Less talk, more action needed in legislative session
Editorial Board | The Day
There is no more important challenge for Gov. Ned Lamont and lawmakers than taking the policy steps necessary to expand the amount of housing in the state, making it affordable for working people and for those living on the economic margins, and to do so in a way that is equitable, rather than focused on economically challenged urban centers.
In 2022 and 2023 The Day news staff, bolstered by contributions from freelance journalists, took an in-depth look at the housing issue. That reporting outlined the many causes of high housing costs and showed how the lack of reasonably priced housing has economic, moral and educational implications.
Unfortunately, the problem has only grown more severe.
The legislature needs to show the courage to moderate local zoning rules that exclude construction of multifamily housing, which can be more affordably built and priced. So-called transit-oriented housing, providing incentives to build new housing along mass transit corridors, has gained significant support and should be pushed forward in the coming session. And expanded public housing, often controversial but necessary for those at the lowest income levels, must be part of the discussion.
A lack of affordably priced housing hinders the state’s economic potential by impeding workforce expansion and employee mobility. Children lacking the security of permanent housing, or forced into substandard conditions, cannot learn. And the high cost of rental housing continues to push more people on the economic edge into the nightmare of homelessness.
It must be a legislative priority to address the housing problem.