This article was archived from the previous WordPress site. Formatting and media should be close, but may not match the original post perfectly.
Hartford, CT. – The Democrats came out today to talk about prioritizing housing reforms this session. They want to go back to concepts that failed in previous years such as Live, Work, Ride, and the next stages of Fair Share. This is just more of the same—a one size fits all mandate from the state regardless of local ability, need or wants. Local control of zoning maintains the character of our municipalities that draw people to our state and keeps them here.
Department of Housing officials did not offer testimony in support or opposition to the ‘fair share’ proposal. The Department is not asking or pushing for this.
To make the biggest difference right away, we should address the rising cost of living, including utility rates and additional new taxes and fees, that continues to burden Connecticut families. Municipal officials and residents who care about local control of zoning should pay attention this legislative session as the Democrats made clear today that they will make a bigger push this year on this issue.
We should incentivize builders, we should allocate more money for homelessness services, and address the issue of bad actors. We heard time and again last session from tenants who encountered issues with these bad actors and this should be one of the areas we’re focused on in this session.
