A bill concerning housing and the needs of homeless people has been “reluctantly” vetoed by Gov. Ned Lamont.
“House Bill 5002 makes a really good start on a really important issue affecting the state,” Lamont said at a midday press conference in his office, citing opposition to the “fair share” affordable housing target numbers and the elimination of minimum parking requirements for smaller apartment developments as the main reasons. “We can do better,” he added. “We will do better. I just don’t think that it works when it’s us against them.”
The bill, which passed during the recent legislative session, was introduced to address homelessness. It also requires towns to standardize housing plans, assigns each municipality a share of the state’s housing need to plan and zone for, and allows the conversion of commercial properties to residential use while prohibiting minimum parking requirements.
In a bipartisan show of opposition, Easton’s board of selectmen members David Bindelglass, Kristi Sogofsky and Nick D’Addario wrote a letter to Lamont, asking him to veto the bill, as did officials in Darien, Fairfield and Westport.
“It is important to maintain local control over zoning decisions,” said D’Addario, who is running for first selectman. “The one-size-fits-all approach would have been detrimental to our town. Easton is a rural community that values its open spaces and doesn’t have the infrastructure required for the state-mandated quotas in HB5002,” which would have called for 314 affordable housing units in Easton.
First Selectman David Bindelglass called the governor’s veto a wise decision. “But we still need a bill. All the towns need to play a part in a housing crisis that is significant and going to continue. We can do better than the bill that was proposed,” he said.
Easton Republican Town Committee member David Antonez, who publicly opposed the bill, said of Lamont’s action, “He did the right thing and should be commended. By doing so, he stood in favor of local control of planning and zoning, continuing the protections of Connecticut’s watershed supplies, and protecting our limited open spaces and communities from overdevelopment.”
“Easton is the gem that it is because many continue the good fight to protect Easton’s watersheds. All of our selectmen also should be applauded for taking a stand against this bill,” said Antonez.
Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber thanked Lamont for his veto. Fairfield, like other towns in Connecticut, has an affordable housing shortage that negatively impacts the possibility of teachers, firefighters, police officers, healthcare workers and others finding adequate housing within reasonable commuting distances from their places of employment.
“Our town is committed to thoughtful, inclusive planning that meets housing needs while preserving environmental sustainability and local decision-making,” said Gerber.
State Rep. Anne Hughes, who voted for the bill, remains committed to addressing the state’s affordable housing shortage.
“I believe there is room for clarification and flexibility in both the aspirational allocation goals for each town, the easing of minimum parking restrictions, and other sections of the bill that many in the towns I represent find onerous,” said Hughes.
“We were, and are, planning to address these concerns in a special session, to be called after we understand the implications of the federal budget on our state,” she said. “I remain determined and committed to making meaningful progress in addressing the housing crisis in our state, a lack of housing that hampers our economic growth and collective thriving.”
State Senator Tony Hwang commended Lamont’s veto, saying that “housing policy must be inclusive, transparent, and developed through open dialogue with all impacted stakeholders, state leaders, municipal officials, housing advocates and community voices alike.”
“HB 5002 was hastily crafted through a last-minute strike-all amendment that bypassed public hearings, excluded meaningful committee vetting, and shut out critical public input,” said Hwang.
In a Facebook post, state Rep. Tony Scott, a ranking member of the Housing Committee, “thanked municipal leaders, elected town officials and concerned citizens across the state for using your voice. After spending five hours tearing apart the bill on the floor and countless media interviews going into detail of the major problems with the bill, I feel vindicated.”
