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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6944
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4591
Referred to Committee on HOUSING
Introduced by:
(HSG)
AN ACT REQUIRING A MUNICIPALITY TO INCLUDE CERTAIN
INFORMATION IN ITS AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 8-30j of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
(a) As used in this section: 3
(1) "Affordable housing plan" means a plan for the development of 4
affordable housing units in a municipality. 5
(2) "Affordable housing unit" has the same meaning as provided in 6
section 4-68ii. 7
(3) "Discretionary funding" means any grant, loan or other financial 8
assistance program administered by the state under the provisions of 9
sections 4-66g, 4-66h and 8-13m to 8-13x, inclusive, and subsection (b) of 10
section 13a-175a. 11
(4) "Interested party" means an organization that has received tax-12
exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service and whose mission 13
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includes providing or advocating for increased access to and supply of 14
housing for low-income households or an entity that seeks to construct 15
a housing development contributing to a municipality's affordable 16
housing allocation. 17
(5) "Housing development" means an intended or proposed 18
development that: (A) conforms with subdivision (3) or (6) of subsection 19
(a) of section 8-30g, as in effect as of January 1, 2025, or (B) includes (i) 20
at least twenty per cent of all units as affordable housing units that are 21
non-age-restricted, affordable and sold or rented to low-income 22
households; (ii) at least five per cent of all units in the development as 23
affordable housing units and are sold or rented to very low income 24
households, with such units counting toward the overall twenty per 25
cent of affordable housing units in the development; and (iii) at least ten 26
per cent of all deed-restricted units have two or more bedrooms. 27
(6) "Low-income household" means a person or family with an 28
annual income at or below eighty per cent of the median income. 29
(7) "Municipal affordable housing allocation" has the same meaning 30
as provided in subsection (a) of section 4-68ii. 31
(8) "Realistic opportunity" means the possibility for affordable 32
housing to be constructed for the benefit of low-income households in a 33
time frame and with administrative burdens, including fees and 34
hearings comparable to those for single-family homes, while 35
considering financial feasibility and applicable municipal rules, policies 36
and practices. 37
(9) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 38
Management. 39
(10) "Very low income household" means a person or family with an 40
annual income less than or equal to fifty per cent of the area median 41
income. 42
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[(a) (1)] (b) Not later than June 1, [2022] 2027, and at least once every 43
five years thereafter, each municipality shall prepare or amend and 44
adopt an affordable housing plan for the municipality and shall submit 45
a copy of such plan to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and 46
Management. [Such plan shall specify how the municipality intends to 47
(A) increase the number of affordable housing developments in the 48
municipality, and (B) for any affordable housing plan submitted after 49
October 1, 2023, improve the accessibility of affordable housing units for 50
individuals with an intellectual disability or other developmental 51
disabilities.] The secretary shall post such housing plan on the office's 52
Internet web site. 53
(c) Any municipality in the highest eighty per cent of net equalized 54
per capita grand list income as of June first of the year prior to the year 55
the plan is due shall complete a priority affordable housing plan. Such 56
plan shall specify how the municipality intends to use its municipal 57
powers, including zoning, to create a realistic opportunity for the 58
development of the number of affordable housing units allocated to it 59
pursuant to subdivision (7) of subsection (a) of section 4-68ii. Among 60
the total units planned, at least: (1) Twenty per cent of all units shall be 61
affordable for very low income households; (2) fifty per cent of all units 62
shall be rental units; (3) seventy-five per cent of all units shall not be 63
restricted by age of occupant; (4) fifty per cent of all units shall not be 64
restricted by age of occupant and shall include two or more bedrooms; 65
and (5) eighty per cent of all units shall contain at least two bedrooms. 66
(d) A municipality shall apply for approval of its priority affordable 67
housing plan pursuant to this subsection by applying in writing to the 68
secretary, including any evidence required by statute or regulations 69
adopted by the secretary pursuant to subsection (h) of this section. Upon 70
receipt of such application, the secretary shall promptly cause a notice 71
of the filing of the application to be published in the Connecticut Law 72
Journal, stating that public comment on such application shall be 73
accepted by the secretary for a period of thirty days after the publication 74
of such notice. Not later than ninety days after receipt of such 75
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application, the secretary shall either approve or reject such application. 76
Such approval or rejection shall be accompanied by a written statement 77
of the reasons for approval or rejection, pursuant to the provisions of 78
this subsection. If the application is approved, the secretary shall 79
promptly cause a certificate of priority affordable housing plan 80
approval to be published in the Connecticut Law Journal. If the secretary 81
fails to either approve or reject the application within such ninety-day 82
period, such application shall be deemed provisionally approved. Such 83
provisional approval shall remain in effect unless the secretary 84
subsequently acts upon and rejects the application, in which case the 85
provisional approval shall terminate upon notice to the municipality by 86
the secretary. 87
(e) A municipality shall submit an application for approval of its 88
amended zoning and other policies within twelve months of the 89
approval of its priority affordable housing plan. Not later than ninety 90
days after the receipt of such application, the secretary shall either 91
approve or reject the application. Such approval or rejection shall be 92
accompanied by a written statement of the reasons for approval or 93
rejection. If the application is approved, the secretary shall promptly 94
cause a certificate of zoning and policy changes approval to be 95
published in the Connecticut Law Journal. If the secretary fails to either 96
approve or reject the zoning and policy changes within such ninety-day 97
period, such application shall be deemed provisionally approved. Such 98
provisional approval shall remain in effect unless the secretary 99
subsequently acts upon and rejects the application, in which case the 100
