After months of negotiations, the governor and state lawmakers have reached compromise on a new version of sweeping housing legislation, which they’re expected to take up in a special session next week.
The replacement for House Bill 5002, which passed the legislature in June but was then vetoed by Gov. Ned Lamont over the summer, uses opt-in measures and incentives to push municipalities to allow more housing — rather than the requirements included in the previous version of the legislation. It also strikes a provision known as “fair share.”
Lamont is expected later today to announce the details of the new bill and call a special session for next week to pass it, among other measures.
A summary of the bill obtained by the Connecticut Mirror says municipalities can choose between three options to allow more housing. They can sign a contract with the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority, zone for more housing near train and bus stations or develop what’s called a housing growth plan, according to a summary of the bill obtained by The Connecticut Mirror.
Selecting one of these three options makes towns eligible for new state funding.
Towns can sign contracts with the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority and develop plans to increase housing in downtowns or near train and bus stations. The authority was established in 2019, funded in 2024, and started work earlier this year.
They can also opt to participate in what’s known as Work, Live, Ride, which pushes towns to allow more housing density near train and bus rapid transit stations. It’s a concept more broadly known as transit-oriented development that has grown more popular nationwide over recent years.
The summary also says towns can create housing growth plans by working with their councils of government or on their own. The plans have to be approved by the Office of Policy and Management.
If towns choose not to create these plans, they are not eligible for temporary pauses from being sued by developers whose affordable housing plans are denied under statute 8-30g.
Since the veto, Lamont has faced criticism from his own party and housing advocates. His office negotiated House Bill 5002, and the governor had been expected to sign it. He first publicly showed signs that he was wavering on his support for the bill the day after the legislative session ended in June.
He ultimately vetoed the bill saying he wanted to get local leaders on board with the measure. Behind the scenes, he and advisors fretted over the political implications of signing the measure as they received thousands of calls from opponents and Lamont considered a third-term run next year.
In a statement Friday morning, the governor said, “Over the last several months, I have consulted with bipartisan state lawmakers, municipal officials, housing advocates, and nonprofit partners to craft policies that will have a real-world impact and implement the tools we need to succeed in building more housing. This comprehensive proposal takes strong steps toward addressing this crisis and will help Connecticut reach these goals. I appreciate the collaborative input of everyone involved in this process and I urged lawmakers to approve this proposal.”
Lawmakers have long been working to address the lack of housing in Connecticut, particularly housing that’s affordable and available to the state’s lowest income residents. Multiple estimates show the state lacks upwards of 100,000 units of housing to meet residents’ needs. H.B. 5002 was the most wide-ranging housing bill to cross Lamont’s desk since he came into office in 2019.
The new bill, slated to be taken up in a special session of the General Assembly next week, includes many of the same measures as the old bill. The starkest difference is the opt-in measure. Previously, towns would have been required to plan and zone for a set number of housing units based on regional housing needs. The bill also previously prioritized existing state infrastructure money for towns that opted to increase density near public transit.
The question of how much the state should intervene to force towns to allow more housing has been central to the debate about Connecticut’s housing policy. Many town leaders say they want to preserve local control and create solutions that make sense for them, while housing advocates say towns have had plenty of time to build more housing and simply won’t do so without requirements from the state.
The new bill leans on incentive and opt-in structures.
H.B. 5002 also would have removed minimum off-street parking requirements for new housing developments with 24 units or fewer. The new bill lowers that number to 16 units or fewer and allows towns to possibly exempt two contiguous zones amounting to not more than 8% of the land.
In those zones, towns could require a parking needs assessment and developers would have to build no more than one parking space for each studio or 1-bedroom apartment and two spaces for each unit with two or more bedrooms, or the number recommended by a parking needs assessment paid for the developer. The requirement would be for whichever number is lower.
Parking reform was one of the most controversial topics in H.B. 5002. Opponents feared it would mean there weren’t enough spots to park and would have negative consequences for residents. Supporters said it would allow more flexibility and make it cheaper for developers to build housing.
The other controversial piece of the bill, known as fair share, has been removed. It would have required towns to plan and zone for a set number of units based on an assessment conducted by an outside consulting group. The group analyzed regional housing needs to figure out the numbers, and H.B. 5002 would have required that towns plan for a quarter of the recommended numbers.
Fair share has been utilized with some success in New Jersey.
The bill establishes a Council on Housing Development with legislative and executive branch appointments. The council would approve or deny towns’ housing growth plans if OPM fails to act on them within 120 days.
It also says that the Department of Housing can act as a statewide housing authority to develop more affordable housing. The department can partner with municipal housing authorities on projects and can build housing on state land, according to the document.
Other pieces of the old bill, including pieces that ban types of architecture that make it hard for people experiencing homelessness to remain largely intact, according to the summary. The House is scheduled to be in session Wednesday, and the Senate is scheduled to be in Thursday to vote on the housing bill and other measures.
Ginny Monk is a reporter for the Connecticut Mirror. Copyright 2025 @ CT Mirror (ctmirror.org).