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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6831
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSIT -ORIENTED COMMUNITIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section 1
and sections 2, 3 and 5 of this act: 2
(1) "Discretionary infrastructure funding" means any grant, loan or 3
other financial assistance program (A) administered by the state under 4
the provisions of sections 4-66c, 4-66g and 4-66h of the general statutes, 5
section 22a-477 of the general statutes to the extent said section provides 6
financial assistance for municipal drinking water or sewerage system 7
projects and sections 8-13m to 8-13x, inclusive, of the general statutes, 8
or (B) managed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, 9
the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development or the 10
Commissioner of Transportation for the purpose of transit-oriented 11
development, as defined in section 13b-79o of the general statutes; 12
(2) "Downtown area" means a central business district or other 13
commercial neighborhood area of a municipality that serves as a center 14
of socioeconomic interaction, characterized by a cohesive core of 15
commercial and mixed-use buildings, often interspersed with civic, 16
religious and residential buildings and public spaces, that are typically 17
arranged along a main street and intersecting side streets and served by 18
public infrastructure; 19 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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(3) "Middle housing development" means a residential building 20
containing not less than two dwelling units but not more than nine such 21
units, including, but not limited to, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, 22
perfect sixes and cottage clusters; 23
(4) "Perfect six" means a three-story residential building with a central 24
entrance containing two dwelling units per story; 25
(5) "Qualifying bus transit community" means any municipality that 26
contains not less than one regular bus service station operating not less 27
than five days a week within a transit-oriented district adopted by such 28
municipality, provided such transit-oriented district is of reasonable 29
size, as determined by the secretary, or the secretary's designee, in 30
accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of this section, and 31
either (A) includes land of such municipality located within a one-half-32
mile radius of any such station, or (B) is located within a reasonable 33
distance, as determined by the secretary, or the secretary's designee, of 34
any other transit service, a commercial corridor or the downtown area 35
of such municipality; 36
(6) "Qualifying rapid transit community" means any municipality 37
that contains not less than one rapid transit station or a planned rapid 38
transit station, contained within a transit-oriented district adopted by 39
such municipality, provided such transit-oriented district is of 40
reasonable size, as determined by the secretary, or the secretary's 41
designee, in accordance with subsection (e) of this section, and either (A) 42
includes land of such municipality located within a one-half-mile radius 43
of any such station, or (B) is located within a reasonable distance, as 44
determined by the secretary, or the secretary's designee, of any other 45
transit service, a commercial corridor or the downtown area of such 46
municipality; 47
(7) "Qualifying transit-oriented community" means any municipality 48
that is a qualifying rapid transit community or qualifying bus transit 49
community; 50
(8) "Rapid transit station" means any public transportation station 51 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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serving any rail or rapid bus route; 52
(9) "Regular bus service station" means any fixed location where a bus 53
regularly stops, not less than once every sixty minutes during peak 54
operating hours, for the loading or unloading of passengers along a 55
defined route operating on a fixed schedule; 56
(10) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 57
Management, or the secretary's designee; 58
(11) "Transit-oriented district" means a collection of parcels of land in 59
a municipality designated by such municipality and subject to zoning 60
criteria designed to encourage increased density of development, 61
including mixed-use development and a concentration of developments 62
utilizing discretionary infrastructure funding; and 63
(12) "Zoning commission" means any zoning commission, a planning 64
commission in a municipality that has adopted a planning commission 65
but not a zoning commission, or a combined planning and zoning 66
commission. 67
(b) A qualifying transit-oriented community or municipality that has 68
adopted a resolution pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall be 69
eligible for the receipt of discretionary infrastructure funding on a 70
priority basis, provided such community meets the eligibility criteria for 71
the discretionary infrastructure funding. Any funding provided on a 72
priority basis pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively for the 73
development, renovation, expansion, management or maintenance of 74
improvements located in a transit-oriented district. To receive such 75
funding on a priority basis, any such community or municipality shall 76
submit an application for such funding to the secretary in a form 77
developed by the secretary. The secretary shall make recommendations 78
to the state agency responsible for administering or managing such 79
funding and, if priority funding is permitted for such funding, such 80
agency may prioritize such community or municipality for the receipt 81
of such funding over any municipality that is not a qualifying transit-82
oriented community or that has not adopted a resolution pursuant to 83 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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subsection (c) of this section, based on the secretary's recommendations. 84
