Connecticut Public Act 21-29 — Fair Share Housing Framework (CT)

Tracked preemption from the Connecticut overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
2021-06-10
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:CT

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

always true

Preempted fields

1 field on the base district schema is rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
base_districts[*].allowed_usesaddmiddle_housingPA 21-29 encourages but does not mandate middle housing typologies; opt-out provisions limit preemptive force

Citation

Authority source
Connecticut Public Act 21-29 (HB 6107)
§ PA 21-29 (An Act Concerning the Zoning Enabling Act, Accessory Apartments, Training for Certain Land Use Officials, Municipal Affordable Housing Plans and a Commission on Connecticut's Development and Future)
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2021/ACT/PA/PDF/2021PA-00029-R00HB-06107-PA.PDF

Research notes

Limited teeth — much of the original DesegregateCT-backed preemption language was stripped during legislative negotiation. PA 21-29 codified procedural reforms (mandatory training for land use officials, requirement that every municipality adopt an affordable housing plan every five years), an opt-out ADU framework, and amendments to §8-2 to require plain-language regulations and remove character-of-the-neighborhood as a basis for denial. It does NOT establish enforceable fair-share allocations comparable to New Jersey's Mount Laurel doctrine or California's RHNA. Compliance with the affordable housing plan requirement is largely self-reported with no penalty for non-compliance. Future legislative cycles continue to debate strengthening this framework.