The state Senate voted unanimously Monday to approve legislation that enables large municipalities to designate themselves as cities instead of towns.
The method for designation was included as part of a much larger bill, House Bill 6957, which the Senate approved Monday by a 36-0 vote.
That vote came nearly a month after the House approved the bill by a 134-9 vote with eight members absent.
The legislation does other things, including narrowing the region in which the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) may operate to exclude Newington and West Hartford, allowing those two towns to join the Municipal Redevelopment Authority (MRDA); establishing a task force to study regulating corporate housing acquisitions; and expanding who must take the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) inland wetlands agency training program.
But Section 1 of the bill amends state statutes in part to allow a town to “designate itself a city through the adoption or amendment of its charter.”
It adds that any town that designates itself a city “shall be deemed a consolidated town and city for the purposes of the general statutes.”
The bill, which originated in the Planning and Development Committee, was championed by Sen. M.D. Rahman (D-Manchester), who co-chairs the committee.
Rahman said supported the change because it has been explored by Manchester, a municipality of about 60,000 people that has long referred to itself as the “city of village charm” and has recently considered officially changing its designation to a city.
By comparison, Bristol has about 61,600 people and is designated as a city, while Hamden, which has a population of about 61,000, designates itself as a town.
Existing state statutes do not contain any population or geographic thresholds to dictate what constitutes a city, Rahman said, so he proposed the change to ensure residents can make that determination for themselves.
“This bill gives municipalities the freedom to define themselves on their own terms,” Rahman said. “Manchester has grown significantly over the years and it deserves the right to reflect that evolution in its identity.”
The bill now goes to Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk for his signature. If signed into law by Lamont, the section of the bill allowing municipalities to designate themselves as a city would take effect on Oct. 1.
