Lamont signs controversial zoning reform bill aimed at creating more fair and equitable housing

Gov. Ned Lamont has signed into law a controversial bill that alters the state’s zoning code in an effort to create more fair and equitable housing.

HB 6107 carries the title “An Act Concerning the Zoning Enabling Act, Accessory Apartments, Training for Certain Land Use Officials, Municipal Affordable Housing Plans and A Commission on Connecticut’s Development and Future.”

It has caught flak from a number of county lawmakers and other citizens for what they see as essentially a usurpation by the state of local zoning regulations.

The law contains numerous reforms to Connecticut’s zoning laws, including legalizing accessory dwelling units, reducing minimum parking mandates, developing a model form-based code, eliminating the term “character” from zoning codes, mandating training for land use commissioners, clarifying technical standards, and reorganizing the state zoning statute.

“Our coalition is thrilled that the first meaningful change to Connecticut zoning law in decades was signed into law, a year and a day after we first met,” said Sara Bronin, founder and lead organizer of DesegregateCT, a group of over 70 of the state’s nonprofits that pushed for the bill’s passage.

“With gratitude toward the legislators who advanced this bill, we celebrate today’s progress and look forward to collaborating with many stakeholders to ensure more progress in the years ahead,” Bronin added.

According to AIA Connecticut Executive Director Gina Calabro, “Much more than designing buildings or whole communities, architects have a greater task. Health, safety, and welfare are always at the forefront of the profession, so it is our moral obligation to design better homes and communities that people want to work, live and play. For AIA Connecticut, HB 6107 upholds these values, and our strategic objectives to support equity, inclusive growth, and healthy, sustainable environments.”

“Now is the time to earnestly begin the hard work of land use reform – and now our state will play an important role in addressing exclusionary land use policies and practices embedded in our zoning ordinances,” said Melissa Kaplan Macey, state vice president, state programs and Connecticut director, Regional Plan Association.

Christie Stewart, director of Fairfield County’s Center for Housing Opportunity, said the legislation represents “an important step in ensuring that zoning decisions in our communities better reflect and uphold the values of inclusion and equity that so many Fairfield County and Connecticut residents stand behind. Our communities can and should be both wonderful places to live and offer diverse housing choices affordable to all.”