The CT study on “fair share” has been delayed; will not be ready before the 2025 session

A report on a controversial statewide zoning reform proposal, which would assign each Connecticut town a certain number of housing units to plan and zone, likely won’t be completed before the legislative session in 2025, after a delay of several months in finding a contractor to work on. the project.

The delay means lawmakers won’t have all the information they need to craft legislation for another attempt to pass the policy next year.

The housing bill signed by Democrats in the 2023 session required the National Office of Policy and Management to establish a methodology by December 1, 2024, to determine each city’s “fair share” of the number of housing units to be planned – to be determined based on meeting the regional need for affordable housing and in a manner that “positively promotes” fair housing.

The state signed a $250,000 contract with Economic Consultants Oregon, also known as ECOnorthwest, on May 17, nearly seven months later than originally planned.

“State government has an obligation to taxpayers to ensure that public funds are properly allocated. Sometimes, as was the case this time, review and award of the contract can take longer longer than expected,” wrote OPM spokesperson Chris Collibee in response to questions from The Connecticut Mirror. “As these matters involved negotiations, we cannot comment further.”

The contract, which is due to end in June 2025, calls for a draft of the results of the equitable allocation of shares by January 2025, which means that some information could be available before the session.

Fair share is one of several zoning reform policies considered by lawmakers in recent years. The concept was implemented in New Jersey and aims to meet regional housing needs and reduce segregation.

Historic policies, including local zoning ordinances and redlining, have led to increased housing segregation in Connecticut, affecting people’s access to education, food, health care, work and outdoor spaces such as the beach. This disproportionately affects people of color.

The state also struggles with a lack of affordable housing and is short more than 92,500 affordable and accessible housing units for its lowest-income residents. Thousands more are paying too much in housing costs.

Advocates and lawmakers had said they wanted to wait until 2025 to try again to pass a fair share policy in Connecticut. The most recent session was a short session and an election year, which made it more difficult to pass sweeping reforms.

And they wanted to have the state’s report.

“Due to delays in awarding the contract, we do not anticipate the final report will be completed by the start of the 2025 legislative session, we have informed the relevant legislators of this,” Collibee said.

But they had not contacted House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, one of the Legislature’s most prominent housing advocates.

“I hope there will be enough information to consider something in the spring,” Rojas said Wednesday, referring to the 2025 legislative session.

Fair sharing is a controversial policy proposition in Connecticut. The request for methodology alone sparked hours of debate in the House and Senate.

Opponents said they fear the report is the first step toward implementing a policy they view as unworkable. They argue that such zoning reform would weaken local control and impose one-size-fits-all solutions on cities.

In 2023, lawmakers initially considered a policy that would implement a fair share statewide, but it was transformed into what was essentially a study at the end of the session.

“There will be something done with these numbers. That’s the clear answer,” Rep. Tony Scott, R-Monroe, a member of the Housing Committee, said during a 2023 debate.

Supporters of the project see it as a way to push reluctant cities to build more housing. They also claim it would reduce segregation and has been successful in New Jersey.

“It is difficult to understand the delay in selecting a new consultant,” said Erin Boggs, executive director of the Open Communities Alliance. The alliance was one of the lead groups in a pro-fair share coalition called Growing Together Connecticut.