Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB01313 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2	2
3		-	LCO 1 of 5
	3	+	LCO No. 3733 1 of 5
4	4
5		-	General Assembly ~~Substitute~~ Bill No. 1313
	5	+	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1313
6	6		January Session, 2025
	7	+	LCO No. 3733
7	8
	9	+
	10	+	Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
	11	+
	12	+
	13	+	Introduced by:
	14	+	(PD)
8	15
9	16
10	17		AN ACT INCREASING HOUSING DEVELOPMENT WITHIN ONE -HALF
11	18		MILE OF PUBLIC TRANSIT STATIONS.
12	19		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
13	20		Assembly convened:
14	21
15	22		Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section, 1
16	23		(1) "as of right" means able to be approved in accordance with the terms 2
17	24		of a zoning regulation and without requiring that a public hearing be 3
18	25		held, a variance, special permit or special exception be granted or any 4
19	26		other discretionary zoning action be taken, and (2) "dwelling unit" 5
20	27		means any house or building, or portion thereof, that is occupied, 6
21	28		designed to be occupied, or rented, leased or hired out to be occupied, 7
22	29		exclusively as a home or residence for one or more persons, without age 8
23	30		restrictions and suitable for families with children. 9
24	31		(b) Any zoning regulations adopted pursuant to section 8-2 of the 10
25		-	general statutes, as amended by this act, shall permit, as of right, 11
26		-	housing developments that (1) have a minimum overall average gross 12
27		-	density of fifteen dwelling units per acre, and (2) are located within a 13
28		-	one-half-mile radius of any passenger rail or commuter rail station or 14
29		-	any bus rapid transit station. A municipality with multiple such stations 15
30		-	may calculate overall average allowable gross density across all such 16
31		-	stations. 17
32		-	(c) Any development permitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this 18
33		-	section may be subject to zoning regulations that impose parking 19 Substitute Bill No. 1313
	32	+	general statutes, as amended by this act, shall allow, as of right, housing 11
	33	+	developments that (1) have a minimum overall average gross density of 12
	34	+	fifteen dwelling units per acre, and (2) are located within a one-half-mile 13
	35	+	radius of any passenger rail or commuter rail station or any bus rapid 14
	36	+	transit station. A municipality with multiple such stations may calculate 15
	37	+	overall average allowable gross density across all such stations. 16
	38	+	(c) Any development permitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this 17
	39	+	Raised Bill No. 1313
34	40
35	41
36		-	LCO 2 of 5
37	42
38		-	requirements not to exceed (1) one parking spot for any studio or one-20
39		-	bedroom dwelling unit, and (2) two parking spots for each dwelling unit 21
40		-	that contains two or more bedrooms for any housing development with 22
41		-	a minimum overall average gross density of at least fifteen dwelling 23
42		-	units per acre located within a one-half-mile radius of any passenger rail 24
43		-	or commuter rail station or any bus rapid transit station. 25
44		-	(d) The following lands are exempt from the requirements of 26
45		-	subsection (b) of this section: Roadways, railways, regulated inland 27
46		-	wetlands and watercourse areas, steep slopes of fifteen per cent or more 28
47		-	in grade change within a single lot, ledges, special flood hazard areas 29
48		-	defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, wetlands, as 30
49		-	defined in section 22a-29 of the general statutes, public parkland, land 31
50		-	subject to conservation or preservation restrictions, as defined in section 32
51		-	47-42a of the general statutes, coastal resources protected pursuant to 33
52		-	chapter 444 of the general statutes, areas necessary for the protection of 34
53		-	drinking water supplies, areas identified as likely to be inundated 35
54		-	during a thirty-year flood event by the Connecticut Institute for 36
55		-	Resilience and Climate Adaptation pursuant to the institute's 37
56		-	responsibilities to conduct sea level change scenarios pursuant to 38
57		-	subsection (b) of section 25-68o of the general statutes and areas that are 39
58		-	not served by water and sewer infrastructure. 40
59		-	(e) The as of right application and review process for approval of 41
60		-	housing developments described in this section shall require that a 42
61		-	decision on any such application be rendered not later than sixty-five 43
62		-	days after receipt of such application by the applicable zoning official, 44
63		-	except that an applicant may consent to one or more extensions of not 45
64		-	more than sixty-five days for each such extension or may withdraw such 46
65		-	application. 47
66		-	(f) If a municipality fails to adopt new regulations or amend existing 48
67		-	regulations to comply with the provisions of this section prior to 49
68		-	October 1, 2026, any such noncompliant existing regulation shall be void 50
69		-	and such municipality shall approve or deny applications in accordance 51
70		-	with the requirements of this section until such municipality adopts or 52 Substitute Bill No. 1313
