黑料吃瓜网 communities were praised for increasing their affordable housing stock during the third annual housing conference hosted by the state鈥檚 Department of Housing. However, state lawmakers debated what it would take to get the sweeping housing bill passed
For more than an hour, leading state lawmakers at the at Foxwoods Resort Casino Thursday, hashed out what needs to change for the omnibus housing bill, to be passed after it was vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Ned Lamont.
The bill didn鈥檛 leave enough localities enough freedom and decision making, according to Lamont.
While Democratic State Sen. and Rep. Majority Leaders Bob Duff and Jason Rojas previously discussed potential changes to the housing bill, the subject became more concrete with the upcoming Nov. 12 special session.
鈥淚t's about a 100 page bill, right? We are actually disagreeing about 15 pages of the 100 pages,鈥� Rojas said. 鈥淪o 85 pages, nobody actually has an issue with those.鈥�
The state鈥檚 鈥淔air Share鈥� policy is the root of much discord between Democrats and Republicans over the bill. The policy urged 黑料吃瓜网 municipalities to contribute their 鈥渇air share鈥� in adding affordable housing to their community as part of the state鈥檚 affordable housing mandate. It required towns and cities to adopt an affordable housing plan every five years.
鈥淲e're talking about fair share and trying to ensure that towns put together plans that are actually informed by data and actually have actual goals in them and actually have accountability measures in them,鈥� Rojas said. 鈥淥therwise, why do any of this if there's no accountability?鈥�
Opponents of the bill said it takes too much zoning and development control away from communities.
Democrats are close to brokering a deal with Republicans, Rojas said.
But, Democrats are unwilling to put forward a weakened version of the housing bill, Duff said.
鈥淭he policy needs and the needs of families and individuals in the state outweigh the value of taking an incremental approach,鈥� Duff said.
The new iteration of the housing bill will cut back restrictions on parking needs for housing developments and give more leeway for towns on where housing is constructed.
"We don't want planning and zoning to make parking an impediment to housing," Lamont said. "I'd like to focus more on old parking lots and brownfields, shopping centers, not simply taking five acres of open space."
Discussions included how local land use impacts communities鈥� abilities to build, new ways to try to solve homelessness and how to make affordable housing construction less risky for developers.
The conference opened with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz laying out recent, local affordable developments.
Several communities are already chipping away at 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 affordable housing need.
Bysiewicz highlighted the work of New London, New Haven, West Hartford, Newington and Norwalk.
鈥淭here's a myth out there that if your town has affordable housing in it, that somehow that affordable housing makes that town or city undesirable, and the exact opposite is true,鈥� Bysiewicz said. 鈥淟ook at West Hartford. The more affordable housing they build, the more diverse people that live in that community, and the more that people want to live there.鈥�
