By Anne White
Connecticut’s State Senate is expected to take up House Bill 5002 in the coming days, following the legislation’s narrow passage in the House of Representatives on May 27 by a vote of 84–67. The bill, an omnibus measure spanning more than 100 pages and nearly 50 separate sections, aims to take over local housing and zoning policy, and has quickly become one of the most divisive pieces of legislation in the 2025 session.
House Bill 5002 includes major reforms that would impact how every city and town in Connecticut zones for housing. Provisions include mandating as-of-right development near transit hubs, prohibiting minimum off-street parking requirements for residential developments, expanding fair rent commissions, and implementing a statewide “Fair Share” housing allocation system.
Voting Split in the House
Representative Lucy Dathan voted in favor of the bill. Dathan has not yet issued a public statement explaining her vote and was in meetings yesterday so could not be contacted for comment. However a recent exchange between a constituent and Representative Lucy Dathan, shown in messages reviewed by the Sentinel, reveals ongoing confusion about the bill’s impact. A resident raised concerns about how affordable units would be funded, how “reasonable opportunity” standards for developers would be calculated, and the feasibility of meeting high affordable housing targets (469 new units for New Canaan alone) without massive increases in overall density.
Dathan responded that she asked clarifying questions on the House floor to better understand legislative intent. She described the plan as “opt-in” but offered few specifics about enforcement mechanisms, deadlines, or penalties.
Representative Savet Constantine voted against the bill. In a direct message to local autonomy advocate Maria Weingarten, Constantine explained her position:
“I will be a no on this bill,” Constantine wrote. “For the past several weeks, I have been having ongoing discussions with the bill proponents and colleagues to clarify many points. As part of the Moderate Caucus, many of us have been working very hard to make this a better bill, and while we have been able to mitigate many of the issues constituents have emailed about, at this point the bill is not there for me.”
Constantine emphasized that while she supported certain goals of the bill—such as creating senior-friendly housing and more downsizing opportunities for longtime residents—she believed the legislation moved too far, too fast. She added that she would continue engaging with residents in upcoming forums, including June 7 in Wilton and June 25 at the New Canaan Library.
Senate Opposition Builds
The bill now advances to the Senate, where Senator Ryan Fazio has pledged to lead opposition. Fazio condemned the legislation both for its content and for the rushed process that brought it to the House floor with little public scrutiny:
“As warned for months in our newsletter, there is a late-breaking omnibus housing bill being brought for a vote before the House of Representatives late in the session,” Fazio wrote. “H.B. 5002 is over 100 pages and nearly 50 sections of complex and varying changes to state housing and zoning policies that will significantly undermine the rights of towns and cities to make their own decisions.”
Fazio criticized the absence of a government summary of the final language before the House vote, calling the process “bad policymaking.” He has previously introduced legislation that would require bills exceeding 50 pages to be available to the public for at least 24 hours prior to a vote. That proposal was not enacted.
Fazio has committed to mounting a filibuster and offering extensive amendments on the Senate floor in an attempt to slow or stop the bill’s passage. “Unfortunately,” he noted, “with a roughly 2-to-1 majority in both houses, there is not much we can do in the minority to stop it.”
Key Provisions of H.B. 5002
The bill combines major initiatives from earlier sessions and some brand new provisions, including:
Work Live Ride: Requires towns with transit access to adopt as-of-right zoning for higher-density housing near bus and train stations. Non-compliant towns could be deprioritized for hundreds of millions in state infrastructure funding.
Fair Share Housing Allocation: Modeled after legislation in New Jersey, the bill would require municipalities to zone for a percentage of the state’s estimated housing need. Preliminary estimates suggest towns like Greenwich, Stamford, and New Canaan would need to plan for 900, 600, and 400 affordable units respectively, and more market-rate units to meet economic feasibility.
Parking Requirements: Prohibits towns from imposing minimum off-street parking requirements for residential construction, a move supporters say will reduce development costs but critics argue will strain already limited infrastructure in suburban and rural towns.
Hostile Architecture Ban: Prevents municipalities from installing public structures—like sloped benches or benches with arm rests—that deter people from sleeping in public places.
Expanded Developer Rights: In certain 8-30g affordable housing lawsuits, the bill would require municipalities to cover developers’ attorney fees under specific conditions.
Local Reaction
The bill’s breadth and the compressed timeline have drawn intense criticism from local officials and advocacy groups. CT169Strong, a coalition advocating for local zoning control, has called the bill “an unprecedented state takeover of municipal planning.” They and other critics argue the law will erode local input, overburden infrastructure, and incentivize high-density development in communities unprepared to absorb it.
What Comes Next
The Senate has until June 5 to vote on the bill before the session adjourns. If passed, H.B. 5002 would be sent to Governor Ned Lamont, who has previously signaled support for housing reform and endorsed several of the bill’s provisions, including those on transit-oriented development.
A floor vote in the Senate has not yet been scheduled as of this writing. Advocacy groups on both sides are urging residents to contact their senators before the final vote.
