Fairfield 'Under Attack' By Excessive Development, First Selectwoman Says At Rally

FAIRFIELD, CT — A crowd gathered this week at the Southport train station to protest zoning legislation out of Hartford that opponents argue would change the look and feel of neighborhoods such as Southport village.

Of particular concern to those in attendance was House Bill 5429, which proposes allowing as-of-right development for housing with a minimum density of 15 units per acre and within half a mile of a bus or train station.

“This sleepy little village would be gone,” said Matthew Mandell, executive director of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce, and one of several speakers at Thursday’s rally. “The right way to do it is to put it into the hands of the individual communities.”

Opponents of the bill and other zoning legislation put forth at the state level argue such proposals could detrimentally affect infrastructure, historical character, environmental concerns and tax pressures in Connecticut municipalities.

“This is not just simply about politics and housing,” Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang told the crowd of about 40 people, speaking from the train station platform, which was plastered with signs declaring “honk for local zoning” and “local zoning works.” “It’s about people’s lives and their property and their sense of community.”

Under another proposal, House Bill 5204, Fairfield would need to add about 2,000 new affordable units — almost 500 more than are being sought under existing state law Section 8-30g, according to information provided by Hwang. In the last five years, Westport has added 600 housing units, Mandell said.

First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, a Republican, characterized Fairfield as a welcoming and diverse community that is “under attack” by excessive development. Hwang argued that while a transit-oriented approach to high-density housing may work in larger, more urban municipalities like Stamford, it does not work in Southport, a sentiment echoed by Alexis Harrison, a Republican zoning commissioner for Fairfield.

“We don’t need a one-size-fits-all approach,” she said.

Francis Pickering, executive director of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments, made the case that the state would better serve those in need of affordable housing by addressing the rising cost of lumber and scarceness of contractors.

House Bill 5429 has not progressed since a public hearing last month in the Joint Committee on Planning and Development, according to the records of the Connecticut General Assembly. House Bill 5204 was referred Wednesday by the state House to the Committee on Appropriations after working its way through the Joint Committee on Housing and the Legislative Commissioners’ Office.