Every election cycle, voters across Connecticut hear a lot about housing.
Much of that talk comes in the form of fearmongering about supposed overdevelopment and Hartford lawmakers trying to take away local control. But so much of this rhetoric is misleading or outright false, so it’s important you have the facts.
First, two important pieces of context.
One is that most people in Connecticut recognize the need for more housing options for seniors, young people, essential workers, and others. According to a 2023 public opinion poll conducted by Embold Research, 76 percent of registered voters in Connecticut support adding housing near train and bus stations, 71 percent support providing incentives to cities and towns to build more housing, 58 percent support reforming zoning laws in suburban areas so more multi-family housing can be built, and 57 percent support penalizing towns and cities that don’t add subsidized housing for low- and middle-class residents.
The other is that legalizing more types of housing by easing government zoning restrictions and allowing the free market to work is an approach that has broad, bi-partisan support. Across the country, some of the most conservative Republicans – from governors like Greg Gianforte of Montana and Doug Burgum of North Dakota to state lawmakers in places like Texas and Wisconsin – and some of the most progressive Democrats alike are championing the same kinds of reforms that lawmakers are working to advance here in Connecticut. As Gov. Gianforte said, “Zoning regulations restrict housing supply and make affordable housing less accessible.”
Now, back to the rhetoric. Let’s start with the claim that bills like ‘Work Live Ride’ will replace local zoning with statewide land use planning in Hartford. It’s just not true.
In the case of ‘Work Live Ride,’ a bill intended to encourage transit-oriented development, municipalities choose whether they want to opt into a program that would provide state funding in exchange for legalizing more homes near public transit. If a town opts in, it has tremendous flexibility in how it meets that requirement. For one town, that could mean allowing apartment buildings immediately adjacent to its train station. For another, it could simply mean making it legal to build single-family homes on smaller lots. This gives zoning boards an opportunity to think creatively and tailor their strategies to the needs of their communities.
Voters also have been hearing a lot about 8-30g, a law enacted more than 30 years ago that allows developers to bypass zoning restrictions in municipalities that have failed to create housing. While specific 8-30g developments often are unpopular, the statute itself is an easy scapegoat for what is really a failure of local zoning boards to fulfill their obligation to legalize more homes. Municipalities have had decades to exercise local control over how and where to allow more homes and every 8-30g development we’ve seen has been the result of the choices these towns have made.
By way of illustration, Fairfield, where I serve on our town plan and zoning commission, is in the process of finalizing a new plan of conservation and development (POCD). The draft plan – informed by input from local residents over the course of several years and refined based on thoughtful, bi-partisan discussion from members of the commission – includes a wide range of recommendations related to housing.
One set of recommendations would modernize antiquated zoning restrictions in our downtown that made sense at one time but are completely illogical in 2024. For example, while current zoning allows five-story buildings along much of our downtown commercial corridor, no more than 50 percent of a property can be residential. Because there simply isn’t demand for second-floor office space, this effectively limits buildings to two floors.
By removing the 50-percent cap on residential, we can actually reduce the maximum height along Post Road to four stories and still legalize more of the kinds of modest mixed-use buildings (two or three floors of residential above ground-floor shops and restaurants) that will help meet the need for housing right next to a major train station and generate foot traffic that supports existing small businesses.
Fairfield is expected to achieve a moratorium on 8-30g developments this year. But had common-sense changes like that been implemented sooner, there is no doubt we already would be in the midst of one. As a plan and zoning commissioner, I can tell you that despite what some would have you believe, 8-30g has not taken away the authority our commission has to make decisions about how and where to allow housing. It simply says that we have to allow it and provides a remedy if we abdicate that responsibility.
I encourage everyone to engage with your local zoning board and hold members’ feet to the fire to ensure they’re taking proactive steps to meet our obligation to legalize the kinds of homes most of our neighbors support so that developers don’t make these choices for us.
Finally, it’s worth noting amidst all this talk of local control that the most local control of all is one’s personal property rights. Not one of the bills passed or proposed in recent years in any way infringes on those rights, while some actually expand your freedom and limit the ability of government bureaucrats to micromanage your property. That means if you’re content in your single-family home, you’re free to live there in peace. But if you want to put a duplex on your property or use some of your three acres to build a second single-family house, the government wouldn’t be able to tell you it’s not allowed.
Misinformation isn’t harmless. In this case, it’s doing real damage to the seniors, young people, and working families who are struggling due to a lack of housing options. So be alert. Have your guard up. And seek out information and perspectives from diverse sources. By doing that, you can usually get a clearer understanding of what’s really going on and be a more informed voter.
Tom Corsillo is Vice Chair of the Fairfield Town Plan & Zoning Commission.