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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5475
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 1772
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
(PD)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING AND
CHALLENGES TO CERTAIN DECISIONS OF MUNICIPAL AGENCIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 8-8 of the general 1
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective October 1, 2024): 3
(1) "Aggrieved person" means a person [aggrieved by] who claims to 4
have suffered (A) actual damage to real property owned by such person, 5
or (B) an impairment of such person's right, title or interest in real 6
property, resulting from a decision of a board and includes any officer, 7
department, board or bureau of the municipality charged with 8
enforcement of any order, requirement or decision of the board. [In the 9
case of a decision by a zoning commission, planning commission, 10
combined planning and zoning commission or zoning board of appeals, 11
"aggrieved person" includes any person owning land in this state that 12
abuts or is within a radius of one hundred feet of any portion of the land 13
involved in the decision of the board.] 14
Sec. 2. Section 8-7 of the general statutes is repealed and the following 15 Raised Bill No. 5475
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is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 16
The concurring vote of four members of the zoning board of appeals 17
shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement or decision of the 18
official charged with the enforcement of the zoning regulations or to 19
decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to 20
pass under any bylaw, ordinance, rule or regulation or to vary the 21
application of the zoning bylaw, ordinance, rule or regulation. An 22
appeal may be taken to the zoning board of appeals by any [person] 23
aggrieved person, as defined in section 8-8, as amended by this act, or 24
by any officer, department, board or bureau of any municipality 25
aggrieved. [and] Such appeal shall be taken within such time as is 26
prescribed by a rule adopted by said board, or, if no such rule is adopted 27
by the board, within thirty days, by filing with the zoning commission 28
or the officer from whom the appeal has been taken and with said board 29
a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. Such appeal period 30
shall commence for an aggrieved person at the earliest of the following: 31
[(1)] Upon (1) receipt of the order, requirement or decision from which 32
such person may appeal, (2) [upon] the publication of a notice in 33
accordance with subsection (f) of section 8-3, or (3) [upon] actual or 34
constructive notice of such order, requirement or decision. The officer 35
from whom the appeal has been taken shall forthwith transmit to said 36
board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action 37
appealed from was taken. An appeal shall not stay any such order, 38
requirement or decision [which] that prohibits further construction or 39
expansion of a use in violation of such zoning regulations except to such 40
extent that the board grants a stay thereof. An appeal from any other 41
order, requirement or decision shall stay all proceedings in the action 42
appealed from unless the zoning commission or the officer from whom 43
the appeal has been taken certifies to the zoning board of appeals after 44
the notice of appeal has been filed that by reason of facts stated in the 45
certificate a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property, in 46
which case proceedings shall not be stayed, except by a restraining order 47
which may be granted by a court of record on application, on notice to 48
the zoning commission or the officer from whom the appeal has been 49 Raised Bill No. 5475
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taken and on due cause shown. The board shall hold a public hearing 50
on such appeal in accordance with the provisions of section 8-7d. Such 51
board may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify any order, 52
requirement or decision appealed from and shall make such order, 53
requirement or decision as in its opinion should be made in the premises 54
and shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal has 55
been taken but only in accordance with the provisions of this section. 56
Whenever a zoning board of appeals grants or denies any special 57
exception or variance in the zoning regulations applicable to any 58
property or sustains or reverses wholly or partly any order, requirement 59
or decision appealed from, it shall state upon its records the reason for 60
its decision and the zoning bylaw, ordinance or regulation which is 61
varied in its application or to which an exception is granted and, when 62
a variance is granted, describe specifically the exceptional difficulty or 63
unusual hardship on which its decision is based. Notice of the decision 64
of the board shall be published in a newspaper having a substantial 65
circulation in the municipality and addressed by certified mail to any 66
person who appeals to the board, by its secretary or clerk, under [his] 67
such secretary or clerk's signature in any written, printed, typewritten 68
or stamped form, within fifteen days after such decision has been 69
rendered. In any case in which such notice is not published within such 70
fifteen-day period, the person who requested or applied for such special 71
exception or variance or took such appeal may provide for the 72
