Senator Kissel Opposes Radical Housing Legislation That Would Bypass Local Zoning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2024

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Joe Canino
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Senator Kissel Opposes Radical Housing Legislation That Would Bypass Local Zoning

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HARTFORD – Today, Senator Kissel passionately opposed Senate Bill 416, which would require municipalities to automatically allow developers to convert commercial property into residential property without a public hearing or special permits being required. Senator Kissel highlighted the violation of local control that is the essence of this bill, violating property rights and negatively impacting a community’s ability to shape its community how they would like.

“I believe in local control. I think that local charters should be respected, and I think it is more than heavy-handed when we as a state trot out this bill when 90% of the testimony during its public hearing was in opposition. This policy flouts our local zoning laws and will have profoundly negative impacts on our communities.” Senator Kissel stated.

Senate Democrats unanimously voted in favor of this legislation, passing it onto the House. It has until May 8th to be acted upon, or else the legislation dies.