Work Live Ride is back. The bill, HB 6831, proposes to create affordable housing near public transportation hubs in Connecticut, including, for example, train stations and ferry terminals.
This will be the fifth time that Desegregate CT has put forth their transit-oriented development bill.
On Monday, Feb 3, at 10:30am, there will be a public hearing in the State Legislature’s Planning & Development Committee that will include HB 6831. (Work Live Ride is one of a number of proposals affecting municipalities included in the hearing.)
According to CT169 Strong, who oppose the bill, it would be bad for Connecticut because it would “coerce towns to give up control over hundreds of acres of land near transit areas to the State to oversee, and at the same time to silence Town residents’ voices by preventing public hearings or review by local zoning boards, jeopardizing environmental and historic preservation.”
According to DeSegregate CT, the bill is good because it is “opt-in,” and not a mandate. The local P&Z decides to create a Transit Oriented Community (TOC) District, chooses the size and location, and goes through its normal public process of adopting zoning changes before voting.
In an email with talking points they said, “It had the votes and support to pass last year, but just ran out of time in the short session. Governor Lamont is on the record saying he will sign it and Senate has the votes.”
According to the proposed legislation, municipalities that opt-in will be prioritized for state discretionary infrastructure funds, though those that don’t opt-in are still eligible for any discretionary grants.
Also, they say that if a P&Z commission disagrees with guidelines, they can appeal to the Office of Responsible Growth (ORG) and provide proof of needing to change a regulation.
The Office of Responsible Growth is a state agency that would oversee transit districts in the “Work, Live, Ride” bill. The agency would have the power to make decisions about zoning in TOC districts, superseding local zoning boards.
They can also “opt-out” of the process if they ultimately don’t want to proceed.
DeSegregate CT has argued that single-family homes on large lots correlates with sprawl which is bad for the environment, and the bill would incentivize the creation of affordable housing near transit hubs, reduce sprawl and encourage people to use public transportation.
They also submit that Work Live Ride would boost economic growth by creating mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods to stimulate foot traffic to local businesses.
State Senator Ryan Fazio (R-36), a member of the Planning and Development Committee, said in an email this week that he would participate in the debate and noted it will likely continue until the early hours of Tuesday.
“I chose to be a member of that committee again this term specifically to debate this proposal and other efforts to undermine local control. Despite stopping the ‘Work Live Ride’ upzoning proposal in the last week of session last year it is back again.”
“The proposal, HB6831, would require municipalities to adopt as-of-right development up to 10 units around bus or train stations or deprive them of eligibility for hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding,” Fazio said. “Even though our district sends billions in taxpayer dollars to Hartford every year, more than any other, this bill would force us to adopt state-prescribed development and zoning in downtown areas or else lose a chance at getting any state funds back in return.”
“I continue to believe we can improve housing affordability in our state while giving local communities control over zoning decisions,” Fazio added. “That’s why I wrote several bills, several with a Democratic colleague from Bethel, to reform 8-30g and improve housing affordability with local control.”
The deadline to sign up to speak at the hearing has passed, but if you cannot testify at the hearing, you can submit written testimony.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
You can watch the hearing live Monday starting at 10:30am on YouTube here.

File photo: bike racks at Old Greenwich train station