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the use of funding 85
received pursuant to this section if the use of such funding to develop, 86
renovate, expand, manage or maintain improvements within a transit-87
oriented district also benefits real property located outside of a transit-88
oriented district. 89
(c) A municipality that is not a qualifying transit-oriented community 90
shall be eligible for discretionary infrastructure funding on a priority 91
basis pursuant to this section if the legislative body of the municipality 92
adopts a resolution stating that such municipality intends to enact 93
zoning regulations that enable such municipality to become a qualifying 94
transit-oriented community. Such municipality shall enact such zoning 95
regulations not later than eighteen months after the adoption of such 96
resolution. If such municipality does not enact such regulations within 97
eighteen months after the adoption of such resolution, unless the 98
secretary grants an extension to such municipality at the secretary's 99
discretion, such municipality shall return any discretionary 100
infrastructure funding provided to such municipality on a priority basis 101
pursuant to this section and such municipality shall be ineligible for 102
discretionary infrastructure funding on a priority basis until such 103
municipality enacts zoning regulations that enable the municipality to 104
become a qualifying transit-oriented community. Nothing in this section 105
shall be construed to make a municipality that is not a qualifying transit-106
oriented community ineligible for discretionary infrastructure funding. 107
(d) The zoning commission of the municipality shall consult with the 108
inland wetlands agency of the municipality to establish the boundaries 109
of any proposed transit-oriented district within the municipality. If any 110
proposed activity in such proposed district may be a regulated activity, 111
as defined in section 22a-38 of the general statutes, such commission 112
shall collaborate with such agency to determine whether such proposed 113
activity would constitute a regulated activity for which a permit is 114
required. 115
(e) In determining whether a transit-oriented district is of reasonable 116 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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size, the secretary, or the secretary's designee, in consultation with the 117
zoning commission of the municipality, shall (1) determine whether the 118
area of such district is adequate to support greater density of 119
development in an equitable manner, as determined by the secretary, or 120
the secretary's designee, considering the geographic characteristics of 121
the municipality; (2) consider municipal and regional housing needs; 122
and (3) not require the inclusion of the following lands in any such 123
district: (A) Special flood hazard areas designated on a flood insurance 124
rate map published by the National Flood Insurance Program, (B) 125
wetlands, as defined in section 22a-38 of the general statutes, (C) land 126
designated for use as a public park, (D) land subject to conservation or 127
preservation restrictions, as defined in section 47-42a of the general 128
statutes, (E) coastal resources, as defined in section 22a-93 of the general 129
statutes, (F) areas necessary for the protection of drinking water 130
supplies, and (G) areas designated as likely to be inundated during a 131
thirty-year flood event by the Marine Sciences Division of The 132
University of Connecticut pursuant to the division's responsibilities to 133
conduct sea level change scenarios pursuant to subsection (b) of section 134
25-68o of the general statutes. The zoning commission may consult with 135
any other agency of the municipality to determine whether a transit-136
oriented district is of reasonable size. 137
(f) (1) A qualifying transit-oriented community shall allow the 138
following developments as of right in any transit-oriented district: (A) 139
Middle housing developments, if such development contains nine or 140
fewer dwelling units; (B) developments that contain ten or more 141
dwelling units where not less than thirty per cent of such units qualify 142
as a set-aside development pursuant to section 8-30g of the general 143
statutes; and (C) developments on land owned by (i) the municipality in 144
which such land is located, (ii) the state, (iii) the public housing 145
authority of the municipality in which such district is located, (iv) any 146
not-for-profit entity, and (v) any religious organization, as defined in 147
section 49-31k of the general statutes, if such development is composed 148
entirely of units that are subject to a deed restriction that requires, for 149
not less than forty years after the initial occupation of the proposed 150 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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development, that such units be sold or rented at, or below, a cost in rent 151
or mortgage payments equivalent to not more than thirty per cent of the 152
annual income of individuals and families earning sixty per cent of the 153
median income of the state or the area median income as determined by 154
the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, 155
whichever is less. 156
(2) A qualifying transit-oriented community shall allow for mixed-157
use development, as defined in section 8-1a of the general statutes, on 158
any lot located in a transit-oriented district. 159
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, if a proposed 160
development is required to have a public hearing by the inland wetlands 161
agency of the municipality, such proposed development must receive 162
such public hearing prior to such development's approval. 163
(g) Each qualifying transit-oriented community shall require that any 164
