A bipartisan group of Westport town officials has urged Governor Ned Lamont to veto HB 5002.
The controversial omnibus housing bill would “pose real risks to both local governance and the broader state economy,” the 9 elected leaders say. Areas of concern range from parking and potential as-of-right conversion of all commercially zoned properties to residences, to a provision allowing courts to require municipalities to pay developers’ legal fees.
The signers — including Republican 1st Selectwomen Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore, plus Board of Finance vice chair Michael Keller; Democratic 3rd Selectwoman Candice Savin, Planning & Zoning chair Paul Lebowitz and vice chair Neil Cohn, and Board of Finance chair Lee Caney, plus non-partisan Representative Town Meeting moderator Jeff Wieser and deputy moderator Lauren Karpf — note that Westport has taken “meaningful, proactive steps to expand access to housing”; established an Affordable Housing Fund of over $1 million, and maintained a homeless shelter downtown.
HB 5002 was passed by both General Assembly houses. Lamont has not yet decided whether to sign or veto it, or allow it to pass into law without his signature.
The full letter is below:
This bipartisan letter speaks volumes to giving localities its powers back for smart growth that is sustainable—rather than a one size fits all bill that leads to overdevelopment.
I do hereby support this letter fully and the hopeful veto action by our governor.
Extremely disappointed in Senator Maher and Representative Johnson.
Lamont will more than likely sign the damned bill because, as do so many of us “liberals,” he will confuse it with intelligent, correctly paced planning for housing need fulfillment; when it is, in fact, a community destroying incursion on local land use control based on the assumption that all CT towns will resist the needs of moderate and low income folks. it is out of bounds
pushing by the single minded that put Trump in office, will keep his traiterois, un-American clones in office and lose us the House and Senate in ‘26.
May your predictions come true 🇺🇸
Danny Boy.
Your party is spiraling out of control. As long as your party protects illegal criminals over Americans you’ll continue losing elections.
When you have party leaders like Newsom, AOC and Maxine waters your toast.
2026 looking good Danny. You’ll be ok. Just loosen your cowboy hat!!
I appreciate the bipartisan effort on behalf of our town. I know we need to do better providing affordable housing but I believe we are on the right track. Towns should be incentivized, not punished. We need to be creative but retain some amount of control.
I wholeheartedly agree! Thank you to our town’s elected leaders for standing up and speaking out with such thoughtfulness and clarity. Your letter reflects the values of our community, and I’m proud to be a Westporter!
I am not sure it matters, but people that make decisions on overbuilding are morons. We have such terrible traffic and all of the waze and map alternatives to Route 95 and the Merrit are destroying us while we continue to overbuild at every intersection. Traffic is so pathetic and ridiculous and really it is the most important topic of our town.
The letter is good. But it is not “bipartisan.” It is both bipartisan and nonpartisan. It includes officers of the Representative Town Meeting. Like the Town Meeting that the RTM replaced in 1949, the RTM is not bipartisan. It is nonpartisan, as it states on its own official website. Members do not have to be a member of any political party. To call this letter bipartisan ignores the value of nonpartisan self-government. It offends Westport history, values, and the design of local government. Nonpartisanship is a virtue that actually strengthens the case the letter makes to Gov. Lamont. It is a shame to diminish the value of nonpartisan governance, doubly so because every person who signed the letter is a public official who I’d expect to be aware of the structure and purposes of Westport local government.
Thanks, Doug. As you’ll see, I included “non-partisan” in the description of the moderator and deputy moderator who signed the letter.
Thank you Danielle Dobin for bringing bipartisan- and nonpartisan – leaders together on this by initiating, drafting the letter and organizing this effort.
With all due respect, our only local State Representative who fought this bill is Westport’s Jonathan Steinberg.
Jonathan explained to me how the bill as written has a ton of holes in it. Most likely the winners will be developers and lawyers who have “perfected the abuse loopholes” in 8-30g.
I urge our local DTC and Democratic Leaders to NOT fund or endorse Ceci Maher and Dominique Johnson.
Both Ceci and Dominique are nice people. Nice and not representing our district by voting FOR this bill, is not what we need in Hartford.
Ceci sending a “form letter” explaining her vote, not a good look for any representative who received countless emails from many of us.
We have worked as Westport, not democrats or republicans to meet affordable housing needs. We are all in this together locally.
The state having control of our local zoning laws, with a goal of “one size fits” all is very dangerous and will have devastating effects not only on property values, but public safety as well.
The first step is the state of CT giving us points for all our previous work in creating affordable housing at Hales Court, The Trailer Park, and other pre 8-30g locations.
I agree with this completely. But that doesn’t serve the interest of the property developers.
I am very disappointed to hear that our local Democratic representatives, Ceci Maher and Dominique Johnson voted for this stupid bill. This type of development and the loss of local control will destroy the character of our local Connecticut communities and just put more money into the hands of the now unfettered developers. It will also destroy what little green space and good enviromental improvements that have previously been made.
I am a lifelong democrat who used to vote republican in my local elections in the past due to variations of this nonsense. Now, I can no longer do that, as crazy people took over that party from people like Chris Shays et al, so I have no tent, so to speak.
Why aren’t the democrats looking at the bigger picture?!? We have criminals in charge of things at the highest federal level, and this is what Connecticut democrats want to focus on, seriously?!? Wake up!! Democrats are not going to bring more people into their tent with stuff like this divisive and controlling legislation. Time for Lamont to veto this and find ways to expand the democrat tent to give more people a home. WAKE UP! You will hand the state over to a maga governor otherwise – I guarantee.
I really hope Governor Lamont is receiving many such letters. And that he will take heed.
If he does not veto this bill he is just part of the bigger problem democrats now have in being tone deaf to a more moderate voter.
Senator Maher, and Representative Johnson’s votes which aid in the passage of this draconian bill are beyond disappointing.
Thank you Jonathan Steinberg for voting against this bill.
I hope the DTC has sent a similar letter.
Battle lines have recently been formed over zoning and whether or not to permit some form of multifamily housing to be built. This controversy, however, was overshadowed by the burning question of when the firstgraders should begin to attend school full‐time.
– Gloria Stashower, March 13, 1977, New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/13/archives/westports-overexposure.html
The housing bill is a marquee piece of legislation by the state’s Democrats in the legislature. It is interesting but not surprising to see Westport Democrats breaking rank, including those registered as Democrats who serve on the nonpartisan RTM.