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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6633
AN ACT CONCERNING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND FAIR SHARE
PLANS FOR MUNICIPALITIES TO INCREASE AFFORDABLE
HOUSING.
SUMMARY
This bill addresses affordable housing statewide.
The bill generally requires the Office of Policy and Management
(OPM) secretary, in consultation with the commissioners of the
departments of Housing (DOH) and Economic and Community
Development (DECD), to:
1. assess the affordable housing need in each of the state’s planning
regions,
2. allocate this need to each region’s municipalities (“municipal fair
share allocation”), and
3. require that municipalities plan to meet the affordable housing
need allocated to them.
In carrying out certain of the bill’s requirements, generally including
those listed above, the OPM secretary may consult with experts,
advocates, and organizations with expertise in affordable housing, fair
housing, and planning and zoning (“housing experts”).
By July 1, 2024, the bill specifically requires the OPM secretary, in
consultation with the commissioners and, at his discretion, the housing
experts, to:
1. develop a methodology, including specific elements, for each
municipality’s fair share allocation; 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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2. establish a process requiring each municipality to (a) develop and
adopt a municipal fair share plan and (b) submit the plan to the
secretary and commissioners;
3. publish and distribute to municipalities technical assistance
materials and certain compliance guidelines, including periodic
updates at the secretary’s discretion.
Under the bill, a municipality may (1) convert its fair share allocation
into a municipal fair share goal represented in points and (2) be awarded
bonus points for qualifying housing units meeting certain requirements.
The bill also establishes related compliance and reporting requirements.
Lastly, the bill establishes a default zoning penalty for noncompliant
municipalities and provides for judicial remedies under certain
circumstances.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
FAIR SHARE ALLOCATION METHODOLO GY
Starting by July 1, 2024, and every 10 years after that, the bill requires
the OPM secretary, in consultation with the DOH and DECD
commissioners, to determine municipal fair share allocations by using
the fair share allocation methodology the bill requires him to develop.
The methodology must generally rely on data from the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Comprehensive Housing
Affordability Strategy data set, or a similar source chosen by the OPM
secretary.
Methodology Requirements
Under the bill, the secretary must ensure the methodology:
1. considers the duty of the state and municipalities to affirmatively
further fair housing under the state Zoning Enabling Act and the
federal Fair Housing Act (FHA);
2. relies on appropriate metrics of the minimum need for affordable
housing units in a planning region, including the number of 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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extremely low-income (ELI) households, to ensure adequate
housing options;
3. relies on appropriate factors for fairly allocating this need among
each municipality, including a municipality’s compliance with
certain statutory planning and zoning requirements;
4. does not assign (a) a fair share allocation to municipalities in
which the federal poverty rate is at least 20% based on the most
recent decennial census or a similar source or (b) an allocation
exceeding 20% of all occupied dwelling units for any
municipality; and
5. increases a municipality’s fair share allocation if, relative to other
municipalities in its planning region, it has a (a) higher equalized
net grand list (i.e., an estimate of the market value of all taxable
property in a municipality); (b) higher median income; (c) lower
federal poverty rate; and (d) lower population share residing in
multi-family housing (i.e., residential buildings with at least
three dwelling units).
Data related to increasing a fair share allocation must come from the
most recent U.S. decennial census or a similar source, except for the
equalized net grand list data, which must be based on OPM’s
calculations of these figures for educational equalization grants.
Affordable Housing and Planning Regions
Under the bill, (1) an “affordable housing unit” is a unit deed-
restricted to preserve affordability for a low-income household and (2)
a “planning region” generally follows the boundaries of a regional
council of governments (see BACKGROUND), though the bill treats the
Metropolitan and Western planning regions as a single entity.