proposed development within any transit-oriented district that contains 165
ten or more dwelling units that are not allowed as of right under 166
subsection (f) of this section be subject to (1) a deed restriction that 167
requires, for not less than forty years after the initial occupation of the 168
proposed development, that a percentage of dwelling units, as set forth 169
in subsection (h) of this section, be sold or rented at, or below, a cost in 170
rent or mortgage payments equivalent to not more than thirty per cent 171
of the annual income of individuals and families earning sixty per cent 172
of the median income of the state or the area median income as 173
determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 174
Development, whichever is less; or (2) a contribution agreement 175
pursuant to subsection (i) of this section. 176
(h) The percentage of deed-restricted dwelling units required 177
pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of this section shall be 178
determined based upon sales market typologies as described in the most 179
recent Connecticut Housing Finance Authority Housing Needs 180
Assessment: 181
(1) Ten per cent for any municipality designated High 182 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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Opportunity/Heating Market; 183
(2) Ten per cent for any municipality designated High 184
Opportunity/Cooling Market; and 185
(3) Five per cent for any municipality designated Low 186
Opportunity/Heating Market. 187
(i) Any municipality that adopts a transit-oriented district containing 188
a rapid transit station or regular bus service station on or before October 189
1, 2025, may apply, in a form and manner prescribed by the secretary, 190
for determination as a qualifying transit-oriented community. In 191
making such determination, the secretary, or the secretary's designee, 192
shall determine if such municipality is in compliance with the 193
requirements of this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed 194
to (1) require that a municipality that has adopted a transit-oriented 195
district be determined to be a qualifying transit-oriented community, or 196
(2) authorize the secretary to deem a municipality a qualifying transit-197
oriented community without the approval of such municipality. 198
(j) Each qualifying transit-oriented community shall be eligible for 199
additional funding pursuant to any program administered by the 200
secretary if such community implements additional zoning criteria, 201
including, but not limited to, higher density development, greater 202
affordability of housing units than is required in subsection (h) of this 203
section, the development of public land or public housing, the 204
implementation of programs to encourage homeownership 205
opportunities within such community and any additional criteria 206
determined by the secretary. 207
(k) (1) The secretary, in consultation with the interagency council on 208
housing development established pursuant to section 3 of this act, shall 209
develop guidelines concerning transit-oriented districts within transit-210
oriented communities, including, but not limited to, prioritizing mixed-211
use and mixed-income developments; increasing the availability of 212
affordable housing; ensuring appropriate environmental considerations 213
in the development of such districts, with an emphasis on the analysis 214 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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of any potential impacts on environmental justice communities, as 215
defined in section 22a-20a of the general statutes; increasing ridership of 216
mass transit systems; increasing the feasibility of walking, biking and 217
utilizing other means of mobility other than motor vehicle travel; 218
reducing the need for motor vehicle travel; maximizing the availability 219
of developable land; increasing the economic viability of development 220
projects; reducing the length of time to approve applications for 221
development; parking requirements; lot size; lot coverage; setback 222
requirements; floor area ratio; height restrictions; and inclusionary 223
zoning requirements. Such guidelines may include model ordinances, 224
regulations or bylaws that may be adopted by a municipality pursuant 225
to section 8-2 of the general statutes. Except as provided in subdivision 226
(2) of this subsection, regulations developed by a qualifying transit-227
oriented community concerning transit-oriented districts within such 228
community shall substantially comply with the guidelines adopted by 229
the secretary. The secretary, or the secretary's designee, may offer 230
technical assistance to any qualifying transit-oriented community 231
concerning the adoption of such regulations. 232
(2) If a qualifying transit-oriented community seeks to adopt 233
regulations concerning a transit-oriented district that do not 234
substantially comply with the guidelines developed pursuant to 235
subdivision (1) of this subsection, or subsection (f) or (g) of this section, 236
such community shall seek an exemption by submitting an application, 237
in a form and manner prescribed by the secretary, that specifies the 238
reasons such community seeks to adopt regulations that do not 239
substantially comply with the guidelines developed by the secretary, or 240
subsection (f) or (g) of this section, except no community may seek an 241
exemption from the provisions of subsection (f) or (g) of this section 242
unless the secretary determines such community is a qualifying transit-243
oriented community pursuant to subsection (i) of this section. Not later 244
than sixty days after the receipt of any such application, the secretary 245
shall approve or deny such exemption in writing. The secretary shall not 246
unreasonably withhold approval for any such exemption. 247
(3) If an application submitted pursuant to subdivision (2) of this 248 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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subsection is denied by the secretary, the transit-oriented community 249
