Saturday, March 25, 2023

Zoning Law Blues In Democrat Connecticut:Raised H.B. No. 6890

Raised Bill H.B. No. 6890 is a scary and hideous eight-page law proposal,whereby any clear thinking person can quickly perceive its mission to remove local cities and towns from oversight of their zoning laws and regulations. It should alarm most local taxpayers as to what they will have to look forward to in their communities. The Bill, also known as "Work, Live, Ride" will give incentives for what is known as “transit-oriented development” within a half mile of bus and train stations. This horrific plan would be executed under the auspices of an autonomous new "Coordinator"working in the new "Office of Responsible Growth" within the Intergovernmental Policy Division of the Office of Policy and Management. This position creates a non-elected state bureaucrat "Zoning Czar" to override local zoning laws within the areas of bus and train stations for the purpose of promoting grant-subsidized housing. What methods will be used to obtain these properties? Eminent domain? Forceful taking combined with insufficient compensation? Unfortunately, none of this methodology has been shared to date.

The leading proponents of this bill are an organization called "Desegregate Connecticut", which is described in the website(https://www.desegregatect.org/about): As is stated therein, "Desegregate Connecticut emerged in June 2020 during a period of rising public awareness about inequities in our society as exposed by the twin pandemics of COVID and racial injustice. It is a program of the Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit that for 100 years has advanced ideas to improve economic health, environmental resiliency, and quality of life in the NJ-NY-CT region, and that has a century-long record of public engagement and service in Connecticut. With 80+ organizations, aligned with the goal of tackling segregation in land use laws, we have helped change the public conversation and achieve reforms at both the state and local levels, including the passage of zoning reforms in 2021."

Admittedly, “Desegregate Connecticut” relies on funding, mentoring, and logistical support from this Regional Plan Association (RPA), which is a New York City based not-for-profit group. RPA lists as its top donors of $100k or more an ostensible “who’s who” in the real estate field; The Durst Organization. RXR. SL Green Management. Suffolk Construction, and others. Thus, it seems that “Desegregate Connecticut's main financial source (besides apparently Connecticut Taxpayers monies) is obviously backed by several large corporate interests that would profit from this type of development near these locations. Thus, one can conclude that there is an economic profit motive to these subsidized housing developments that “Desegregate Connecticut” is demanding as a matter of human and environmental rights. 

 Connecticut taxpayers and local Planning and Zoning officials should be beyond alarmed at this bill. And I truly wonder how this bill makes Connecticut "desegregated"? Who has defined the segregation of Connecticut? Is it the Democrat Party that has run the state for many years now and its major cities into the ground?  Isn't crime a major issue of the major Democrat Party run cities of Connecticut such as Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford? How does this solve crime and create jobs? Who, (or what) defends the safety of commuters around transit in these districts when police are unsupported? Connecticut already has a massive Taxpayer funded subsidized public transportation system in these same cities and towns with its own inherent financial and safety issues. That said, it looks like Connecticut Taxpayers will be subsidizing additional and massive grant-supported housing projects in their hometowns on top of the high property taxes they pay.

 Raised H.B. Bill No. 6890 is a great overreach of the state government's power. It causes Connecticut's cities and towns to basically lose their authority of their own communities for the sake of more liberal rhetoric from non-elected "experts" in all things “woke”.  It destroys the character and stability of communities and systems that have taken years to build. Connecticut's economy and supposed housing issues would be much better solved by the private sector without chronic governmental interference and pandering politicians, and without Taxpayers monies being spent. Liberals need to understand that this country was founded on self-sufficiency and independence.  Liberals need to open up a history book and read about the great transit-designed public housing disasters of days gone by such as “Southfield Village” in Stamford, “Fr. Panik Village” in Bridgeport, and the legendary “Cabrini Green” in Chicago. Connecticut Taxpayers are sick of being force fed Democrat Party dependency and loss of personal freedoms that Raised H.B. Bill No. 6890 shamelessly exhibits. This bill contributes to the never-ending onslaught of failed policies that has brought us to the point of 1776, all over again.

 

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