New litigation against the town of Woodbridge claims the upscale community’s zoning regulations restrict multifamily housing to the detriment of low-income households and minorities.
A lawsuit was slated to be filed in Superior Court in New Haven Tuesday.
The litigation has several plaintiffs, including Open Communities Trust, LLC (OCT), an affordable housing development trust launched by the Hartford-based civil rights nonprofit Open Communities Alliance (OCA).
OCT is leasing and has an option to purchase property in Woodbridge to build a multifamily, mixed-income residential structure that would include affordable housing. The property owner, 2 Orchard Road LLC, is also a plaintiff.
Two Woodbridge residents, Sally Connolly and Cary Gross, are also plaintiffs in the suit, and they allege they are harmed by the town’s lack of racial and economic diversity.
Erin Boggs, founding executive director of OCA, a statewide civil rights organization focused on addressing housing segregation, asserted that Woodbridge’s zoning has “erected unjustifiable barriers preventing lower- and moderate-income families, who are disproportionately families of color, from moving to town.”
“Woodbridge’s unduly restrictive zoning fails to address the stark regional need for affordable housing, disparately harms Black and Latino households, and deepens economic and racial segregation in the area,” Boggs said, in a press release announcing the lawsuit.
First Selectwoman Beth Heller could not be reached for comment on the litigation early Tuesday, and her office indicated that it has a policy of not commenting on pending lawsuits.
The litigation claims the town’s zoning violates the state’s Zoning Enabling Act and Fair Housing Act, as well as the due process, equal protection and anti-segregation clauses of the state constitution.
The lawsuit further claims the zoning regulations deny current Woodbridge residents the chance to live in a diverse community.
The plaintiffs claim Woodbridge’s policies prohibit multifamily housing of three units or more in 98.4% of its residential land, and require “burdensome” special exception review in the remaining 1.6% for all forms of multifamily housing.
The lawsuit aims to require the town to overhaul its regulations to allow for affordable residential development.
Alan Schoenfeld of WilmerHale, a law firm representing the plaintiffs on a pro bono basis, said Connecticut law requires all towns to provide equal access to housing opportunities.
“Zoning regulations that drive up housing prices leave many households rent-burdened, making it difficult for these households to afford other essentials such as groceries, health care and school supplies,” Schoenfeld said, in the press release.
Anika Singh Lemar, a clinical professor at Yale Law School also involved in representing the plaintiffs, said housing costs have spiked in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lack of affordable housing is impacting lower- and moderate-income households throughout the state and worsening racial and economic segregation between towns like Woodbridge and the handful of cities that are compelled to host virtually all of the state’s affordable housing,” Lemar said.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
