OP ED

By Margarita Alban

On Tuesday, the CT State House of Representatives is expected to vote on a major housing and zoning bill which has only been seen by its writers.  The rest of us have no idea if the bill is good, bad or indifferent.   

We don’t know if the bill can successfully address the need for reasonably priced housing.  We don’t know if the bill creates useless red tape.  We don’t know if the bill contains pointless punitive measures against towns which are making a genuine effort to advance housing diversity.

I wish I knew what will be in our new State law. 

I wish our State legislators were modeling the inclusion this housing bill seeks to achieve. 

Instead, insiders are working behind the curtain on language that will likely be public only moments before the bill goes to the floor for a vote.

The bill is a roll up of several bills which have had public hearings.  But the language of those component bills is being changed.  In addition, their impact, when combined, may be radically different than when stand alone. 

I wish I could say this is an extraordinary event.  But it is not.  Our state legislature is making lack of transparency a standard.  I’ve heard some say the secrecy is needed because there would be outcry against necessary laws if the public knew beforehand. 

I’ve also heard that some State legislators believe Zoning Commissions are not approving housing applications- that zoning is the problem.  My town has recently approved over 1,000 multifamily housing units.  Many of those projects are not moving forward because of higher construction costs, a spike in interest rates and tariff uncertainty.

The goal to create more affordable housing is a complex challenge which should not be addressed in stealth by a handful of the political elite.
All stakeholders should be at the table, heard, and informed of outcomes.  That is democracy. 

Last year, the CT General Assembly didn’t pass a bipartisan bill requiring that language for all proposed laws be available to the public at least 24-48 hours before a vote.  That is the law we need now.

*The Greenwich League of Women Voters is giving its 2025 Community Impact Award to Margarita Alban for her commitment to transparent democratic process and inclusive leadership.  She wrote this LTE as a private citizen although she is a long time member and current Chair of the Greenwich Planning & Zoning Commission.