Zoning changes can make us welcoming toward young people
“What the hell is there to do in Connecticut?” My friends smirked as we drank our cheap beer in an East Village dive bar, while I recounted my plans to move back home for work after our college graduation in May. I enthusiastically described the thrill of catching a Yard Goats game and how Avon’s Little City Pizza stands up against the best slices in New York, but I knew that there was some truth in their derision. As a state, Connecticut has not done enough to welcome young people who are just starting out.
This is particularly true when it comes to finding a place to live as a young person. Later that night, I scrolled through extravagantly expensive apartment listings near my job and idly wondered how much one of my kidneys would sell for.
I’m only half-joking. Connecticut is one of the least affordable states in the country, and it’s getting less affordable by the day. Last year, we issued the lowest number of housing permits in a decade. Out of curiosity, I looked up listings in Massachusetts and New York. Hundreds of listings, many within my price range and conveniently located near public transit, flooded my laptop.
While housing supply in our competitor states is not perfect, they’re more than willing to support pro-homes policies. The Republican governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, signed a transit-oriented development bill, or TOD, that will zone areas around public transit for multifamily homes. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul supports a similar proposal for New York. While local leaders like Mayor Richard Dziekan of Derby and Mayor Shari Cantor of West Hartford have made transit-oriented development a priority, we have an opportunity to follow the successes of Massachusetts and New York by passing HB 5429, the transit-oriented development proposal being considered here.
TOD would zone areas around CTRail and CTFastrak stations for energy-efficient and reasonably priced multifamily homes, like town homes and duplexes. The Legislature must pass this bill, and continue to champion pro-homes policies that would expand the supply of homes in Connecticut. If we do not act with urgency, our state will face serious challenges.
School enrollments are falling across the state, threatening jobs and Connecticut’s small towns. Our population growth didn’t even crack 1 percent over the past 10 years, compared to the 7.4 percent and 2.7 percent growth in Massachusetts and New York respectively. It’s past time to start worrying about the future of the small businesses and large employers that energize our communities and provide us with a healthy tax base. It’s past time to worry about Connecticut’s political power waning — if we don’t act now, we might lose a congressional district after the next census.
We don’t need to become a dense urban center like New York or Boston in order to succeed. Rather, through HB 5429, TOD can help us craft a new and distinct identity. Connecticut can be a state that balances suburban charm with green transit and vibrant, walkable communities. Connecticut can be the place where, after you graduate from high school, trade school or college, you can start out in an apartment that’s a two-minute walk from public transit that will get you to and from work in a fast, comfortable and convenient manner. You could read a book or watch a TV show while lounging in a seat on CTrail — and avoid sky-high gas prices, too. Our CTrail and
CTfastrak stations are currently surrounded by parking lots or empty lots.
Imagine communities filled with young people and families who are starting out. Communities with clean air, and full of good-paying jobs, which will come to Connecticut if we make it affordable and possible for people to live and work here. CTrail and CTfastrak could see their flagging ridership numbers revitalized by new riders who live right next to train stations.
Our towns and cities with public transit stations fundamentally have the right to create walkable communities like this, but the state legislature needs to pass HB 5429 to make this happen. All of this could be ours if we’re willing to put aside party labels and politics as usual, and make one of our steady habits a desire to do better.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about why I wanted to move home. Defenders of Connecticut’s “Land of Steady Habits” mantra do not understand that right now, we aren’t measuring up to what we could be. Pretending like everything is great will prevent us from reaching our true potential.
We don’t need to become a dense urban center like New York or Boston in order to succeed.
Of course, I’m eager to live closer to my family, but I’ve realized that I’m moving back because of the people and communities who need us to do better. I am returning for the teacher I had in elementary school, who lived almost an hour away from Simsbury because she couldn’t afford any homes nearby. I am returning for the people I’ve met when door knocking for campaigns, from Fairfield to the Farmington Valley, who tell me more and more of their paycheck is eaten up by their rent or mortgage payments. I am returning to support the towns and cities who are fighting every day to revitalize themselves and earn the respect of the nation — they just need the state legislature to step up.
We can make sure that our legislators in Hartford pass bills that will make Connecticut a place where young people like me can get their start, but we need to roll up our sleeves and earn it. On March 14, the Planning and Development Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 5429. Go to desegregatect.org/testify to learn about how to make your voice heard. Let’s get to work.