During his State of the State address on January 8, Gov. Ned Lamont asserted that “our north stars are affordability and opportunity…allowing you to keep more of what you earn and providing you the tools to let you earn more, buy a home, and start a business.”
I agree with the Governor’s ideas, but we need better policy to fulfill his vision. A truly affordable and opportunity-rich Connecticut needs more housing for our friends, families, and future neighbors.
The most important part of the American Dream is being able to move to opportunity, but Connecticut’s housing crisis is making that increasingly impossible. There are fewer apartments available to lease than ever, leading to skyrocketing rents, and the situation isn’t much better for would-be buyers. Those few homes that are for sale are often well out of the price range of working families (the median sale price in Fairfield County is now well over $600,000). Worst of all, the state’s housing shortage is having devastating impacts on our most vulnerable residents, as Connecticut experienced a 13% increase in homelessness.
Part of the problem is that our one-size-fits-all zoning —which emphasizes large lot homes over anything else— builds too few homes and makes it almost impossible for people to adjust to changing life circumstances. What if you have a new job opportunity but want to rent and get to know the area before purchasing? What if you want to start a business and need talented employees to move? What if your parents are looking to downsize to a more manageable spot? And wouldn’t it be great if so many of our kids, nieces, and nephews weren’t leaving the state in search of cheap housing in the Sunbelt? Unfortunately, our current zoning regime is restricting our choices and choking off homes from being built.
Thankfully, Connecticut’s political leaders know we need to build more homes. This past September, State Sen. Bob Duff and Rep. Jason Rojas penned a joint op-ed arguing that “we know our home shortage is impeding economic growth in Connecticut, and we know that housing costs chew up a frankly unacceptable share of most families’ incomes.”
Later that month Rojas and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy wrote that “the sky-high cost of rent, the inadequate supply of affordable housing, and the barriers facing aspiring first-time home buyers…have resulted in an all-out housing crisis that is holding our state back.” And in an incredibly positive sign, Governor Lamont’s address called on localities to “speed up the permitting process. Get those shovels in the ground.” This is very encouraging, but it’s time to act.
This legislative session you’re going to hear some people and groups fear-monger by using technical terms like “8-30g” and claiming that our sewers and schools will be overrun if we build more homes, but they’re wrong. Don’t give into the screeds and scare tactics. These people have no answer for the future of our state or your family. There’s nothing to fear from a new backyard cottage or apartments near your local train station. These backyard cottages are the places our parents and grandparents (and eventually, us) will retire to, and these apartments near the train are where the neighborhood kids are going to move to after college.
This legislative session, don’t get bogged down by the jargon and fear-mongering; instead, think about how our friends and family actually live and ask yourself: will I be able to find a starter home after getting married? Will I be able to build a backyard accessory dwelling unit for my child who needs special support? Will I be able to sell my home and find a place to downsize within my community?
This is how people actually live, and we need a housing market that meets our needs. Zoning is meant to serve us, not the other way around, and our zoning has produced too few starter homes, too few rentals, too few affordable units, and too few homes in the towns and regions where people want to live.
There’s nothing wrong with detached homes and large backyards (I love mine), and they’ll continue to be a great part of our state. But we also need a state that’s broadly affordable to nurses, baristas, paraprofessionals, and local entrepreneurs —and we can’t do that without building more homes.
I think Governor Lamont has the right idea—we should build an affordable and opportunity-rich Connecticut. The single most impactful policy Connecticut’s leaders could implement to achieve that is to make it legal to build more homes at all price points in our state.
In a legislative session that’s likely to be dominated by fiscal guardrails and budgets, zoning reform is free and can unlock a dynamic, growing Connecticut. Ultimately, our working friends and families can’t access opportunity unless they have an affordable place to call home, so let’s use the 2025 session to make it legal to build homes again in Connecticut.
Thomas Broderick lives in Trumbull.