Lamont signs controversial housing bill into law

After months of negotiations and debate, Gov. Ned Lamont has signed a controversial omnibus bill that aims to address Connecticut’s dire lack of affordable housing.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 8002 during the special session in mid November, and Lamont signed it into law on Nov. 26.

The bill expands fair rent commissions, eliminates most off-street parking requirements for smaller housing developments and requires towns to create housing growth plans, among other measures.

Lamont vetoed a similar bill that his office had worked to negotiate in June, after the regular session. The governor said he wanted to see a bill that had more town buy-in and called a two-day special session last month to give lawmakers time to work on revising the legislation.

After months of negotiations, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and Council of Small Towns stood alongside Lamont at a press conference a few weeks ago to support the new bill.

“This bill tells mayors and first selectmen ‘What do you want your town to look like in five or 10 years? Start planning accordingly. Where do you want that housing to go? Are you going to zone accordingly? What else do you need? We want to be your partner,’” said Lamont at the press conference.

While some Democratic lawmakers said the negotiated bill wasn’t as strong as the one they originally passed, they think it will go a long way toward addressing the affordable housing need in Connecticut.

Homelessness has increased over the past few years, and rent prices have risen. Most studies estimate the state lacks more than 100,000 units of housing that are affordable and available to its low-income renters.

The bill has sparked fierce opposition from groups that say it weakens local control and puts onerous burdens on towns.

Republican lawmakers voted against the bill and criticized the process of passing a bill in special session, which they said did not incorporate enough input from the public.