publication of such notice within ten days thereafter. Such exception or 73
variance shall become effective upon the filing of a copy thereof in the 74
(A) [in the] office of the town, city or borough clerk, as the case may be, 75
but, in the case of a district, in the offices of both the district clerk and 76
the town clerk of the town in which such district is located, and (B) [in 77
the] land records of the town in which the affected premises are located, 78
in accordance with the provisions of section 8-3d. 79
Sec. 3. Section 22a-43 of the general statutes is repealed and the 80
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 81
(a) The commissioner, or any person [aggrieved by] who claims to 82
have suffered (1) actual damage to real property owned by such person, 83 Raised Bill No. 5475
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or (2) an impairment of such person's right, title or interest in real 84
property, resulting from any regulation, order, decision or action made 85
pursuant to sections 22a-36 to 22a-45, inclusive, by the commissioner, a 86
district or municipality or any person owning or occupying land 87
[which] that abuts any portion of land within, or is within a radius of 88
ninety feet of, the wetland or watercourse involved in any regulation, 89
order, decision or action made pursuant to said sections may, within the 90
time specified in subsection (b) of section 8-8, from the publication of 91
such regulation, order, decision or action, appeal to the superior court 92
for the judicial district where the real property or land affected is 93
located, and if located in more than one judicial district to the court in 94
any such judicial district. [Such appeal] 95
(b) An appeal under this section shall be made returnable to the court 96
in the same manner as that prescribed for civil actions brought to the 97
court, except that the record shall be transmitted to the court within the 98
time specified in subsection (i) of section 8-8. If the inland wetlands 99
agency or its agent does not provide a transcript of the stenographic or 100
[the] sound recording of a meeting where the inland wetlands agency 101
or its agent deliberates or makes a decision on a permit for which a 102
public hearing was held, a certified, true and accurate transcript of a 103
stenographic or sound recording of the meeting prepared by or on 104
behalf of the applicant or any other party shall be admissible as part of 105
the record. A person who files an appeal under this section claiming to 106
have suffered actual damage to real property owned by such person 107
shall provide a written and signed opinion of a qualified hydrologist 108
stating that such damage has occurred as a result of such regulation, 109
order, decision or action. Such opinion shall be appended to the 110
pleading that initiates an appeal to the Superior Court pursuant to this 111
section. For the purposes of this section, "qualified hydrologist" means 112
an individual who has obtained a master's or higher degree from an 113
accredited institution of higher education in a hydrology-related field 114
and has five or more years of professional-level experience in a field 115
related to hydrology. 116
(c) Notice of [such] an appeal under this section shall be served upon 117 Raised Bill No. 5475
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the inland wetlands agency and the commissioner, provided, for any 118
such appeal taken on or after October 1, 2004, service of process for 119
purposes of such notice to the inland wetlands agency shall be made in 120
accordance with subdivision (5) of subsection (b) of section 52-57. The 121
commissioner may appear as a party to any action brought by any other 122
person within thirty days from the date such appeal is returned to the 123
court. The appeal shall state the reasons upon which it is predicated and 124
shall not stay proceedings on the regulation, order, decision or action, 125
but the court may on application and after notice grant a restraining 126
order. Such appeal shall have precedence in the order of trial. 127
[(b)] (d) The court, upon the motion of the person who applied for 128
such order, decision or action, shall make such person a party defendant 129
in the appeal. Such defendant may, at any time after the return date of 130
such appeal, make a motion to dismiss the appeal. At the hearing on 131
such motion to dismiss, each appellant shall have the burden of proving 132
such appellant's standing to bring the appeal. The court may, upon the 133
record, grant or deny the motion. The court's order on such motion may 134
be appealed in the manner provided in subsection (p) of section 8-8. 135
[(c)] (e) The proceedings of the court in the appeal may be stayed by 136
agreement of the parties when a mediation conducted pursuant to 137
section 8-8a commences. Any such stay shall terminate upon conclusion 138
of the mediation. 139
[(d)] (f) No appeal taken under subsection (a) of this section shall be 140
withdrawn and no settlement between the parties to any such appeal 141
shall be effective unless and until a hearing has been held before the 142
Superior Court and the court has approved such proposed withdrawal 143
or settlement. 144
[(e)] (g) There shall be no right to further review except to the 145
Appellate Court by certification for review in accordance with the 146
provisions of subsection (o) of section 8-8. 147
Sec. 4. Subsection (b) of section 8-3 of the 2024 supplement to the 148
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 149 Raised Bill No. 5475