provisional approval shall terminate upon notice to the municipality by 101
the secretary. 102
(f) [(2)] If, at the same time the municipality is required to submit to 103
the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management an affordable 104
housing plan pursuant to [subdivision (1) of this] subsection (b) of this 105
section, the municipality is also required to submit to the secretary a 106
plan of conservation and development pursuant to section 8-23, such 107
affordable housing plan may be included as part of such plan of 108
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conservation and development. The municipality may, to coincide with 109
its submission to the secretary of a plan of conservation and 110
development, submit to the secretary an affordable housing plan early, 111
provided the municipality's next such submission of an affordable 112
housing plan shall be five years thereafter. 113
(g) [(b)] The municipality may hold public informational meetings or 114
organize other activities to inform residents about the process of 115
preparing the plan and shall post a copy of any draft plan or amendment 116
to such plan on the Internet web site of the municipality. If the 117
municipality holds a public hearing, such posting shall occur at least 118
thirty-five days prior to the public hearing. After adoption of the plan, 119
the municipality shall file the final plan in the office of the town clerk of 120
such municipality and post the plan on the Internet web site of the 121
municipality. 122
[(c) Following adoption, the municipality shall regularly review and 123
maintain such plan. The municipality may adopt such geographical, 124
functional or other amendments to the plan or parts of the plan, in 125
accordance with the provisions of this section, as it deems necessary. If 126
the municipality fails to amend and submit to the Secretary of the Office 127
of Policy and Management such plan every five years, the chief elected 128
official of the municipality shall submit a letter to the secretary that (1) 129
explains why such plan was not amended, and (2) designates a date by 130
which an amended plan shall be submitted.] 131
(h) The secretary shall, within available appropriations, adopt 132
regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 regarding 133
review and approval of priority affordable housing plans. Such 134
regulations shall include criteria for evaluating whether the plan creates 135
a reasonable opportunity for the creation of the units allocated to the 136
municipality. Such regulations shall require: (1) Identification of specific 137
zones or parcels in the municipality sufficient to build the municipality's 138
allocation of affordable housing as of right; (2) the permitted density for 139
such zones or parcels; (3) a summary of the appropriate and necessary 140
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changes to other municipal processes and procedures to be made to 141
allow for the creation of the municipality's allocation of affordable 142
housing; (4) an explanation, documented by evidence, of how the plan 143
meets the obligations of this section or why the municipality is unable 144
to do so; and (5) such additional criteria as the secretary deems 145
appropriate. Such regulations shall also set forth the process for the 146
review and approval of zoning and other policy changes adopted by the 147
municipality to implement the approved plan and shall include criteria 148
for evaluating whether updated zoning and other policies adopted by 149
the municipality create a reasonable opportunity for the creation of the 150
units allocated to the municipality. 151
(i) An interested party may bring an action in Superior Court to 152
review the conformity with the provisions of this section of any 153
approved priority affordable housing plan, or portion thereof or 154
revision thereto, pursuant to section 52-29. The Superior Court's review 155
of compliance with the provisions of this section shall extend to whether 156
the priority affordable housing plan, or portion thereof or revision 157
thereto, substantially complies with the requirements of this section. 158
The burden shall be on the secretary to prove, based upon the evidence 159
in the record upon which the approval was made, that the approval and 160
the reasons cited for such approval are supported by sufficient evidence 161
in the record. If the interested party prevails, the Superior Court may 162
grant such legal and equitable relief which it deems appropriate, 163
including the remedies set forth in section 46a-104, as amended by this 164
act. 165
(j) Not later than December 15, 2035, and every ten years thereafter, 166
the secretary shall produce updated affordable housing estimates and 167
allocations as described in subsection (b) of section 4-68ii. 168
(k) Any municipality not required to create a priority affordable 169
housing plan, or with an approved priority affordable housing plan and, 170
within twelve months, that has implemented approved changes to 171
zoning and related policies, shall be eligible for prioritized discretionary 172
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funding. The secretary shall make recommendations to the state agency 173
responsible for administering such funding and, if a priority 174
designation is permitted for such funding, such agency may prioritize 175
any eligible municipality over any municipality that is not eligible. 176
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the use of funding 177
received pursuant to this section if the use of such funding to improve, 178
expand, manage or maintain real property for the purposes of 179
developing affordable housing also benefits real property not used for 180
the purposes of developing affordable housing. 181
(l) Within available funding, the secretary, or, if designated by the 182
secretary, the Commissioner of Housing or chief executive officer of the 183
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, shall make available grants to 184
municipalities and councils of government to support municipal 185
planning and zoning technical assistance to comply with the provisions 186
of this section. 187
Sec. 2. Section 46a-104 of the general statutes is repealed and the 188
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 189
The court may grant a complainant in an action brought in 190
accordance with section 46a-100 or section 8-30j, as amended by this act, 191
such legal and equitable relief which it deems appropriate including, 192
but not limited to, temporary or permanent injunctive relief, punitive 193
damages, attorney's fees and court costs. The amount of attorney's fees 194
allowed shall not be contingent upon the amount of damages requested 195
by or awarded to the complainant. 196
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 8-30j
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 46a-104
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Statement of Purpose:
To require a municipality to include certain information in its affordable
housing plan.
[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.]