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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7148
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5012
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
(PD)
AN ACT CONCERNING RESIDENTIAL AND MIXED -USE
DEVELOPMENTS IN COMMERCIAL ZONES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 8-2 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2025): 3
(b) Zoning regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of this 4
section shall: 5
(1) Be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan and in 6
consideration of the plan of conservation and development adopted 7
under section 8-23; 8
(2) Be designed to (A) lessen congestion in the streets; (B) secure 9
safety from fire, panic, flood and other dangers; (C) promote health and 10
the general welfare; (D) provide adequate light and air; (E) protect the 11
state's historic, tribal, cultural and environmental resources; (F) facilitate 12
the adequate provision for transportation, water, sewerage, schools, 13
parks and other public requirements; (G) consider the impact of 14
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permitted land uses on contiguous municipalities and on the planning 15
region, as defined in section 4-124i, in which such municipality is 16
located; (H) address significant disparities in housing needs and access 17
to educational, occupational and other opportunities; (I) promote 18
efficient review of proposals and applications; and (J) affirmatively 19
further the purposes of the federal Fair Housing Act, 42 USC 3601 et 20
seq., as amended from time to time; 21
(3) Be drafted with reasonable consideration as to the physical site 22
characteristics of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular 23
uses and with a view to encouraging the most appropriate use of land 24
throughout a municipality; 25
(4) Provide for the development of housing opportunities, including 26
opportunities for multifamily dwellings, consistent with soil types, 27
terrain and infrastructure capacity, for all residents of the municipality 28
and the planning region in which the municipality is located, as 29
designated by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management 30
under section 16a-4a; 31
(5) Promote housing choice and economic diversity in housing, 32
including housing for both low and moderate income households; 33
(6) Expressly allow the development of housing which will meet the 34
housing needs identified in the state's consolidated plan for housing and 35
community development prepared pursuant to section 8-37t and in the 36
housing component and the other components of the state plan of 37
conservation and development prepared pursuant to section 16a-26; 38
(7) Be made with reasonable consideration for the impact of such 39
regulations on agriculture, as defined in subsection (q) of section 1-1; 40
(8) Provide that proper provisions be made for soil erosion and 41
sediment control pursuant to section 22a-329; 42
(9) Be made with reasonable consideration for the protection of 43
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existing and potential public surface and ground drinking water 44
supplies; [and] 45
(10) In any municipality that is contiguous to or on a navigable 46
waterway draining to Long Island Sound, (A) be made with reasonable 47
consideration for the restoration and protection of the ecosystem and 48
habitat of Long Island Sound; (B) be designed to reduce hypoxia, 49
pathogens, toxic contaminants and floatable debris on Long Island 50
Sound; and (C) provide that such municipality's zoning commission 51
consider the environmental impact on Long Island Sound coastal 52
resources, as defined in section 22a-93, of any proposal for development; 53
and 54
(11) Allow for the as-of-right development of a residential 55
development or a mixed-use development on any lot that allows for 56
commercial use. 57
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 8-2(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To allow the as-of-right development of a residential development or a
mixed-use development on any lot that allows for commercial use.
[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.]