MUNICIPAL FAIR SHARE PLANS
The bill requires each municipality to prepare and adopt a municipal
fair share plan by July 1, 2025, and then every ten years after that. The
plans must create a realistic opportunity for a municipality to meet its
fair share goals (see below). 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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The municipal fair share plans and the planning process must include
the following elements:
1. requirements for the content and timing for submission of these
plans, including updated zoning regulations and planning
documents;
2. policies ensuring that (a) no fair share plan creates undue
concentrations of households living in poverty within a planning
region, as determined by the OPM secretary, and (b) each plan
provides for an equitable distribution of affordable housing
within each municipality under the state’s Discriminatory
Housing Practices Act and FHA; and
3. requirements that each plan provide for the creation of enough
deed-restricted affordable housing of different types to allow the
municipality to meet its fair share goal, including specifically
ensuring that the requirements described in the table below are
met.
Table: Deed-Restricted Affordable Housing Threshold Requirements
Affordability and Unit Requirements Required Share of Units
Affordable to very low-income households At least 50%
Affordable to ELI households At least 13%
Affordable to households with incomes
above very low-income threshold but
below the low-income threshold
Not more than 50%
Rental units At least 25%
Units restricted by occupant age Not more than 25%
Units unrestricted by occupant age with
two or more bedrooms
At least 50%
Studio or one-bedroom units Not more than 20%
Under the bill, “low-,” “very low-,” and “extremely low-income
households” mean those with an income at or below 80%, 50%, or 30%,
respectively, of the state median income (SMI), as determined by HUD. 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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Current law requires entities participating in housing agency-
administered programs (i.e., generally, programs administered by DOH
or the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority) to affirmatively
promote fair housing in certain assisted or supervised housing
developments. The bill extends this requirement to all deed-restricted
affordable housing units, regardless of funding source.
MUNICIPAL FAIR SHARE GOALS
Under the bill, the OPM secretary must allow a municipality to
convert its fair share allocation into a municipal fair share goal
represented in points. The bill specifies that each affordable housing
unit is equivalent to one point (i.e., a fair share allocation of 100
affordable housing units would equate to a municipal fair share goal of
100 points). The bill allows bonus points to be added, at a ratio
conforming with the deed-restricted affordable housing threshold
requirements described in the table above, for certain types of affordable
housing units. Specifically, a maximum of one bonus point may be
awarded for a qualifying housing unit that is:
1. affordable to ELI households;
2. two or more bedrooms; or
3. supportive housing (i.e., an affordable housing unit available to
individuals or families with special needs or that are homeless or
at risk of homelessness).
(It appears that if a municipality issues a certificate of occupancy (see
below) for an affordable housing unit that meets (1) the threshold
requirements described above in the table and (2) at least one of the
above criteria, then the unit would be credited as two points, rather than
one point, toward the municipality’s fair share goal.)
Bonus points are capped at one per unit (i.e., they are not cumulative)
and a municipality cannot receive bonus points in an amount that
causes its fair share goal to fall below 80% of the municipality’s initial
allocation. 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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Required Compliance Schedule, Reporting, and Audits
Under the bill, a municipality meets its fair share goal by issuing
certificates of occupancy conforming with the deed-restricted affordable
housing threshold requirements under the following schedule:
1. by year three: 5% completion,
2. by year five: 30% completion,
3. by year seven: 60% completion, and
4. by year 10: 100% completion.
(The bill specifies a required completion percentage within certain
time frames but does not establish when the time frames begin.)
Starting July 1, 2026, the bill requires each municipality to annually
submit a report to the housing commissioner on its progress toward
meeting its fair share goal. This report must include the following
components:
1. addresses of completed units counting toward its fair share goal;
2. income restrictions applicable to each unit;
3. relevant completed or planned infrastructure expansion;
4. details on affirmative marketing efforts, including copies of
affirmative marketing plans for relevant developments; and
5. supporting documentation, which must be made public upon
request, excluding redacted personally identifying information.
Starting on July 1, 2028, the bill requires the housing commissioner to
annually conduct random audits of at least 10% of the municipal fair
share plans to ensure compliance with the bill’s requirements.
