Housing Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: HB-5204
AN ACT CONCERNING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND FAIR SHARE PLANS
Title: FOR MUNICIPALITIES TO INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
Vote Date: 3/15/2022
Vote Action: Joint Favorable
PH Date: 3/10/2022
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Rep. Michael A. Winkler, 56th Dist.
Rep. David Michel, 146th Dist.
Sen. Saud Anwar, 3rd Dist.
Rep. Jason Rojas, 9th Dist.
Rep. Christine Palm, 36th Dist.
REASONS FOR BILL: This bill would require an assessment of the state-wide need for
affordable housing, an allocation of such a need and the creation of an affordable housing
plan in each of Connecticut's municipalities as well as a process to track the municipalities
performance in meeting these requirements.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
State of Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities-Support
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Representative Jason Rojas, House Majority Leader-Supports the bill because it would allow
Connecticut to address its affordable housing and housing segregation crises all while
ensuring that individual towns remain in the driver's seat when it comes to how and where
they build more housing. Fair Share will build enough housing that is located across the
entire state so families can choose where to thrive.
Anika Singh Lemar, Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School-Supports, explaining that
the main obstacle to CT's economic growth is the lack of homes or building in CT. People
want to move to CT, but if there are not homes for them to move to then they won't be able to
move here without pushing others out by bidding up home prices. In the 1960s to the 1980s
CT built between 170,000 to 200,000 homes a decade, but by the 2010s we only built 50,000
homes. We need a statewide policy to increase the number of homes built in CT, and this bill
does that by telling local governments how many homes need to be built and giving them the
control on how to accomplish those goals.
Eli Sabin, Connecticut Voices for Children-Supports the bill because it will create a process
that makes sure housing thats affordable for working- and middle-income families gets built
in every town across our great state
Erin Boggs, Executive Director of Open Communities Alliance-Supports. CT has the 10th
highest housing costs and is one of the most segregated states in the nation. The solution to
this is to implement a "Fair Share Planning and Zoning" plan, based off of the successful
policy that has been put in place in New Jersey. This bill would address a range of social
justice issues and would "boost our economy and put our state on a more sustainable path".
Sam Giffin, Policy and Data Analyst, Open Communities Alliance-Supports, stating that "We
know that Fair Share works to overcome exclusionary zoning" and providing a detailed
explanation of how the Fair Share plan would work in his testimony.
David N. Kinsey, PhD, FAICP-Support-(On behalf of the Connecticut Open Communities
Alliance)
Karen Anderson, Yale Law School 21 and Open Communities Alliance-Support
Reverend Eric Dobson and Adam Gordon of the Fair Share Housing Center in New Jersey-
Supports providing a detailed history of Fair Share Housing in New Jersey.
Jim Perras, CEO-Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Connecticut.-Support, stating
that CT has seen depressed housing production for over a decade with production being
insufficient to meet current demands for a more diverse housing stock. This has caused a
skyrocketing cost for both renters and home buyers. They support any legislation that will
help remove artificial barriers to meeting market demand, such as overly restrictive municipal
land use regulations and burdensome approval processes.
Evonne Klein, CEO of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness-Support is based on
the fact that housing costs are too high for too many people. 117,000 Connecticut renter
households pay more than 50% of their income for housing 108,000 renter households
spend between 30% - 50% of their income on housing costs
TALK (Truth in Action with Love and Kindness) supports H.B. 5204 because it allocates the
states affordable housing need by region, and then allocates the regional need to each town
based on an assessment of the towns current affordable housing resources and its financial
capacity to accommodate more affordable housing and support for vital local services
Samuel S. Gold, ACIP, Executive Director-Supports this bill with the following changes:
The assessment must be flexible to accommodate different approaches and reflect
differing circumstances across the state
Regional Councils of Governments need to be included in discussions of how to create
the fair share housing methodology and allotments
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 The next consideration is to align the efforts of this study with existing state and
regional plans for growth management
The methodology for determining housing allotments should be based upon the
carrying capacity of the land, as well as access to transit and jobs
Fair share housing should not come at the expense of even greater disinvestment
from our cities
Marissa Dionne Mead and Danielle Chapman Co-Founders of Spring Forward, Hamden-
Supports the bill because it would lead to more than 300,000 new units over ten years in all
parts of the state, which would lower costs and decrease segregation, while keeping local
communities in the driver's seat to determine how and where the housing in their town gets
built.
Karen DuBois-Walton, President of Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of the City of New
Haven. Supports the bill because it will desegregate our state, create opportunity for tens of
thousands of our neighbors, generate over $60 billion in income for our residents and over $12
billion in state and local tax revenue, and create 80,000 jobs
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving-Supports the bill because It is projected that the
passage and successful implementation of Fair Share Planning and Zoning could create
approximately 300,000 units of market rate and affordable housing over ten years to address
our Connecticuts crucial housing needs.
Jim Horan, Executive Director LISC Connecticut-Supports the bill because through Fair
Share Planning and Zoning, it is estimated the state could achieve nearly 300,000 new units
of housing over the next ten years 45% of those would be affordable to our neighbors living
with low- and moderate-incomes
Fionnuala Darby-Hudgens, Director of Operations at the Connecticut Fair Housing Center-
Supports the bill for the following reasons:
Municipalities need data-driven metrics to develop their affordable housing plans.
