Connecticut residents hold generally favorable views toward policies that would make housing in the state more affordable, even in cases when those policies would undermine municipal control over housing, a new survey has found.

According to the survey, sponsored by a coalition of advocacy groups, 61 percent of registered voters agreed that "when towns won’t act to make housing more affordable, the state government should step in so that Connecticut doesn’t get too expensive for everyone," compared to 39 percent who said that "housing is a purely local issue and towns should be able to make whatever decisions they want about it."

Additionally, 73 percent of registered voters agreed that "there should be housing options in every town for residents of all incomes."

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"This notion that we just need more affordable housing and that it should go everywhere is very clear from this poll and an important finding," said Erin Boggs, executive director of Open Communities Alliance, one of the groups behind the survey.

Karen Dubois-Walton, executive director of the Housing Authority of New Haven, said she was surprised by the level of support for state intervention, which she considers necessary to increase housing affordability.

"The narrative around Connecticut is so much 'local control' that I wasn't sure how a message like that might play out broadly, but there it is," she said. "People recognize there's a role for the state in this when it's not happening at a pace at the local level that we need it to happen."

Should state overrule towns on affordable housing? More than 60% of CT residents say yes, Alex Putterman, CT Insider, February 10, 2023, available here