Fair Share Planning & Zoning
We're proud Connecticut is our home. But our state is in the grips of a housing crisis - we are short about 140,000 units of affordable housing. Because of decades of wasteful and unjust policies, rents are too high, opportunities are too few, and communities are too divided. Our state is segregated and racial disparities in housing are stark. For the 2023 legislative session, the Growing Together CT consortium supports proposals to bring fair share planning and zoning to Connecticut.
Modeled on a successful initiative in New Jersey, Fair Share Planning and Zoning is a process of identifying the need for housing affordable at a range of income levels and empowering municipalities to plan and zone to create it. Here’s how it works:
Generate Over 200,000 New Housing Units, 63,000 Jobs, and Billions of Dollars for Connecticut
Every new affordable housing unit is an opportunity for a family to thrive. Thriving families earn more, educate their children more, and contribute more to our communities. Building these homes employs skilled tradespeople, generates economic activity for local businesses, and draws big employers to our state. Conservative estimates based on nearly 50 years of Fair Share Housing in New Jersey show Fair Share will generate over $47 billion in income for Connecticut residents, over $9.6 billion in state and local tax revenue, and create over 63,000 jobs over ten years. Critically, much of this new affordable housing will be built without subsidies, through a process called inclusionary development, improving neighborhoods without costing taxpayers!
How does Fair Share Zoning Work?
Step 1: Determine the need for affordable housing.
Step 2: Allocate the regional need to towns in a fair way considering town resources and past efforts to promote affordable housing creation.
Step 3: Empower towns to develop their own plans with clear goals and technical assistance.
Step 4: Design realistic, thoughtful, and meaningful incentives & enforcement.
Learn More
Background Materials from Open Communities Alliance
Status of Legislative Proposals (including bill numbers)