Connecticut has some of the most exclusionary zoning in the country
Where we live determines almost all of our life outcomes
Greg Kirschner, Legal Director at Connecticut Fair Housing Center-Support
Erin Kemple, Executive Director of the Connecticut Fair Housing Center-Support
Christie Stewart Chief Initiative Officer, Center for Housing Opportunity-Supports the bill
because it will provide the transparency and accountability to counter the continued
concentration of poor populations in CTs urban centers which data make clear is
exacerbating regional economic and residential segregation, hampering regional economic
growth, and creating negative regional spillovers in health, education, economic
development, and employment.
Makaela Kingsley Hamden -Support
Pamela Lockard -Support
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Patrick McKenna, Middletown -Support
Gail McNair, President The Rose Center, Inc.-Support
Maybeth Morales-Davis, Waterbury -Support
David OConnor, Glastonbury -Support
Luis Ortiz, Bilingual Organizer with ConnCAN-Support
Jacque Paige, Fairfield -Support
Kathleen Flaherty, Executive Director, CT Legal Rights Project,.-Support
Bethany R. Berger, Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law-Support
Anne Bowman, Glastonbury -Support
Gina Calabro, Executive Director/CEO, The American Institute of Architects Connecticut-
Support
Janet Tanner, Winsted -Support
Yanidsi Velez, New England Regional Director, Hispanic Federation-Support
Denise M. Weeks, Glastonbury-Support
Affordable Housing Commission of the City of New Haven-Support
Steve Zales, Norwalk -Support
Zach Zarnow, Middletown -Support
Charles Stayton, Burlington -Support
Donna Jolly on behalf of Hebron Coalition for Diversity and Equity-Support
Roger Senserrich, Communications Director Connecticut Working Families Organization-
Support
Melinda L. Johnson, Co-Chair of the Growing Together CT Equitable Urban Revitalization
Sub-committee-Support
Sonya Huber, Stratford -Support
Jill Harvey, West Hartford -Support
Chris Corcoran, West Hartford -Support
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Kiley Gosselin, Executive Director of the Partnership for Strong Communities-Support
Heidi Green, West Hartford-Support
Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association-Support
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
Anne Manusky, M.Ed. President, Connecticut Republican Assembly opposes this bill
because Redlining, a historic, heinous discriminatory practice in which services, financial
and otherwise, including property, has been largely eradicated by the light shone on this
issue - never codified, by the way, but in 1917 the Supreme Court ruled in Buchanan v
Warley as Unconstitutional.
Peter McGuinness, Stamford Opposes H.B. 5204 because it impermissibly delegates
excessive authority to the Secretary of OPM and the Commissioner of Housing, in that it
empowers the executive branch to establish the methodology and basis for determining need
and allocation of affordable housing. This is a key provision of the legislation and these
issues should be established by the legislature, and not by some committee of advocates.
Zachary McKeown, Senior Legislative Associate of Connecticut Conference of Municipalities
has concerns about HB 5204 because it would create an alternative process to assess state-
wide need for affordable housing which is much different from current state statute in regards
to affordable housing. This new proposed process doesnt consider 8-30j and other
affordable housing statute and we recommend building off current statute instead of creating
a totally new process
Western Connecticut Council of Governments-Opposes the bill for the following reasons:
"Fair Share" has only been implemented in one state (New Jersey) and has been a
failure
"Fair Share" has not reduced the property tax burden
"Fair Share" has not integrated New Jersey
Tara Restieri, member of the Greenwich RTM and Greenwich Board of Human Services-
Opposes this bill because it seeks to bypass local authority to regulate land use in a one size
fits all approach to property development
Betsy Gara Executive Director Connecticut Council of Small Towns-Opposes the bill because
municipalities are already required to prepare an Affordable Housing Plan by spring of 2022
under Sec. 8-30j, CGS, which must specify how the municipality intends to increase the
number of affordable housing developments within the municipality
Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, Chairman of Woodstocks Planning and Zoning Commission-Opposes
the bill because it does not create an inclusive, collaborative, meaningful way to tackle the
issue of affordable housing in Connecticut.
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Alexis Harrison, member of the Fairfield Town Plan & Zoning Commission-Opposes the bill
because HB 5204 would force an arbitrary allocation of affordable housing units to every
municipality, decided by housing development advocates, not a diverse group of
stakeholders such as planning experts, environmentalists, preservationists and engineers.
Some towns would have to build thousands of more units.
Connecticut Realtors opposes section 2 of the bill and believes the study must be completed
before efforts are taken outlining implementation and penalties related to the results of that
study
Michael Criss, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities-Opposes the bill because it would
create an alternative process to assess state-wide need for affordable housing which is much
different from current state statute in regards to affordable housing. Increasingly, there is
sweeping decision making on the state level that imposes a top down policy onto the backs of
local governments. This new proposed process doesnt consider other affordable housing
statute such as 8-30j which will include a housing needs assessment and consider the role of
local and regional housing conditions on affordable housing development.
Kathryn Braun, Zoning Commissioner in the Town of Fairfield-Opposes this bill because it,
along with other bills restricting home rule and public participation would be devastating for
open space and historic preservation, both already under siege from CGS 8-30g
Maria Weingarten, alternate member of the New Canaan Board of Finance-Opposes the bill
because it seeks to bypass local planning and zoning authority to regulate land use in a one
size mandated to all approach.
Elizabeth Boyce Easton- Oppose
Maureen Eberly North Granby -Oppose
Kathleen Randall Avon -Oppose
Reported by: Jason Snukis Date: March 21, 2022
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