the Senate, but multiple housing bills is probably too much,” Harrison said. “We were certainly sold on the idea of being in the big omnibus bill, and I do think that is a pretty good protection to get through the Senate.”
Several proposals in the omnibus housing bill drew criticism from some state lawmakers, including zoning reform that eliminates the need for off-street parking as part of development.
One of the most contested elements of the bill is the “Fair Share Planning and Zoning“ proposal. It revolves around a push for Connecticut municipalities to contribute their “fair share” of the affordable housing stock.
It would require cities and towns to create affordable housing plans based on the number of units recommended for each town by a study assessing the state’s housing needs.
However, in the hours before the bill was discussed, State Rep. Joe Zullo, a Republican, representing East Haven, said it doesn’t take into account the entire issue.
“You're talking about thousands of units in some scenarios, in towns, it's just not attainable,” Zullo said. “It's not realistic, and it's unfair, because towns weren't consulted directly. They were never asked, How much land do you have? You know, what's your developable land? Never included in that process.”
The fair share study, commissioned by the state legislature in 2023, also looks at how a fair share program would work in Connecticut. The preliminary report was presented to lawmakers in January.
The bill would require all communities to strive for constructing 25% of the number of affordable housing units the “fair share” study determined was needed.
State Rep. Jason Rojas, a Democrat, who represents East Hartford, said recent modifications to the bill would give communities more leeway. It would adjust the number of affordable homes required based on how much land is available for development.
“We've given the opportunity for towns and cities to come back to us with a number that they think is more feasible based on their understanding of local conditions, their understanding of available land,” Rojas said. “There is language in there that now requires the towns and cities to submit to us how much land, exact parcels they think are appropriate for development.”
Democrats say they’ve compromised with Republican colleagues, but maintain the importance of increasing housing density.
Harrison remains hopeful the omnibus housing bill will clear the Senate.
“It's just a long time coming, and in some regards, it shouldn't be this hard to make some really pretty reasonable reforms to unlock more housing potential,” Harrison said.
