As the 2025 legislative session gets underway in Hartford, it’s hard not to have thoughts that wander further south. For while there are big issues to debate in Connecticut, so much of what happens in the coming years will be determined by the new administration soon to take over in Washington, D.C.

Much is unknown, and the Trump experience in national politics has been nothing if not unpredictable. In this case, we have the precedent of a previous White House term to look back on, but there’s no telling if that history will repeat itself.

The obstacles to building affordable housing can be daunting. Though it’s often towns themselves that present the biggest challenge through exclusionary zoning, sometimes the infrastructure simply isn’t in place to allow for the kind of density that most often leads to affordability.

That frequently means sewers. Whether we like to talk about it or not, waste disposal is a key factor in development. And none of it is cheap.

A recent opinion piece at LymeLine.com gets to this problem. As written by Eric Knapp, who is the Town of Old Lyme’s land use coordinator: “If the State of Connecticut is serious about rebalancing the housing market, here is what works: infrastructure and public services. If there was both public water and municipal septic disposal, there could be additional density.”

State Sen. Ryan Fazio, a Greenwich Republican who has repeatedly opposed meaningful housing reform, recently won reelection in one of the state’s most closely watched races. He did so by arguing against plans that would allow for the building of desperately needed housing that is more affordable, including in the wealthy communities he represents.

He’s free to oppose whatever he chooses, but he should base those objections on the actual proposals.

In a pre-election Greenwich Sentinel opinion piece, Fazio discussed the reforms he opposes, including the Fair Share plan that is likely to come up in 2025. Fair Share would set realistic targets for every community in the state to plan and zone for the affordable housing that is in such high demand, and include enforcement mechanisms to ensure every community is playing its part. 

There’s a lot to parse in a recent screed from CT169Strong, the group that stands against any meaningful effort to build more affordable housing in Connecticut. In a Hearst Connecticut op-ed, the group’s leaders talk a lot about energy prices and other topics, most of which they’re off-base about. 

But let’s focus on a common theme in their writing. They continually put the words “housing crisis” in scare quotes, because they don’t think it’s a real thing.

The Housing Record from Open Communities Alliance is designed to combat misinformation on one of the most important issues we’re facing as a state, and one that promises to be a big part of our political discussions in coming years: the affordable housing and segregation crisis. 

Connecticut is an expensive place. There are a lot of reasons for that, but high on the list is the cost of housing. Whether that’s owning or renting, those costs are out of reach for too many people, and the situation is only getting worse.