Lawmakers clash over proposed affordable housing bill
The bill, H.B. 6944, would require every municipality in Connecticut to create an affordable housing plan every five years. Towns and cities would then have to post these plans for affordable housing development on their websites.
2 Connecticut cities spend higher percentage of income on rent nationally: WalletHub
House Majority Leader and State Rep. Jason Rojas (D-9th) told News 8 on Friday that the bill would be a crucial next step in furthering affordable housing development.
'It'll actually provide objective information to towns and communities and give them a number from which they can plan for,' Rojas said.
Rojas has been one of the strongest advocates in attempting to address the state's patchwork of local zoning laws. Democrats supporting the legislation are arguing that these regulations and red tape are stifling economic growth.
'Right now the marketplace, constrained by government regulation, is not allowing the marketplace to build the kind of housing that families in Connecticut need,' he said.
In this regard, Rojas argued, Connecticut is lagging behind red states where forceful economic and housing development are being more strongly embraced by state legislatures.
'Listen, Republicans across the rest of the country are on board with this,' he said. 'You go to a lot of red states, they're doing a lot better job of allowing housing to be built. They're a lot more economically vibrant than we are.'
Two features of the bill in particular have drawn the ire of state Republicans. One of these issues that Republicans have highlighted is that the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management would be in charge of reviewing and approving plans.
Republicans like State Rep. Joe Zullo (99th), who sits on the Planning & Development Committee, are criticizing this approach, arguing it instead primarily serves to bolster state power and overreach regarding local zoning rules.
'You know, in concept, the idea of towns taking the lead is a great idea,' Zullo said. 'The problem is that this proposal is more like follow the leader. And the leader is a big state bureaucratic institution seeking to impose all of their mandates on local municipalities.'
Another criticism among Republicans regarding the proposed bill is that individuals or groups — any 'interested party' — can file a complaint with the state Superior Court if a municipality is not following its plan.
Zullo and state Republicans are claiming this could lead to less progress and more lawsuits.
'Everybody wants to create more housing, we want to solve and eradicate homelessness. The problem is the approach, and I think there's a deafness to the issue of local control,' he added.
Rojas pushed back on the idea that the proposed bill introduces negative enforcement measures.
'Any time you want to have a policy outcome, there needs to be an accountability measure,' Rojas said. 'And that's what we're talking about here. You can call it a stick. I call it accountability.'
The debate over the bill is part of a larger focus on affordable housing in Connecticut.
Advocates have previously estimated that the state has a shortage of roughly 94,000 available and affordable homes for low-income renters.
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