CT Lawmakers Approve 5-Year Plan Focused on Climate Change, Housing

Lawmakers on March 5^th approved a plan that says climate change should be a central tenet in high-level discussions about where and how Connecticut builds new developments over the next five years.

The House and Senate approved the state Plan of Conservation and Development with little opposition. The plan was a collaboration between lawmakers and state officials in the Office of Policy and Management and provides broad guidance to state agencies on how to make decisions about Connecticut’s land use.

The state Office of Responsible Growth presented the draft plan to the Continuing Legislative Committee on State Planning and Development in January, and the committee approved it in early February.

“It contains the comprehensive strategies for land, water resource conservation, preservation and development,” said committee co-chair Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw, D-Avon, on Wednesday.

The plan aims to build communities that are healthy, have thriving economies and enough housing, take care of resources and are connected and inclusive — all with a focus on climate change.

It also calls for leveraging public and private funds to encourage development and reducing costs such as energy, housing and transportation where possible. It would encourage regional cooperation.

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It also takes a new approach to determining where to put more resources and development. 

Plans in the past have mapped the best places to build based on several factors, including the feasibility of development near public transit and whether building would promote regional cooperation. These were called “priority funding areas,” and were concentrated largely along the shoreline and up the Interstate 91 corridor between New Haven and Hartford.

The new mapping instead focuses on “activity zones,” which are parts of the state where there is already a good deal of housing, community centers and jobs. This shows major hubs around larger cities such as Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford.

It calls for building up sewer and water capacity and diversifying types of housing in response to a housing crisis that has grown more acute in Connecticut over the past few years.

The final vote passed in the House with 106 in favor, 40 against.

Committee ranking member Rep. Joe Zullo, R-East Haven, said although he decided to support the plan, there were elements he thought some Republican members might not like. “I have to tell you, I think there’s a lot in this plan that we can get behind,” he said, citing calls to end homelessness, expand broadband access and support small businesses.

“The problem with a document of this depth and this breadth is that you could also probably page through it and thumb through it and find things you don’t like,” Zullo said. He added that he thought some members may have problems with parts of the plan that spoke about increasing the stock and density of affordable housing and others that he said appeared to be in support of small businesses but used language revolving around the support of diverse and equitable communities.

Sen. MD Rahman, D-Manchester, co-chair of the committee that worked on the plan, said there were several public meetings and hearings throughout the past few months as the committee worked on the plan, and pointed out that it has bipartisan support.

The Senate approved the plan with only one vote against it. No senators raised questions about the measure.