PENALTIES AND REMEDIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE
Default Zoning
The bill subjects a municipality to a default zoning scheme if the 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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municipality fails to (1) submit a fair share plan to OPM or (2) adhere to
the compliance schedule. The applicable default zoning depends on an
area’s infrastructure.
In areas of a municipality that have water and sewer infrastructure
and capacity, or where these services can be provided by extending
existing lines at the developer’s expense, multi-family housing up to 20
units per acre is allowed as of right if:
1. at least 20% of the units are (a) not age restricted, (b) at least two
bedrooms, (c) affordable to low-income households, and (d)
deed-restricted for 40 years; or
2. 10% of the units are (a) not age restricted, (b) at least two
bedrooms, (c) affordable to very low-income households, and (d)
deed-restricted for 20 years.
In all other areas of a municipality, as of right multi-family housing
development is allowed subject to limitations on the number of units,
density, or other development aspects as required under the state’s
public health statutes and regulations. In these developments, the
greater of (1) one unit or (2) 10% of units must be at least two bedrooms,
affordable to low-income households, and deed-restricted for 40 years.
Judicial Enforcement and Remedies
If a municipality fails to (1) submit a fair share plan to OPM or (2)
create a realistic opportunity to meet its municipal fair share allocation,
the bill allows any “interested party” (i.e., certain nonprofits and
housing developers, see below) to bring an action in Superior Court in
the municipality’s judicial district. The interested party may seek an
order:
1. requiring the municipality to issue a fair share plan and updated
zoning regulations that create a realistic opportunity for it to
meet its fair share allocation, including through express
agreements with developers for projects contributing to a
municipality’s fair share allocation or 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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2. permitting a developer, who appeals a municipal zoning
authority’s denial of a previous development proposal that
qualified him or her as an interested party, to build the
development.
In the case of an action seeking to permit a development upon appeal,
the bill places the burden of proof on the municipality (i.e., defendant)
to show that:
1. (a) the denial was needed to protect substantial public interests
in health, safety, or other matters a zoning commission may
legally consider and (b) these public interests outweigh the need
for affordable housing and cannot be protected by reasonable
changes to the affordable housing development or
2. the development (a) would have been located in an area zoned
for industrial use that does not allow residential uses and (b) is
not assisted housing.
If a defendant (municipality) does not satisfy this burden of proof,
the bill allows the court to revise, modify, remand, or reverse the
decision from which the appeal was taken, in whole or in part, and in a
manner consistent with the evidence in the record. If the plaintiff
(interested party) prevails, the bill authorizes the court to award
additional relief in the same way it does under a civil action for a
discriminatory practice (i.e., legal and equitable relief such as punitive
damages, attorneys’ fees, and court costs).
Under the bill, an “interested party” is a (1) nonprofit organization
representing low-income households or addressing their housing needs
or (2) housing developer seeking to construct housing that would
contribute to a municipality’s fair share allocation and meet certain
criteria. The intended or proposed housing development must qualify
as “assisted housing” or a “set-aside development” under the affordable
housing land use appeals procedure (CGS § 8-30g), or meet the
following minimum requirements relative to the total number of units
in the development: 2023HB-06633-R000182-BA.DOCX
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1. at least 20% must be affordable housing units with deed-
restrictions for at least 40 years or
2. at least (a) 5% must be non-age-restricted affordable housing
units for households earning up to 30% of SMI or area median
income (AMI), whichever is less, and (b) 15% must be deed-
restricted to be sold or rented to households earning up to 80% of
SMI or AMI, whichever is less.
Of the deed-restricted units, the bill requires that no less than 10%
have at least two bedrooms.
BACKGROUND
Planning Regions
In practice, the boundaries of the state’s nine planning regions are the
same as those of its regional councils of government, which serve as the
formal governance structures of the planning regions.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Housing Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 10 Nay 5 (03/02/2023)