that submitted such application may opt out of the provisions of this 250
section and no longer qualify for discretionary infrastructure funding 251
on a priority basis pursuant to this section, provided such community 252
shall return any discretionary infrastructure funding such community 253
received pursuant to this section. 254
(l) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, 255
any qualifying transit-oriented community with one or more transit-256
oriented districts located in an activity zone, as identified in the state 257
plan of conservation and development adopted under chapter 297 of the 258
general statutes for the years 2025 to 2030, inclusive, shall be awarded 259
discretionary infrastructure funding by the agency administering any 260
such funding at a higher priority than a qualifying transit-oriented 261
community without any such district located in any such zone. 262
(m) The secretary, or the secretary's designee, may provide a 263
municipality with an interpretation or written guidance concerning 264
whether zoning regulations adopted or proposed to be adopted by such 265
municipality, if such regulations apply to a transit-oriented district, 266
comply with the requirements of this section or section 2 of this act. 267
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to allow the secretary to 268
impose any additional requirement upon any such district or 269
municipality that is not specified in this section or section 8-2 of the 270
general statutes. 271
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) For the purposes of this 272
section, "qualifying transit-adjacent community" means a municipality 273
(1) without a rapid transit station, (2) that borders a municipality that 274
has one or more rapid transit stations or regular bus service stations, 275
and (3) that designates a transit-oriented district in or adjacent to a 276
downtown area located in such municipality; 277
(b) A municipality may, by resolution of the municipality's legislative 278
body, request that the State Responsible Growth Coordinator deem such 279
municipality a qualifying transit-adjacent community. The coordinator 280 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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shall designate such municipality a qualifying transit-adjacent 281
community if the coordinator finds that such municipality (1) meets the 282
definition of such community provided in subsection (a) of this section, 283
and (2) is not a qualifying transit-oriented community. 284
(c) A municipality deemed by the coordinator to be a qualifying 285
transit-adjacent community shall be entitled to any discretionary 286
infrastructure funding available to a qualifying transit-oriented 287
community if such municipality adopts a transit-oriented district that 288
complies with the requirements concerning such districts provided in 289
section 1 of this act. 290
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) There is established an 291
interagency council on housing development to advise and assist the 292
State Responsible Growth Coordinator in reviewing regulations, 293
developing guidelines and establishing programs concerning transit-294
oriented districts to support the responsible growth of housing in the 295
state. 296
(b) The council shall consist of the following regular members: (1) The 297
State Responsible Growth Coordinator; (2) the Secretary of the Office of 298
Policy and Management, or the secretary's designee; (3) the 299
Commissioner of Housing, or the commissioner's designee; (4) the 300
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, or the 301
commissioner's designee; (5) the Commissioner of Energy and 302
Environmental Protection, or the commissioner's designee; (6) the 303
Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee; (7) the 304
Commissioner of Transportation, or the commissioner's designee; (8) 305
the chief executive officer of the Connecticut Housing Finance 306
Authority, or the chief executive officer's designee; and (9) the chief 307
executive officer of the Municipal Redevelopment Authority, or the 308
chief executive officer's designee. 309
(c) In addition to the regular members set forth in subsection (b) of 310
this section, the council may consist of any ad hoc members that the 311
State Responsible Growth Coordinator determines are necessary to 312 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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complete the work of the council. 313
(d) The chairperson of the council shall be the State Responsible 314
Growth Coordinator. 315
(e) The council shall convene not later than July 1, 2025, and meet not 316
less than once every six months and more often upon the call of the 317
chairperson, to: 318
(1) Review and evaluate the plans, programs, regulations and policies 319
of state or quasi-public agencies for opportunities to combine efforts and 320
resources of such agencies to increase housing development; 321
(2) Develop consistent reporting methods concerning data and 322
documentation related to housing development; 323
(3) Provide a forum to develop approaches to housing growth that 324
balance both needs for conservation and development, including the 325
need for additional housing and economic growth, the protection of 326
natural resources and the maintenance and support for existing 327
infrastructure; 328
(4) Review existing discretionary grant programs to make 329
recommendations to state or quasi-public agencies concerning the 330
adherence of such programs with the goals established in the state plan 331
of conservation and development adopted under chapter 297 of the 332
general statutes. Such recommendations shall include, but need not be 333
limited to, methods to increase the development of deed-restricted 334
housing in transit-oriented districts and middle housing, as defined in 335