	43	+	LCO No. 3733 2 of 5
	44	+
	45	+	section may be subject to zoning regulations that impose parking 18
	46	+	requirements not to exceed (1) one parking spot for any studio or one-19
	47	+	bedroom dwelling unit, and (2) two parking spots for each dwelling unit 20
	48	+	that contains two or more bedrooms for any housing development with 21
	49	+	a minimum overall average gross density of at least fifteen dwelling 22
	50	+	units per acre located within a one-half-mile radius of any passenger rail 23
	51	+	or commuter rail station or any bus rapid transit station. 24
	52	+	(d) The following lands are exempt from the requirements of 25
	53	+	subsection (b) of this section: Roadways, railways, regulated inland 26
	54	+	wetlands and watercourse areas, steep slopes of fifteen per cent or more 27
	55	+	in grade change within a single lot, ledges, special flood hazard areas 28
	56	+	defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, wetlands, as 29
	57	+	defined in section 22a-29 of the general statutes, public parkland, land 30
	58	+	subject to conservation or preservation restrictions, as defined in section 31
	59	+	47-42a of the general statutes, coastal resources protected by the 32
	60	+	Connecticut Coastal Management Act, areas necessary for the 33
	61	+	protection of drinking water supplies, areas identified as likely to be 34
	62	+	inundated during a thirty-year flood event by the Connecticut Institute 35
	63	+	for Resilience and Climate Adaptation pursuant to the institute's 36
	64	+	responsibilities to conduct sea level change scenarios pursuant to 37
	65	+	subsection (b) of section 25-68o of the general statutes and areas that are 38
	66	+	not served by water and sewer infrastructure. 39
	67	+	(e) The as of right application and review process for approval of 40
	68	+	housing developments described in this section shall require that a 41
	69	+	decision on any such application be rendered not later than sixty-five 42
	70	+	days after receipt of such application by the applicable zoning official, 43
	71	+	except that an applicant may consent to one or more extensions of not 44
	72	+	more than sixty-five days for each such extension or may withdraw such 45
	73	+	application. 46
	74	+	(f) If a municipality fails to adopt new regulations or amend existing 47
	75	+	regulations to comply with the provisions of this section prior to 48
	76	+	October 1, 2026, any such noncompliant existing regulation shall be void 49
	77	+	Raised Bill No. 1313
71	78
72	79
73		-	LCO 3 of 5
74	80
75		-	amends such regulations in compliance with the provisions of this 53
76		-	section. 54
77		-	(g) No municipality shall (1) use or impose standards to discourage 55
78		-	through unreasonable costs or delays the development of housing 56
79		-	developments described in this section, or (2) condition the approval of 57
80		-	such housing developments on the correction of a nonconforming use, 58
81		-	structure or lot. 59
82		-	Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 8-2 of the general statutes is repealed 60
83		-	and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 61
84		-	(d) Zoning regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of this 62
85		-	section shall not: 63
86		-	(1) (A) Prohibit the operation in a residential zone of any family child 64
87		-	care home or group child care home located in a residence, or (B) require 65
88		-	any special zoning permit or special zoning exception for such 66
89		-	operation; 67
90		-	(2) (A) Prohibit the use of receptacles for the storage of items 68
91		-	designated for recycling in accordance with section 22a-241b or require 69
92		-	that such receptacles comply with provisions for bulk or lot area, or 70
93		-	similar provisions, except provisions for side yards, rear yards and front 71
94		-	yards; or (B) unreasonably restrict access to or the size of such 72
95		-	receptacles for businesses, given the nature of the business and the 73
96		-	volume of items designated for recycling in accordance with section 22a-74
97		-	241b, that such business produces in its normal course of business, 75
98		-	provided nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit such 76
99		-	regulations from requiring the screening or buffering of such receptacles 77
100		-	for aesthetic reasons; 78
101		-	(3) Impose conditions and requirements on manufactured homes, 79
102		-	including mobile manufactured homes, having as their narrowest 80
103		-	dimension twenty-two feet or more and built in accordance with federal 81
104		-	manufactured home construction and safety standards or on lots 82
105		-	containing such manufactured homes, including mobile manufactured 83 Substitute Bill No. 1313
	81	+	LCO No. 3733 3 of 5
	82	+
	83	+	and such municipality shall approve or deny applications in accordance 50
	84	+	with the requirements of this section until such municipality adopts or 51
	85	+	amends such regulation in compliance with the provisions of this 52
	86	+	section. 53
	87	+	(g) No municipality shall (1) use or impose standards to discourage 54
	88	+	through unreasonable costs or delays the development of housing 55
	89	+	developments described in this section, or (2) condition the approval of 56
