Meet Rob Melillo, a former long-time member of the Danbury Zoning Commission and one of the most vocal critics of the state housing omnibus bill, HB 5002.

I have known Melillo since my early days covering land-use meetings at City Hall. His views on development issues have historically been regarded as rational and well-reasoned by the public.

Recently, I conducted an interview with Melillo to discuss HB 5002 and its potential negative impact on the public's right to express opinions regarding specific forms of housing and on-site parking in Danbury and municipalities throughout the state.

NOTE: If you’re an elected official or a land-use board member from the Greater Danbury community and have an opinion (for or against) HB 5002, reach out to me via Messenger, email at hatcityblog@yahoo.com or the HatCityBLOG hotline at 203.885.7694.

There has been a historic bipartisan backlash against the bill, with a diverse group of state lawmakers, mayors, First Selectpersons, and land-use board members from both sides of the political aisle expressing their dissatisfaction with the package.

In Ridgefield, Democratic State Representatives Aimee Berger-Girvalo and Savet Constantine, who represent Ridgefield, New Canaan, and Wilton, joined their colleagues from Greater Danbury in opposing a bill that significantly restricts public participation and local control over housing matters in communities across the state. However, Ridgefield's State Senators Julie Kushner and Ceci Maher voted in favor of this controversial bill.

NOTE: If you’re an elected official or member of the land-use board in the Greater Danbury community and wish to offer your take on HB 5002, reach out to me via Messenger, email at hatcityblog@yahoo.com, or phone/text the HatCityBLOG hotline at (203) 885-7694. THIS IS A VERY FAST AND DEVELOPING STORY…

The bill is opposed by an unprecedented, bipartisan group of elected officials and state lawmakers, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) as well as the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST), which outlined their objections in a recent press release:

Fair Share Housing Mandate - The bill requires OPM to determine each town's affordable housing target based on certain factors, including housing mix, grand list strength, wealth, and poverty. This fails to consider water and wastewater capacity and other factors that are critical to supporting housing development. It also requires municipalities to adopt zoning regulations to “create a realistic opportunity” for developers to build affordable housing units to meet the municipalities' state-determined "affordable housing allocation". Such regulations would be subject to review by OPM to determine whether the municipality is in compliance. If a municipality is deemed in compliance or is exempt from the requirements, it may be prioritized for certain discretionary state funding, including Clean Water Fund, the Urban Act, the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), the Main Street Investment Fund, and the Incentive Housing Zone program. How will this impact funding for small towns that do not have the capacity to meet the assigned housing allocation requirement?

Transit-Oriented Communities – By prioritizing funding for municipalities that qualify as Transit-Oriented Communities, the bill calls into question whether any funding under STEAP, which only has enough funding for 20-30 municipal projects each year, will be available to small towns that are not in a position to qualify as a Transit-Oriented Community.

Municipal Liability Costs - Subjects municipalities to attorney’s fees and costs under the Affordable Housing Appeals Act if the court determines that the municipality acted in bad faith or caused undue delays in appealing a decision on an 8-30g affordable housing project. This will have a chilling effect on the right of municipalities to appeal projects that may pose certain environmental, traffic congestion, or other issues in their community.

Minimum Parking Requirements - Prohibits local zoning regulations from establishing minimum off-street parking requirements for certain housing developments.

As-of-Right Conversion of Commercial Buildings - Mandates that municipalities allow commercial buildings to be converted to residential housing developments as-of-right. Fair Rent Commissions – Requires all municipalities regardless of population to establish and staff fair rent commissions, although municipalities may participate in commissions established by regional Councils of Government.

NOTE: If you’re an elected official from the Greater Danbury community and have an opinion (for or against) HB 5002, reach out to me via Messenger, email at hatcityblog@yahoo.com or the HatCityBLOG hotline at 203.885.7694.

State Representative Gonzalez serves on the Housing Committee, is a member of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, and served as a member of the Majority Leader's roundtable on affordable housing.

In the following clip, she outlines her objections to the omnibus housing bill, explaining how the legislation restricts local control over housing decisions in communities while benefiting developers, which can unintentionally contribute to the gentrification of neighborhoods.

The bill was opposed by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) as well as the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST), which outlined their objections in a recent press release:

Fair Share Housing Mandate - The bill requires OPM to determine each town's affordable housing target based on certain factors, including housing mix, grand list strength, wealth, and poverty. This fails to consider water and wastewater capacity and other factors that are critical to supporting housing development. It also requires municipalities to adopt zoning regulations to “create a realistic opportunity” for developers to build affordable housing units to meet the municipalities' state-determined "affordable housing allocation". Such regulations would be subject to review by OPM to determine whether the municipality is in compliance. If a municipality is deemed in compliance or is exempt from the requirements, it may be prioritized for certain discretionary state funding, including Clean Water Fund, the Urban Act, the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), the Main Street Investment Fund, and the Incentive Housing Zone program. How will this impact funding for small towns that do not have the capacity to meet the assigned housing allocation requirement? Transit-Oriented Communities – By prioritizing funding for municipalities that qualify as Transit-Oriented Communities, the bill calls into question whether any funding under STEAP, which only has enough funding for 20-30 municipal projects each year, will be available to small towns that are not in a position to qualify as a Transit-Oriented Community.

Municipal Liability Costs - Subjects municipalities to attorney’s fees and costs under the Affordable Housing Appeals Act if the court determines that the municipality acted in bad faith or caused undue delays in appealing a decision on an 8-30g affordable housing project. This will have a chilling effect on the right of municipalities to appeal projects that may pose certain environmental, traffic congestion, or other issues in their community.

Minimum Parking Requirements - Prohibits local zoning regulations from establishing minimum off-street parking requirements for certain housing developments.

As-of-Right Conversion of Commercial Buildings - Mandates that municipalities allow commercial buildings to be converted to residential housing developments as-of-right.

Fair Rent Commissions – Requires all municipalities regardless of population to establish and staff fair rent commissions, although municipalities may participate in commissions established by regional Councils of Government.

FACEBOOK link:

PART ONE: Who is Michelle Coelho, and what has she learned from her 2022 campaign?

Last week, I had the chance to sit down with Republican State Senate candidate Michelle Coelho for CT Senate District 24 to discuss the state of her campaign against Julie Kushner and her perspective on what she feels are the top concerns in the district.

The upcoming State Senate contest is a rematch of the highly competitive 2022 race that received significant attention in the area. In the first part, I asked Coelho how her experience from the defeat two years ago prepared her for the second attempt at state office.