PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC HEARING

TOMORROW, MONDAY, March 22 beginning at 10:00 a.m., the Planning and Development Committee will be hold a SECOND PUBLIC HEARING on two bills that require our immediate attention.

This is yet another attempt by majority Democratic legislators to take control away from towns like New Canaan and Wilton that are well-managed and that actively seek to provide affordable housing on their own.

Again, there is no doubt that creating more affordable housing is a major priority for all 169 Connecticut municipalities, but this must be done at the local level where municipal leaders and zoning experts can explore options with the unique needs and geography of each town in mind.

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BILLS OF CONCERN

Raised Bill 1068, An Act Concerning Property Taxes and Affordable Housing, would create a NEW statewide property tax on all homes valued over $300,000, and if passed, this bill would go into effect on OCTOBER 1, 2021.

The bill would create the follow tiered tax on residential property:

If a town provides…

• at least 10% affordable housing: no tax would apply
• between 8% and <10% affordable housing: 4/10^ths of one mill rate applies
• between 6% and <8% affordable housing: 8/10^ths of one mill rate applies
• between 4% and <6% affordable housing: 1 and 2/10^ths mill rate applies
• between 2% and <4% affordable housing: 1 and 6/10^ths mill rate applies
• between 0% and <2% affordable housing: 2 mills rate applies

This tax structure mirrors the one proposed in SB 172, which had a public hearing in the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee last Monday. If you submitted testimony against SB 172 for last week’s hearing, you may submit the same testimony to the Planning and Development Committee for this upcoming hearing. Just be sure to change the bill number in your updated testimony.

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There is also one additional bill of concern on Monday’s again regarding local zoning.

Raised Bill 1066, An Act Concerning Municipalities and Shares Services, is a “dummy bill” that could become a much larger threat to local control of zoning/”home rule”. While this bill in its current form does not carry much weight, additional language could be added and sent to the House and Senate for debate and a vote.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL HEARING AGENDA

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HOW TO TESTIFY

Testify LIVE via Zoom

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Please register by 3:00 p.m. TODAY!

• The speaking order will be posted on the Planning and Development Committee website at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow. Look under “Public Hearing Testimony”.

Testify via Email

• Email written testimony (Word of PDF format) to PDtestimony@cga.ct.gov. Please include your name and “NO to SB 1068 [and/or] SB 1066” in the document AND in the subject line of your email.

Testify by Phone

• Call the Phone Registrant Line and leave your information: (203) 350-3769

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As always, please contact me if you have any questions about these bills or the public hearing process. I also encourage you to share this information with anyone who may find it useful. This is an important issue for our communities and there are many people who may want to testify.

Email: Tom.ODea@housegop.ct.gov