The state legislature’s Planning and Development Committee on Monday is scheduled to discuss two housing-related bills, one that would prohibit municipalities from banning multifamily housing and another that would allow the development of so-called “light-touch” density housing.
House Bill 7035 was originally raised and approved by the Housing Committee and received a favorable report from the Legislative Commissioner’s office before being referred to the Planning and Development Committee.
The bill seeks to prohibit any municipality from implementing “a temporary or permanent ban on the development of multifamily housing.”
According to an analysis `included by the Office of Legislative Research (OLR), the bill defines multifamily housing as “a building with at least three
dwelling units.”
A fiscal note on the bill produced by the legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) states that the bill “does not result in a fiscal impact as it does not change the cost of administering any local zoning regulations.”
In written testimony submitted in advance of a public hearing held by the Housing Committee on Feb. 27, Samuel S. Gold, executive director of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments (RiverCOG), stated his organization opposes the bill.
“RiverCOG supports the construction of more housing in our region and state, and working with municipalities to find places where greater residential densities can be accommodated,” Gold states. “The proposed bill is confusing, since the term ‘ban’ is not clearly defined. It is not clear if this ‘ban’ is referring to zoning or not. Zoning regulations will allow certain land-uses and prohibit others. It could be construed that a low-density zoning district ‘bans’ multi-family housing.”
He states that there may be “very good reasons to prohibit denser, more intensive development of certain parts of a municipality, and encourage those uses elsewhere.
As an alternative, Gold states, RiverCOG suggests alternative language “that requires that zoning be amended to be consistent with the housing requirements in statute for the creation of the municipal plan of conservation (and development)” or PoCD.
He states that, according to existing statute, municipalities are already required to find places in town where multifamily housing can be accommodated.
Jim Perras, CEO of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Connecticut Inc., submitted testimony to the Housing Committee to support the bill.
“Many Connecticut towns have effectively banned multifamily housing, exacerbating the state’s affordability crisis,” Perras states. “Raised Bill No. 7035 ensures that no municipality can completely prohibit multifamily development, which is essential for providing affordable housing options.”
Perras states that multifamily housing “is a key part of Connecticut’s housing ecosystem, yet more than two-thirds of municipalities have zoning regulations that severely restrict or ban multifamily construction. This bill aligns with best practices in pro-housing states, ensuring that towns cannot use zoning laws to perpetuate housing scarcity and drive up costs.”
Also on Monday’s agenda for the Planning & Development Committee meeting is H.B. 7113, An Act Concerning Light-Touch Density Housing.
According to The Mortgage Note website, light-touch density housing is “sort of a middle ground between building larger multi-unit structures and the traditional single-family home structure. It typically consists of duplexes, triplexes, and even quadplexes that take up the same amount of space that a larger single home would.”
The bill also was initially raised and approved by the Housing Committee before being referred to the Planning & Development Committee.
According to a fiscal note on the bill provided by OFA, the bill allows municipalities to adopt regulations for light-touch density housing and “approve these developments without discretionary review or public hearings.”
The OFA note adds that this “may result in a potential savings to municipalities beginning in (Fiscal Year 2026) to the extent there are fewer public hearings. This may also result in a grand list increase or decrease that is dependent on how the land would have otherwise been developed.”
In testimony submitted to the Housing Committee in February, John Guszkowski, government relations officer for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association, states that his organization supports the bill.
“We believe this type of housing is a critical component for adding greater choice to Connecticut’s significantly restrained housing supply,” Guszkowski said.
“We anticipate this proposal will generate a great deal of debate on the nature of reasonable development requirements,” he added. “This is healthy and we welcome further discussion on what communities should realistically require of developers as the state attempts to overcome a greatly constrained housing market. We believe this proposal is a step in the right direction ….”
Among those opposing the bill is Connecticut Realtors. In testimony submitted to the Housing Committee, Jim Heckman, general counsel for the organization, states that while the bill states that is it “permitting” light-touch density housing, it is instead doing something else.
“It is instead requiring municipalities to approve as-of-right development of up to four units on a parcel as if only a single-family residential property was being approved, provided there is water and sewer available,” he states. “It also limits a municipality’s ability to establish certain setbacks, height restrictions, adequately address local parking, and more.”
Heckman notes that, “Considering four structures on a parcel as ‘light’ is an overreach. That is a significant change. These lots could potentially be as small as 1/8 of an acre.”
He added that three-story developments and low-density developments “are going to impact the property values. Some with mortgages may find themselves underwater as a result.”
The Planning and Development Committee is scheduled to convene its meeting at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Room 2D of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
