After an outcry from many Connecticut residents, and officials in large cities, suburbs and small towns, HB 5002 — omnibus legislation that would overhaul the rights of municipalities to control zoning related to affordable housing — was delayed last week.
But 13 pages of amendments to the 92-page bill came out yesterday — yes, Memorial Day.
And it could be voted upon today.
Danielle Dobin — former chair of Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission, and a current member of the Board of Finance — has been following the legislation closely. This opinion is her own.
A revised version of HB 5002 has just been posted. And while the bill’s authors claim to have scaled it back in response to the massive outpouring of public outrage to the original language, the changes do little to address the core problems.
If anything, the new language merely reframes unworkable mandates to appear more palatable — without meaningfully improving their impact on towns like Westport.
Under the revised bill:
- Every commercially zoned lot in Connecticut could be converted as-of-right into up to 9 multifamily housing units, with no local public hearing required. Imagine the parcels surrounding our downtown (many include a portion zoned commercially) built up with 9 townhouses each, with no parking provided and no public hearings at all.
- Off-street parking requirements for buildings with fewer than 24 units would be entirely eliminated. Think about all of the apartment buildings on the Post Road East and West, and proposed near downtown, that rely on public parking lots like Baldwin, and street parking on side streets in Old Hill, Long Lots and Greens Farms.
- For larger developments (24+ units), parking requirements would be determined by the developer, who can propose little or even no parking— particularly in areas near train stations or public parking lots. The Planning & Zoning Commission will be prohibited from requiring any parking for any new multi-family buildings constructed around either of Westport’s train stations, or even on nearby streets like Hiawatha Lane, Ketchum Street or Ferry Lane West.
The bill continues to de-prioritize towns like Westport for critical state road and infrastructure grants, unless we comply with sweeping zoning changes. The so-called “Fair Share” mandate has been repackaged, but the core requirement remains: Westport would still need to zone for a more than 30% increase in the town’s total housing stock.
122 Wilton Road added 19 apartments to Westport’s affordable housing stock. Much more would be required, under HB 5002.
One of the most concerning provisions remains intact: towns could still be forced to pay a developer’s legal fees when defending against 8-30g lawsuits, if a judge so decides.
The only meaningful rollback in the revised version is the elimination of the as-of-right conversion of office buildings to multi-family housing, which has now been removed. But that alone is not enough.
This bill would fundamentally transform local zoning across the state — and do so without thoughtful planning, infrastructure investment, or real local input.
The vote is expected today (Tuesday). If you believe in balanced, locally informed planning, now is the time to act.
Contact our legislators and urge them not only to vote “No,” but to speak out against this bill and the entire idea of dropping complex bills on the public on Memorial Day itself. We deserve better:
- Senator Ceci Maher – ceci.maher@cga.ct.gov
- Representative Jonathan Steinberg – jonathan.steinberg@cga.ct.gov
- Representative Dominique Johnson – dominique.johnson@cga.ct.gov
You can read the updated bill text here.
Our voices matter. Let’s make them heard.
looks like this bill was written by the Florida Board of Realtors to attract more Connecticut residents.
This bill must not be allowed to become law. Its one-size-fits l-all approach threatens local autonomous and fails to take into account the disparate needs and capacities of municipalities, their infrastructures and geographic limitations, not to mention the effects on their grand lists. If 8-30g is a problem, this is a disaster waiting to happen.
I trust our state legislators are savvy enough to realize the threat this bill poses and to vote accordingly.
For all of you who voted these fools into iffice: congratulations. *sarcasm intended)
The “no parking” issue is baffling.
Thank you for this update Letters written and sent
Just emailed this out- it took 2 minutes
Dear Senator Maher/ Representatives Steinberg and Johnson
Please do not vote in favor of HB 5002 — omnibus legislation.
It will be disaster for all Connecticut cities, towns and villages.
Linda and Stephen Stein MD
(our address and email)
I’ve written to both Representatives: today and last week.
I’ve told them I don’t know what our Democrat legislature is doing (first the loopholes in 8-30g and now this) but someone needs to start explaining it to us.
Further, I’ve told them that as a lifelong Democrat myself, I’m going to start voting for a Republican-majority state legislature if this bill passes. And I will work tirelessly to urge other Democrats to do the same.
We don’t always get it right – and this time we’ve gotten it very very wrong.
To provide housing without parking is bad for the Tennants of affordable housing. There would be hardships to move cars, be ticketed in municipal lots etc.
Democrat leadership need to understand that this is a potential “death blow” to Connecticut. Watch how fast people pickup and relocate out of the state. Our local legislators need to speak up forcefully. Unfortunately, I doubt they will be able to standup to those proposing such thoughtless legislation.Towns should collectively standup together and reject any implementation of this misguided legislation. See how Hartford responds to that message.
Further, it is not clear to me where any new housing developments would be build as we are virtually out of land. The Hamlet comes to mind and a good location, but where else?
It would be great to hear from our state reps on this omnibus bill, as well as other state-involved activities in Westport.
For example, I would love updates from our reps:
— the Hamlet development (CT DEEP, DOT, Brownfields agencies’ expected review/actions);
— the State DOT clearcutting actions at their maintenance depot;
— the state’s process for granting deadline exceptions on reimbursements for Long Lots school project. Can the state bail us out of our deadline blunder (which resulted in ridiculously expedited approvals on all fronts by local authorities).
Finally, now is the time for the town of Westport officials to put in place protections of our open and green spaces into perpetuity.
Here is a series of articles that could point to why this is all happening. The disparity is real.
https://www.ctinsider.com/projects/2025/income-inequality-series-ct/
I guess when you ignore disparity enough, this is what happens. It’s so sad — and, unfortunately, looks to exacerbate, not ameliorate, CT’s problems.
Inequality has a lot to do with opportunity…..Connecticut is no longer a friendly place for manufacturing and businesses to thrive in general. When Hartford creates an unfriendly business environment the politicians enable the “gutting” of these towns such as Bridgeport and other similar towns throughout CT….greatly reducing the opportunities and tax base necessary for these areas to thrive.
The dems are adamant about destroying our beautiful state of Connecticut before they get voted out….. and they WILL get voted out!
Ask me why I left my home town of 60 years. The development is on overload. Maybe stop and rework the roads before you continue to add more residents. Thinking…
It’s the developers fault !!! They are lobbying the weak state reps.. probably greasing palms too. So they can come back to local towns and beat us over the head with 8-30g… not like they give a singular crap about affordable housing..
Once enough of the state reps cave.. that’s it.. the bill passes..
it’s not any different than the insider trading happening in DC !
It’s just insider trading at a different level.
But it’s all corrupt.
Looking at the Lincoln St building on the blog this morning, seems we don’t need Hartford to Destroy our town… we’re doing it without ’em.
This bill passed easily. I believe it requires an additional 506 units of affordable housing in Westport.