	90	+	such housing developments on the correction of a nonconforming use, 57
	91	+	structure or lot. 58
	92	+	Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 8-2 of the general statutes is repealed 59
	93	+	and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 60
	94	+	(d) Zoning regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of this 61
	95	+	section shall not: 62
	96	+	(1) (A) Prohibit the operation in a residential zone of any family child 63
	97	+	care home or group child care home located in a residence, or (B) require 64
	98	+	any special zoning permit or special zoning exception for such 65
	99	+	operation; 66
	100	+	(2) (A) Prohibit the use of receptacles for the storage of items 67
	101	+	designated for recycling in accordance with section 22a-241b or require 68
	102	+	that such receptacles comply with provisions for bulk or lot area, or 69
	103	+	similar provisions, except provisions for side yards, rear yards and front 70
	104	+	yards; or (B) unreasonably restrict access to or the size of such 71
	105	+	receptacles for businesses, given the nature of the business and the 72
	106	+	volume of items designated for recycling in accordance with section 22a-73
	107	+	241b, that such business produces in its normal course of business, 74
	108	+	provided nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit such 75
	109	+	regulations from requiring the screening or buffering of such receptacles 76
	110	+	for aesthetic reasons; 77
	111	+	(3) Impose conditions and requirements on manufactured homes, 78
	112	+	including mobile manufactured homes, having as their narrowest 79
	113	+	Raised Bill No. 1313
106	114
107	115
108		-	LCO 4 of 5
109	116
110		-	home parks, if those conditions and requirements are substantially 84
111		-	different from conditions and requirements imposed on (A) single-85
112		-	family dwellings; (B) lots containing single-family dwellings; or (C) 86
113		-	multifamily dwellings, lots containing multifamily dwellings, cluster 87
114		-	developments or planned unit developments; 88
115		-	(4) (A) Prohibit the continuance of any nonconforming use, building 89
116		-	or structure existing at the time of the adoption of such regulations; (B) 90
117		-	require a special permit or special exception for any such continuance; 91
118		-	(C) provide for the termination of any nonconforming use solely as a 92
119		-	result of nonuse for a specified period of time without regard to the 93
120		-	intent of the property owner to maintain that use; or (D) terminate or 94
121		-	deem abandoned a nonconforming use, building or structure unless the 95
122		-	property owner of such use, building or structure voluntarily 96
123		-	discontinues such use, building or structure and such discontinuance is 97
124		-	accompanied by an intent to not reestablish such use, building or 98
125		-	structure. The demolition or deconstruction of a nonconforming use, 99
126		-	building or structure shall not by itself be evidence of such property 100
127		-	owner's intent to not reestablish such use, building or structure; 101
128		-	(5) Prohibit the installation, in accordance with the provisions of 102
129		-	section 8-1bb, of temporary health care structures for use by mentally or 103
130		-	physically impaired persons if such structures comply with the 104
131		-	provisions of said section, unless the municipality opts out in 105
132		-	accordance with the provisions of subsection (j) of said section; 106
133		-	(6) Prohibit the operation in a residential zone of any cottage food 107
134		-	operation, as defined in section 21a-62b; 108
135		-	(7) Establish for any dwelling unit a minimum floor area that is 109
136		-	greater than the minimum floor area set forth in the applicable building, 110
137		-	housing or other code; 111
138		-	(8) Place a fixed numerical or percentage cap on the number of 112
139		-	dwelling units that constitute multifamily housing over four units, 113
140		-	middle housing or mixed-use development that may be permitted in the 114
141		-	municipality; 115 Substitute Bill No. 1313
	117	+	LCO No. 3733 4 of 5
	118	+
	119	+	dimension twenty-two feet or more and built in accordance with federal 80
	120	+	manufactured home construction and safety standards or on lots 81
	121	+	containing such manufactured homes, including mobile manufactured 82
	122	+	home parks, if those conditions and requirements are substantially 83
	123	+	different from conditions and requirements imposed on (A) single-84
	124	+	family dwellings; (B) lots containing single-family dwellings; or (C) 85
	125	+	multifamily dwellings, lots containing multifamily dwellings, cluster 86
	126	+	developments or planned unit developments; 87
	127	+	(4) (A) Prohibit the continuance of any nonconforming use, building 88
	128	+	or structure existing at the time of the adoption of such regulations; (B) 89
	129	+	require a special permit or special exception for any such continuance; 90
	130	+	(C) provide for the termination of any nonconforming use solely as a 91
	131	+	result of nonuse for a specified period of time without regard to the 92
	132	+	intent of the property owner to maintain that use; or (D) terminate or 93
	133	+	deem abandoned a nonconforming use, building or structure unless the 94
