How Fairfield's State Legislators Voted On Controversial Housing Bill

FAIRFIELD, CT — The controversial housing bill HB 5002, "An Act Concerning Housing And The Needs Of Homeless Persons," a sweeping piece of legislation, was narrowly passed by the both the state House and Senate last week, which Gov. Ned Lamont may sign this week.

CT Mirror calls the bill the "most significant piece of housing legislation to emerge from the Connecticut legislature in years," as it seeks to address housing affordability in the state.

It was largely passed along party lines, with most Democrats voting in favor and most Republicans voting against it, though that was not entirely the case among Fairfield's four General Assembly members.

All but one of the four opposed the bill, with Democratic state Reps. Sarah Keitt and Jennifer Leeper joining Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang in voting against the measure. Democratic Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey voted in favor of it.

Patch reached out to the four members of the delegation for comment on why they voted the way they did, but only Hwang responded.

The bill has drawn criticism for its move — much like the state statute 8-30g — to allow local zoning rules to be overridden, in some cases, in the name of creating affordable housing. The grassroots group, CT169Strong, which opposed the bill, put together a Google document that breaks down what is in it.

In an opinion essay posted on Patch, Hwang discussed why he opposed the bill.

"I opposed HB 5002 not because I oppose affordable housing, but because I believe how we legislate matters just as much as what we legislate," Hwang wrote. "Our residents deserve better than a hastily assembled, top-down mandate that bypasses community voices."