Civil rights attorneys and housing advocates have filed a lawsuit against the town of Woodbridge for what they say is a violation of fair-housing laws that aim to make Connecticut towns more equitable and diverse.

Woodbridge, a suburb of New Haven, prohibits multifamily housing of three units or more on most of its residential land. Advocates claim that’s exclusionary zoning, which they say causes a lack of affordable housing that often disproportionately impacts Black and Latino residents in Connecticut.

“We are here today to confront this history and move us towards a more equitable future, a future where Connecticut's towns guide to their own zoning, but do so within the parameters of laws designed to ensure that families of all ranges of incomes have choices in every community of the state,” said Erin Boggs, the director of Open Communities Alliance and the principal of Open Communities Trust, one of the plaintiffs of the suit.

Boggs spoke at a press conference Tuesday morning in front of New Haven’s state courthouse where the suit’s four plaintiffs and supporters would file the case.

Civil rights group sues Woodbridge for allegedly violating housing laws, Camila Vallejo, Connecticut Public Radio, Aug. 30, 2022, available here