A pledge to keep zoning laws local

In my experience, politicians in Hartford rarely have better ideas than Connecticut residents when confronting local issues, including the problem of zoning laws in our cities and towns.

Town zoning members and other local officials — not legislators in Hartford — are in the best position to decide whether these types of changes can be put in place without radically changing the physical characteristics of their towns and cities.

Because each town and city has its own unique environment and infrastructure, a “one-size-fits-all” approach that infringes on residents’ property rights is not practical and will lead to failures instead of an increase in lowercost housing.

Many legislators in the majority supported bills last year that would have required each town in Connecticut to change their local zoning in ways that would allow a certain number of affordable housing units. The proposals were based not on a municipalities’ individual needs, but on how they compared to other towns in the region. I opposed those bills and they were defeated.

Every community is different. Each one has different needs and can offer unique solutions to its residents and to the state. I promise to concentrate on finding the appropriate resources our communities need to be safer and more affordable, and to seek market-driven solutions to provide lower-cost gateway housing throughout the state.

I encourage town leaders to explore meaningful changes that can lead to lower-cost housing in every municipality. At a state level, particularly in regards to our 8-30g housing law, senior housing should be provided greater weight than it is currently given under the existing calculations. This is one of the issues I’ve heard from countless residents throughout the district who are reaching retirement age. It is something I will be committed to in Hartford.

With that said, as long as I serve the people of my communities, I will fight for their right to make local zoning decisions without politicians in the Capitol imposing changes that don’t fit our towns.