	134	+	property owner of such use, building or structure voluntarily 95
	135	+	discontinues such use, building or structure and such discontinuance is 96
	136	+	accompanied by an intent to not reestablish such use, building or 97
	137	+	structure. The demolition or deconstruction of a nonconforming use, 98
	138	+	building or structure shall not by itself be evidence of such property 99
	139	+	owner's intent to not reestablish such use, building or structure; 100
	140	+	(5) Prohibit the installation, in accordance with the provisions of 101
	141	+	section 8-1bb, of temporary health care structures for use by mentally or 102
	142	+	physically impaired persons if such structures comply with the 103
	143	+	provisions of said section, unless the municipality opts out in 104
	144	+	accordance with the provisions of subsection (j) of said section; 105
	145	+	(6) Prohibit the operation in a residential zone of any cottage food 106
	146	+	operation, as defined in section 21a-62b; 107
	147	+	(7) Establish for any dwelling unit a minimum floor area that is 108
	148	+	greater than the minimum floor area set forth in the applicable building, 109
	149	+	housing or other code; 110
	150	+	Raised Bill No. 1313
142	151
143	152
144		-	LCO 5 of 5
145	153
146		-	(9) Require more than one parking space for each studio or one-116
147		-	bedroom dwelling unit or more than two parking spaces for each 117
148		-	dwelling unit with two or more bedrooms, unless the municipality opts 118
149		-	out in accordance with the provisions of section 8-2p; [or] 119
150		-	(10) Be applied to deny any land use application, including for any 120
151		-	site plan approval, special permit, special exception or other zoning 121
152		-	approval, on the basis of (A) a district's character, unless such character 122
153		-	is expressly articulated in such regulations by clear and explicit physical 123
154		-	standards for site work and structures, or (B) the immutable 124
155		-	characteristics, source of income or income level of any applicant or end 125
156		-	user, other than age or disability whenever age-restricted or disability-126
157		-	restricted housing may be permitted; or 127
158		-	(11) Prohibit the as of right development of housing developments 128
159		-	with a minimum overall average gross density of fifteen dwelling units 129
160		-	per acre that are located within a one-half-mile radius of any passenger 130
161		-	rail or commuter rail station or any bus rapid transit station, in 131
162		-	accordance with the provisions of section 1 of this act. 132
	154	+	LCO No. 3733 5 of 5
	155	+
	156	+	(8) Place a fixed numerical or percentage cap on the number of 111
	157	+	dwelling units that constitute multifamily housing over four units, 112
	158	+	middle housing or mixed-use development that may be permitted in the 113
	159	+	municipality; 114
	160	+	(9) Require more than one parking space for each studio or one-115
	161	+	bedroom dwelling unit or more than two parking spaces for each 116
	162	+	dwelling unit with two or more bedrooms, unless the municipality opts 117
	163	+	out in accordance with the provisions of section 8-2p; [or] 118
	164	+	(10) Be applied to deny any land use application, including for any 119
	165	+	site plan approval, special permit, special exception or other zoning 120
	166	+	approval, on the basis of (A) a district's character, unless such character 121
	167	+	is expressly articulated in such regulations by clear and explicit physical 122
	168	+	standards for site work and structures, or (B) the immutable 123
	169	+	characteristics, source of income or income level of any applicant or end 124
	170	+	user, other than age or disability whenever age-restricted or disability-125
	171	+	restricted housing may be permitted; or 126
	172	+	(11) Prohibit the as of right development of housing developments 127
	173	+	with a minimum overall average gross density of fifteen dwelling units 128
	174	+	per acre that are located within a one-half-mile radius of any passenger 129
	175	+	rail or commuter rail station or any bus rapid transit station, in 130
	176	+	accordance with the provisions of section 1 of this act. 131
163	177		This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
164	178		sections:
165	179
166	180		Section 1 October 1, 2025 New section
167	181		Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 8-2(d)
168	182
169		-	Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
170		-	In Section 1(b), "allow" was changed to "permit" for consistency, in
171		-	Section 1(d), "by the Connecticut Coastal Management Act" was
172		-	changed to "pursuant to chapter 444 of the general statutes" for
173		-	consistency with standard drafting conventions, and in Section 1(f),
174		-	"regulation" was changed to "regulations" for consistency.
	183	+	Statement of Purpose:
	184	+	To require municipal zoning regulations to authorize a greater density
	185	+	of housing development within one-half mile of a public transit station.
175	186
176		-	PD Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
177		-
	187	+	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
	188	+	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
	189	+	underlined.]