The sponsor of Connecticut’s controversial affordable housing bill wants Governor Ned Lamont to sign the bill before calling lawmakers for a special session to make revisions.
Opponents, mainly from Fairfield County towns, are lobbying Lamont to veto the bill. They say it’s a heavy-handed state mandate to build affordable housing by overriding local zoning.
In response, Lamont said he’s considering calling lawmakers into a special session to make revisions.
House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D) of East Hartford, the bill's architect, said options are being considered, including having Lamont sign the bill on the promise that objectionable sections will be revised before they take effect.
“What I think is being contemplated is whether we can come to an agreement to make some revisions at a future date,” he said.
He said those revisions could happen during a special session lawmakers are planning for the fall. That’s when lawmakers want to make any needed adjustments to the state budget after Congress passes a federal budget.
“There’s certainly the possibility or likelihood of a session before the next regular session convenes,” Rojas said.
What might be needed is the clarification of some of the language in the bill
Rojas said that having teachers, firefighters, and police officers live in the communities is not really possible right now, given the cost of housing.
“What we are trying to do is to really be thoughtful and strategic about how we allow for different types of housing to be developed without overwhelming communities,” he said.
A section that has caused the most concern assigns each town a set number of units to plan for, and a certain number of those would have to be for multi-family housing or set aside for certain income levels.