section 8-1a of the general statutes; and 336
(5) Develop guidelines, in consultation with the Secretary of the 337
Office of Policy and Management and consistent with the requirements 338
of subsection (k) of section 1 of this act, concerning the adoption and 339
development of transit-oriented districts within qualifying transit-340
oriented communities. 341
(f) Not later than October 1, 2026, the council shall submit a report, in 342 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, 343
to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 344
cognizance of matters relating to planning and development and 345
housing, concerning the recommendations and guidelines developed by 346
the council pursuant to subdivisions (4) and (5) of subsection (e) of this 347
section. The coordinator shall publish such recommendations and 348
guidelines on the Internet web site of the Office of Policy and 349
Management. 350
(g) Not later than October 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the council 351
shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 352
of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General 353
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to planning and 354
development and housing, concerning the recommendations of the 355
council. 356
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) The Secretary of the Office of 357
Policy and Management may establish, within available appropriations, 358
a program to provide grants to regional councils of governments for the 359
development of projects related to public transit infrastructure, bicycle 360
infrastructure or pedestrian infrastructure. 361
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) There is established an 362
account to be known as the "public water and sewer rehabilitation or 363
expansion account" which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account 364
within the General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys 365
required by law to be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account 366
shall be expended by the Commissioner of Public Health, or the 367
commissioner's designee, for the purposes of rehabilitating or 368
expanding public water and sewerage infrastructure for any transit-369
oriented district established by a municipality pursuant to section 1 of 370
this act. Proceeds from such account may be provided to any qualifying 371
rapid transit community, a qualifying bus transit community or any 372
owner of real property in a development approved for such funding at 373
the discretion of the Commissioner of Public Health located within a 374
transit-oriented district. 375 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 8-169tt of the general statutes is 376
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 377
1, 2025): 378
(a) As used in this section, "housing growth zone" means (1) any area 379
within a municipality in which applicable zoning regulations adopted 380
pursuant to section 8-2 are designed to facilitate substantial 381
development of new dwelling units consistent with subsection (c) of this 382
section, or (2) any transit-oriented district established by a municipality 383
pursuant to section 1 of this act. Any housing growth zone shall 384
encompass an entire development district and may include areas 385
outside such district. 386
Sec. 7. Subsection (f) of section 8-2o of the general statutes is repealed 387
and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 388
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (d), inclusive, 389
of this section, the zoning commission or combined planning and 390
zoning commission, as applicable, of a municipality, by a two-thirds 391
vote, may initiate the process by which such municipality opts out of 392
the provisions of said subsections regarding the allowance of accessory 393
apartments, provided such commission: (1) First holds a public hearing 394
in accordance with the provisions of section 8-7d on such proposed opt-395
out, (2) affirmatively decides to opt out of the provisions of said 396
subsections within the period of time permitted under section 8-7d, (3) 397
states [upon its] in the records of such commission the reasons for such 398
decision, and (4) publishes notice of such decision in a newspaper 399
having a substantial circulation in the municipality not later than fifteen 400
days after such decision has been rendered. Thereafter, the 401
municipality's legislative body or, in a municipality where the 402
legislative body is a town meeting, [its] such municipality's board of 403
selectmen, by a two-thirds vote, may complete the process by which 404
such municipality opts out of the provisions of subsections (a) to (d), 405
inclusive, of this section, except that, on and after January 1, 2023, no 406
municipality may opt out of the provisions of said subsections. 407 Substitute Bill No. 6831
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Sec. 8. Section 8-2o of the general statutes is amended by adding 408
subsection (g) as follows (Effective October 1, 2025): 409
(NEW) (g) Notwithstanding any prior action of the municipality to 410
opt out of the provisions of subsections (a) to (d), inclusive, of this 411
section, pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, any owner of real 412
property located within a transit-oriented district, as defined in section 413
1 of this act, who has owned real property in the municipality for not 414
fewer than three years may construct an accessory apartment as of right 415
on such real property, provided such accessory apartment shall comply 416
with any structural or architectural requirements imposed by any 417
zoning regulations adopted pursuant to section 8-2. 418
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2025 8-169tt(a)
Sec. 7 October 1, 2025 8-2o(f)
Sec. 8 October 1, 2025 8-2o(g)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a)(1), a duplicate instance of "22a-477" was deleted for
accuracy.
PD Joint Favorable Subst.