Legislative Update From Wilton First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice

Press release from the Town of Wilton:

February 26, 2023

The State Legislature’s Housing Committee will hold hearings on Tuesday on several bills. See agenda here. Including,

The Fair Share Housing bill, HB6033. The bill is sponsored by Majority Caucus Chair Representative Roland Lemar. Many residents will remember him from the 2019 Education Committee hearing on school regionalization.

Executive Director Francis Pickering of the Western CT Council of Governments, of which Wilton is a member, has provided analysis indicating the bill,

• Requires the Town be assigned a specific number of affordable housing units to be built either by private developers or the Town.
• Requires the Town submit a plan to meet the assigned number within the timeframe of the bill.
• Empowers developers and/or housing nonprofits to sue the Town, if the Town doesn’t develop a plan or the plan is deemed unrealistic.
• Empowers lawsuits to force the Town to build the units at taxpayer expense if the private sector does not build the required number of units.

Detailed comments from Executive Director Francis Pickering about HB6033 and other bills being heard on Tuesday are here.

One bill being heard, but not included in Francis’ comments, is SB04, sponsored by the Senate Majority Caucus. It may be of particular interest to owners/developers/tenants of residential rental property.

Residents may provide written testimony on HB6033 or any of the other Housing bills by using this online form. Or residents may register here to provide oral testimony via Zoom.

The Planning and Development Committee agreed to draft, but has not yet drafted, a Transit Communities bill, which is expected to be similar to the DesegregateCT Live Ride Work bill.

The Governor submitted bill 985 to incentivize housing growth zones. His proposed budget funds incentives for municipalities that adopt housing growth zones. Penalties for municipalities that don’t adopt housing growth zones are expected to be in the upcoming Planning and Development Transit Communities or Transit-Orientated Development bill.

Please email me with questions at lynne.vanderslice@wiltonct.org.

Lynne A Vanderslice

First Selectwoman

This press release was produced by the Town of Wilton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.