HARTFORD, CT – The Senate passed House Bill 5474, one of the House’s legislative attempts to address the state’s housing crisis, after several hours of debate and rejections of multiple amendments Wednesday afternoon. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.
The chamber voted 32-4 in favor of the bill, which would also require all municipalities to submit an annual report to the Office of Responsible Growth containing information regarding building-permit applications that were reviewed by the municipality’s building official or were received by the planning and zoning commission.
The bill says the report will include:
- The number of building permit applications that were submitted, including the number of units they proposed building or renovating;
- The number of approved applications and proposed units, and;
- The number denied applications and proposed units.
Additionally, the bill also includes provisions that would:
- Require landlords to provide at least 45 days notice prior to increasing a tenant’s rent;
- Encourage the use of surplus land for the purposes of constructing affordable housing, and;
- Allow towns to set liens against property with unpaid zoning violations.
The legislation was heavily scrutinized, but ultimately was supported by most in the chamber.
Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said the issue of housing itself is not partisan, and that changes to the current state of housing in Connecticut have to be done “at a rapid pace.”
“We know that we have a housing issue here in Connecticut,” Duff said. “We are over 100,000 units away from where we need to be. We have got to continue to push on this issue, and housing is an economic driver in this state.”
The bill drew opposition from Republicans in the chamber.
Sen. Jeff Gordon, a Republican from Woodstock with experience as a planning and zoning commission member, said that the bill doesn’t take into account the differences between planning and zoning statutes and operational procedures in towns across the state.
“When we talk about local decision making for land-use planning and land-use zoning – yes each town is different, we recognize that – but within each town and within each city there are different aspects,” he said. “When we have a ‘one size fits all’ by the state government, it doesn’t take that into account.”
Gordon said he is pretty sure why that happens, and why the government gives flat mandates to municipalities throughout the state.
“Part of it is, the state isn’t interested in doing that, and shame on the state,” Gordon said. “If legislators, who want to propose things that are a top down approach on towns, don’t take that into account, then shame on them.”
Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, said that he likes and dislikes parts of the bill, and that ultimately he wants to support the legislation in a show of good faith, and because he thinks that there are some beneficial policies in it.
Fazio ultimately voted in favor of the bill, after two amendments were proposed and rejected that would have removed some of the sections.
Republicans who voted yes to the legislation are: Heather Somers of Groton, Kevin Kelly of Stratford, Tony Hwang of Fairfield, Stephen Harding of Brookfield, Eric Berthel of Watertown, Paul Ciccarella of North Haven, and Lisa Seminara of Avon.
