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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6944
AN ACT REQUIRING A MUNICIPALITY TO INCLUDE CERTAIN
INFORMATION IN ITS AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN.
SUMMARY
This bill changes the requirements for most municipal affordable
housing plans adopted under CGS § 8-30j, generally requiring these
plans to “create a realistic opportunity” for developers to build the
amount of affordable housing that was allocated to the municipality
under the “municipal affordable housing allocation” (i.e. the fair share
allocation established under existing law, see BACKGROUND).
Municipalities must also change local regulations and policies to create
a “reasonable opportunity” for the development of such allocation. The
bill makes the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) secretary
responsible for reviewing and approving these priority affordable
housing plans and policy changes. Certain nonprofits and housing
developers may bring an action in Superior Court requiring the
secretary to defend his approval.
If a municipality complies with the bill’s requirements, or is exempt
from them (i.e. has a relatively low per-capita grand list), it may be
prioritized for certain discretionary state funding.
Municipalities that do not have to adopt priority plans must still
adopt affordable housing plans every five years, as existing law
requires. But the bill eliminates the requirements in current law that the
plans show how municipalities will increase their affordable housing
stock (as defined for purposes of bringing suit under the affordable
housing land use appeals procedure) and improve the accessibility of
these units for people with disabilities, as well as other requirements. It
does not replace these provisions with any specific requirements for the
non-priority plans. But, as noted above, it does establish new content
requirements for priority plans. The bill requires the OPM secretary to 2025HB-06944-R000266-BA.DOCX
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post all affordable housing plans on OPM’s website.
The bill requires the OPM secretary, by December 15, 2035, and then
every 10 years, to update affordable housing “estimates” and fair share
allocations (these must be completed only once under existing law).
(Presumably, “estimates” refers to need for affordable housing units.)
The bill also requires the OPM secretary, or if designated by the
secretary, the housing commissioner or Connecticut Housing Finance
Authority’s chief executive officer, to make grants available (within
available funding) to municipalities and regional councils of
governments to support compliance with the bill’s provisions through
municipal planning and zoning technical assistance.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN DISCRETIONAR Y FUNDING
Municipalities are eligible for prioritized discretionary funding from
certain state programs if they (1) comply with the bill’s requirements for
adopting priority plans and implementing changes to zoning and
related policies or (2) are exempt from making priority plans.
Specifically, the bill requires the OPM secretary to make
recommendations to the state agency responsible for the specified
funding and permits the agency to prioritize an eligible municipality if
the grant program allows for such priority designation. The funding the
bill’s provisions prioritize for eligible municipalities is:
1. Small Town Economic Assistance Program grants,
2. Main Street Investment Fund grants,
3. Incentive Housing Zone Program grants, and
4. Town Aid Road Program grants awarded pursuant to a waiver
(i.e. for projects not specified in statute).
The bill specifies that if a municipality receives funding specifically
related to affordable housing development, the bill does not prohibit it 2025HB-06944-R000266-BA.DOCX
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from using the funding in a way that also benefits real property not
being used for affordable housing development.
PRIORITY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLANS AND LOCAL POLICY
CHANGES
Municipalities required to complete priority plans must ensure the
plans create a “realistic opportunity” for the development of the number
of affordable housing units allocated to the municipality under the fair
share allocation. Under the bill, the OPM secretary is responsible for
reviewing and approving plans and related adopted changes to local
zoning and other policies.
Covered Municipalities
Current law requires each municipality to prepare and adopt a
municipal affordable housing plan by June 1, 2022, and then at least
every five years after that. Under the bill, municipalities will still be
required to adopt these plans every five years, but most municipalities
will be required to create a more comprehensive priority affordable
housing plan (“priority plan”). Specifically, the priority plan
requirement applies to any municipality in the highest 80% of net
equalized per capita grand list income, as of June 1 of the year prior to
the year the plan is due. (Presumably, the OPM secretary will make this
determination and inform municipalities.)
Planning for Fair Share Allocation
The plan must specify how the municipality will use its powers,
including zoning powers, to create a “realistic opportunity” for the
development of the number of affordable housing units allocated to the
municipality under the fair share allocation. Under the bill, “realistic
opportunity” means the possibility for affordable housing to be
constructed for the benefit of low-income households (i.e. those at or
below 80% of the area median income) in a time frame and with
administrative burdens (including fees and hearings) comparable to
what the municipality imposes on applicants seeking to build single-
family homes. In planning for the affordable housing units, the
municipality must take into account financial feasibility and applicable
municipal rules, policies, and practices. 2025HB-06944-R000266-BA.DOCX
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The bill further specifies that in making its plan, a municipality must
plan for affordable housing of different specified types, as shown in the
below table. “Affordable housing units” must be deed-restricted to
preserve them as affordable to low-income households (but the bill does
not specify for how long).
Table: Deed-Restricted Affordable Housing Planning Requirements
Affordable Unit Requirements Required Share of
Affordable Units
Preserved as affordable for very low-income households (i.e.
at or below 50% of the area median income)
At least 20%
Rental units At least 50%
Units unrestricted by occupant age At least 75%
Units unrestricted by occupant age with two or more
bedrooms
At least 50%
Units with at least two bedrooms At least 80%
As part of their plan, municipalities must also examine zoning and
other policies to identify changes required locally to allow for the
development of required affordable housing as described above. These
proposed changes, like the priority plan, must be submitted to the OPM
secretary for approval.
