There was a telling moment in the Housing Committee’s public hearing on Feb. 27. State Sen. Martha Marx, a New London Democrat in her first year as chair of the committee, reminded everyone that when we talk about housing, it’s about a lot more than facts and figures, or budgets and charts.
It’s about people.
The subject was zoning, and the ever-popular topic of 8-30g. This is the state statute that allows developers to bypass certain zoning restrictions in the construction of affordable housing. It only applies in towns that are lacking in that category, and it allows zoning commissions to turn down projects in cases where health or safety is at issue. It doesn’t apply to environmental or other considerations.
Despite all that, 8-30g is a frequent target of criticism. This year, as usual, there have been a number of bills introduced to undercut its effectiveness or otherwise limit its scope.
State Sen. Ryan Fazio, a Republican who represents some of the wealthiest districts in Connecticut, offered testimony in support of bills that would serve to weaken the statute.
“I think there are ways to reform (the statute) that give the municipalities more optionality and take back the kind of adversarial nature of it that will give the municipalities more discretion,” he said. “It'll still give the developers this avenue, but it'll do so in a way that makes the municipalities less scared that developers are just going to be able to do whatever they want.”
Marx noted a specific word in that answer. “In your response,” she said to Fazio, “you said municipalities were scared. Can you tell me what they’re scared of?”
Fazio responded: “They're scared of developers basically being able to do whatever they want in any neighborhood they want without any local input. A good example is that in one of the municipalities I represent, a developer came in with a 105-unit development proposal under 8-30g in a single-family zoned neighborhood.
“I don't think any of us, if we bought into a single-family zone neighborhood, would think it was fair to have a 105-unit building pop up right next to where we bought into. That represents significant upheaval. It represents development without any local check, so I think that is a reasonable concern that almost anyone would have, and that's why I think we need to find a middle ground.”
Marx responded that she lives in a single-family neighborhood and would be more than happy to have 105 new neighbors. But what she said next resonated deeply.
“I think sometimes that is where we differ. I don't understand what the fear is. I don't understand what people are afraid of because people can't find a place to live.”
She pointed out that engineers at Electric Boat, in her part of the state, are hired at salaries that don’t allow them to make a down payment on a home at current rates of affordability. “I would be fine with 105 drafters and engineers living down the street from my house,” she said.
People who need homes, affordable or otherwise, are just like anyone else, she said. It’s a vital point that we cannot forget.
“I just really don't understand when you say they're scared,” Marx said. “I don't understand the scared part.”