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thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): 150
(b) Such regulations and boundaries shall be established, changed or 151
repealed only by a majority vote of all the members of the zoning 152
commission, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. In making its 153
decision the commission shall take into consideration the plan of 154
conservation and development, prepared pursuant to section 8-23, and 155
shall state on the record its findings [on] concerning the consistency of 156
the proposed establishment, change or repeal of such regulations and 157
boundaries with such plan. If a protest against a proposed change is 158
filed at or before a hearing with the zoning commission, signed by the 159
owners of twenty per cent or more of the area of the lots included in 160
such proposed change, [or of the lots within five hundred feet in all 161
directions of the property included in the proposed change,] such 162
change shall not be adopted except by a vote of two-thirds of all the 163
members of the commission. 164
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) Notwithstanding any 165
provision of chapter 440 of the general statutes, the legislative body of 166
any municipality may adopt an ordinance exempting any proposed 167
development from review by the inland wetlands agency of such 168
municipality established pursuant to section 22a-42 of the general 169
statutes if such project is located in an area or areas of such municipality 170
identified by the municipality as (1) having existing commercial or retail 171
uses and having water, sewer and other infrastructure adequate to 172
support increased development in such area or areas, or (2) being 173
appropriate for increased development in such municipality's plan of 174
conservation and development. 175
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) For the purposes of this 176
section, (1) "as of right" has the same meaning as provided in subsection 177
(b) of section 8-1a of the general statutes, (2) "dwelling unit" has the same 178
meaning as provided in section 47a-1 of the general statutes, (3) 179
"multifamily housing" has the same meaning as provided in section 8-180
13m of the general statutes, and (4) "nursing home" has the same 181
meaning as provided in section 19a-490 of the general statutes. 182 Raised Bill No. 5475
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(b) Any zoning regulations adopted by a municipality pursuant to 183
section 8-2 of the general statutes shall allow for the conversion of any 184
nursing home into multifamily housing as of right, provided (1) such 185
nursing home is a freestanding facility, and (2) the owner of such 186
nursing home has declared, in writing to the municipality, that such 187
nursing home has been vacant for a period of not less than ninety days 188
immediately preceding the submission of the as of right permit 189
application to the planning commission, zoning commission or 190
combined planning and zoning commission of the municipality. 191
(c) The as of right permit application and review process for the 192
approval of the conversion of a nursing home into multifamily housing 193
shall require that a decision on any such application be rendered not 194
later than sixty-five days after receipt of such application by the 195
planning commission, zoning commission, or combined planning and 196
zoning commission, except that an applicant may consent to one or 197
more extensions of not more than an additional sixty-five days or may 198
withdraw such application. 199
Sec. 7. (Effective October 1, 2024) The Commissioner of Housing, in 200
consultation with the Office of Policy and Management, shall conduct a 201
study of the unused real property owned by the state, excluding any 202
unused real property reserved for conservation or other specific 203
purposes, to determine the suitability of such unused properties for 204
development to improve affordable housing opportunities for residents 205
in the state. Not later than January 1, 2025, the commissioner shall 206
submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the 207
general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 208
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to housing containing 209
the findings of such study and any recommended legislation. 210
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2024 8-8(a)(1)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2024 8-7
Sec. 3 October 1, 2024 22a-43 Raised Bill No. 5475
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Sec. 4 October 1, 2024 8-3(b)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 7 October 1, 2024 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) require that a person claiming to be aggrieved by certain decisions
of municipal commissions, agencies or boards demonstrate actual
damage or an impairment of right, title or interest to such person's real
property, (2) remove the right of protest against certain zoning changes
by persons who do not own lots affected by such changes, (3) allow
municipalities to adopt ordinances which exempt developments in
certain areas from review by the inland wetlands agencies of such
municipalities, (4) allow the conversion of vacant nursing homes into
multifamily housing as of right, and (5) require the Commissioner of
Housing to conduct a study of certain unused real property owned by
the state to determine the suitability of such real property to improve
affordable housing opportunities.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]