OPM Approval Process for Priority Plans
Municipalities must submit their priority plans to OPM for approval
using a written application. In applying for approval, the municipality
must submit any evidence required by statute or regulation
(presumably, evidence of how the plan complies with applicable
requirements).
The OPM secretary must promptly have notice of the pending
application published in the Connecticut Law Journal, including notice
that he will be accepting public comments for 30 days following the
notice’s publication. Within 90 days of receiving the application, he
must approve or reject it, accompanied by a written statement with his
reasons. If the application is approved, the secretary must promptly
publish notice of the certificate of priority affordable housing plan
approval in the Connecticut Law Journal. 2025HB-06944-R000266-BA.DOCX
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If no action is taken within 90 days, the plan is deemed provisionally
approved and retains that status unless the secretary acts to reject the
application and notifies the municipality. It is unclear whether
provisionally approved plans qualify a municipality for prioritized
discretionary funding.
Standards Set in Regulation. Within available appropriations, the
secretary must adopt regulations on the review and approval of these
priority plans. They must include criteria for evaluating whether the
plan creates a “reasonable opportunity” for the creation of the required
units (it is unclear if this is the same standard as “realistic
opportunity,” which applies to municipalities as they create their
plans).
In addition to any criteria the secretary deems appropriate, the
regulations must require:
1. identification of specific zones or parcels in the municipality
sufficient to build its affordable housing allocation as-of-right;
2. that the permitted density for the zones or parcels be specified;
3. a summary of the appropriate and necessary changes to other
municipal processes and procedures that will be made to allow
for the creation of the municipality’s affordable housing
allocation; and
4. an explanation, documented by evidence, of (a) how the plan
complies with the bill’s requirements or (b) why the municipality
is unable to create such a plan.
The bill requires the regulations to also specify the process for
reviewing and approving the municipality’s related local zoning and
other policy changes to ensure they create a “reasonable opportunity”
for the development of the affordable housing allocation (see below).
OPM Approval Process for Zoning and Other Policy Changes
Within 12 months of having its priority plan approved (or, 2025HB-06944-R000266-BA.DOCX
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presumably, having it deemed provisionally approved), a municipality
must submit to the secretary its application for approval of amended
and adopted zoning and other policy changes.
The secretary has 90 days to approve or reject them in writing, and
must include the reasons for the decision. If approved, the secretary
must have published in the Connecticut Law Journal a “certificate of
zoning and policy changes approval.” If no action is taken within 90
days, the application is deemed provisionally approved and retains that
status unless the secretary acts to reject the application and notifies the
municipality. (It is unclear whether provisionally approved applications
qualify a municipality for prioritization of discretionary state funding.)
REMEDY FOR IMPROPERLY APPROVED PLAN
The bill allows any “interested party” (see below) to bring an action
in Superior Court to review, and seek a declaratory judgement on, any
approved priority plan’s conformity with the bill’s requirements. The
bill specifies that the court must determine whether the plan
“substantially complies.” The burden is on the OPM secretary to prove,
based on the evidence in the record upon which the approval was made,
that the approval and the reasons cited for it are supported by sufficient
evidence.
If the interested party prevails, the court may grant legal and
equitable relief it deems appropriate, including temporary or
permanent injunctive relief, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and
court costs.
Interested Party Defined
Under the bill, an “interested party” is a (1) nonprofit organization
whose mission is to provide or advocate for increased access to, and
supply of, affordable housing or (2) housing developer seeking to
construct housing that would contribute to a municipality’s affordable
housing allocation. The intended or proposed housing development
must qualify as “assisted housing” or a “set-aside development” under
the current affordable housing land use appeals procedure statute (CGS
§ 8-30g), or meet the following minimum requirements relative to the 2025HB-06944-R000266-BA.DOCX
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total number of units in the development:
1. at least 20% must be age unrestricted, deed-restricted affordable
units (inclusive of the units described below for very low-income
households);
2. at least 5% must be deed-restricted affordable units for
households earning up to 50% of area median income (i.e. very
low-income households); and
3. at least 10% of deed-restricted units must have at least two
bedrooms (presumably, deed-restricted affordable units).
BACKGROUND
Fair Share Allocation
A 2023 law required the OPM secretary, in consultation with the
housing and economic and community development commissioners, to
create a methodology for each municipality’s fair share allocation of
affordable housing by generally (1) determining the need for affordable
housing units in each of the state’s planning regions and (2) fairly
allocating this need to each region’s municipalities.
The OPM secretary must, in consultation with these commissioners,
use the methodology to determine the minimum need for affordable
housing units for each planning region and a municipal fair share
allocation for each region’s municipalities. The methodology must
generally rely on specified federal data and meet certain requirements.
Related Bills
sSB 1252, favorably reported by the Housing Committee, makes it
easier for a municipality that adopts an overlay zone covering at least
10% of its developable land, in which multifamily housing is allowed
as-of-right, to qualify for a moratorium under the affordable housing
land use appeals procedure (i.e. CGS § 8-30g).
sHB 6831, favorably reported by the Planning and Development
Committee, makes municipalities that plan to adopt zoning regulations
allowing certain housing developments to be built as-of-right in a 2025HB-06944-R000266-BA.DOCX
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transit-oriented district eligible for prioritization of infrastructure
funding for use within the district.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Housing Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 12 Nay 6 (03/06/2025)