Malloy Vetoes Changes To Affordable Housing Law, Fairfield Legislators Express ‘Extreme Disappointment’

Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he has vetoed legislation aimed at what he says is "weakening affordable housing standards in the state," saying that the guidelines are necessary for spurring the creation of affordable homes in communities with good schools, jobs, transit access, and vital services.

At a time when the number of affordable housing units in the state has grown larger during the past several years than it has over the last several decades, state laws should be encouraging this continued growth, not moving in the opposite direction, he explained in a news release.

The legislation, House Bill 6880 – An Act Concerning the Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Procedure, would have made it easier for cities and towns to qualify for moratoriums on appeals of local zoning denials under the housing statute commonly known as 8-30g that encourages municipalities to ensure a certain amount of their housing stock is deemed affordable. (To sign up for Fairfield breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

The state law allows local developers to circumvent local zoning laws if 10 percent of a community's housing stock isn't deemed affordable, according to state guidelines. Essentially, the law allows developers to propose the projects almost where they want and there is very little a Planning and Zoning Commission can do stop them. If the town denies a project, the developer goes to court, and almost always wins on appeal, and the taxpayers ends up footing the legal fees.

“Every resident of Connecticut should have access to housing they can afford in the town where they work. So, too, should everyone be able to live affordably in the town that they choose, with access to good schools, safe neighborhoods, and basic services, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or income,” Governor Malloy wrote in a veto message to the Secretary of the State. “However, for many lower-income residents who must work in areas of the state where the cost of housing is high, a long history of decisions and discriminatory policies has made securing that housing persistently difficult. Those decisions include the historical practice of redlining – denying mortgages to entire neighborhoods because of the residents’ race or ethnicity – and passing restrictive zoning rules that make it nearly impossible to build multifamily housing, or that require home lots to be so large that only the wealthy can buy them. These kinds of rules effectively price people of limited means who work in such towns out of the market.

“It is our responsibility as a state, and the responsibility of every city and town in Connecticut, to correct this injustice. It is also imperative for our state’s economic vitality that we provide more housing for our workforce within a reasonable commuting distance of their jobs. We are far from attaining this goal.”

State Senator Douglas McCrory (D-Hartford) agreed, stating in a statement, “I had serious concerns with the potential for this bill to reduce access to safe and affordable housing for thousands of Connecticut residents, so I am happy that the Governor vetoed it.”

Fairfield’s Republican legislators expressed extreme disappointment with Malloy’s veto. State Representatives Brenda Kupchick (R-132) and Laura Devlin (R-134) along with State Sen. Tony Hwang (R-28) said in a joint statement that the bill was a modest step toward affordable housing reform that hoped to offer towns an attainable goal of developing and reaching a moratorium.

“We worked hard to draft and pass a bi-partisan compromise that received 116 votes (77%) in the House of Representatives and 30 votes (83%) in the State Senate,” Kupchick said. “I call on the General Assembly to override the Governor’s veto so the voices of Fairfield citizens and state residents are heard.”

Devlin said, “Considering the incredible amount of work and compromise that it took to pass this common-sense bill, it is unconscionable that the Governor would veto it. This was a small step toward making a difference for our communities by providing some fairness and contemporary changes to update the 8-30g statute without undermining the Affordable Housing Act."

Co-Chair of the General Assembly Housing Committee, Sen. Hwang said the reform fight will continue.

“While the governor’s action is disappointing, we are not deterred,” Hwang said. “The support for these reforms from Democrats and Republicans was overwhelming, and we will keep fighting. Our goal continues to be a worthy one: We want to increase housing opportunities for everyone in Connecticut and encourage a diverse and dynamic residential community that will foster economic, educational, and cultural growth. We want to allow more local zoning and planning input in developing affordable and workforce housing projects that are compatible with community character. The nearly 30-year-old 8-30g language needs updating. It should address the need for affordable housing in our state while providing more fairness to local communities that are often at the mercy of developers whose projects conflict with the wishes of the town zoning bodies and neighborhoods. These reforms aimed to motivate our state and municipalities toward greater access and inventory of workforce and affordable housing for Connecticut residents. I want to express my gratitude to all stakeholders for their passion and participation in getting this bipartisan plan to the governor’s desk.”

Under the current 8-30g statue, towns like Fairfield had very little chance of ever achieving the high bar for a moratorium that allowed predatory developers to sidestep local zoning laws, according to the legislators. It's clearly been a difficult and complicated issue to work on with the majority in the legislature not in favor of any changes, the release states.

Each year the legislature has a veto session to meets to consider whether to override vetoes by the governor. An override requires a two-thirds vote by each chamber (House & Senate) which would mean the House of Representatives would need 101 votes and the Senate would need 24 votes.

Since Malloy took office in 2011, the creation of affordable housing in communities throughout the state has been a top priority for his administration, according to Malloy's release. Over that time, the state has supported the development of nearly 21,000 units of housing, with approximately 18,500 of those units affordable to persons of low and moderate income.

The state’s investment in affordable housing totals about $1 billion dollars – a testament to the high level of commitment being made to prevent and end homelessness, while ensuring every resident has a place to call home, Malloy's office said in a news release. This investment in the housing industry has spurred another $2.5 billion in direct economic activity from the private sector and other sources across the state, the statement from the Governor's office reads.

“The Department of Housing, under the Malloy Administration, is meeting the needs of a 21st century Connecticut,” Connecticut Department of Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein said in news release. “As a newly created department, we took the opportunity to meet with nonprofit housing providers, housing advocates, elected officials, and developers to ensure our housing policy is forward thinking and responsive to the needs of individuals and families across the state. Though challenges remain, progress ensues. We’re helping to meet the needs of the working single mother who makes the tough choice each month between buying healthy food, which costs more, or paying rent; of struggling seniors who want to stay in the community in which they’ve lived and raised their family, but where social security is not enough to meet their expenses; and of the recent college graduate who would like to live in their home state, but who cannot find an affordable rent. What we all know is that a multi-generational Connecticut is vibrant.

“It is for these reasons the Department of Housing proposed statewide inclusionary zoning. This important tool is effective in responding to the needs of local communities as well as the needs of individuals and families. The changes in HB 6880 do nothing to increase the much-needed stock of affordable housing. It is essential that legislation supports forward thinking and incorporates policy that promotes inclusion, vibrancy, and economic development. I applaud Governor Malloy for standing up for the voices of our citizens and for vetoing these damaging changes to the Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Act.”

**Download: Governor Malloy’s veto message of House Bill 6880

— By Brian McCready (Patch National Staff)