Hugh Bailey

Can’t have people living there. In homes? That’s just crazy

Really stretching the definition of chaos aren’t we

I'd like to think my senator means this and will follow through

CT lawmakers to repeal 2024 single-stair building code change The General Assembly is expected to pass Senate Bill 298, a lengthy omnibus bill that includes a repeal of the 2024 single-stair exit law.

Ugh

ctmirror.org/2026/02/25/c...

Also just love Ryan Fazio defending giant lot sizes as a defense of "diversity" in the state

Jim Bailey, policy director of the Hartford-based Open Communities Alliance, concurred that local zoning laws are largely to blame. “The number-one driver of housing unaffordability in most of the state is the cost of land, and mandating large lots is by definition exclusionary,” he said.

Hi, apparently my name is Jim now.

In any event, large minimum lot sizes are in fact the definition of exclusionary zoning and a major driver of our housing affordability crisis.

ctexaminer.com/2026/02/19/a...

Yeah who are the big "zoning is great" people we're supposed to rally behind? If you love large-lot zoning I think I know everything I need to know about you

So much talk about impervious surfaces. You'd never know there are places called cities that don't have any setbacks at all, and yet still control storm water as well as any suburb

Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo said Greenwich had spent millions of dollars since 2020 to mitigate flooding in certain areas of town where there is a lot of congestion with houses very close to each other. “This bill would add impervious surfaces to areas that can’t take it any more, he said. “My concern is going forward, as well-intentioned as a bill like this may be, is if the authors could work with the towns and environmental and conservation groups to pinpoint where these housing proposals could go.”

Easy answer here. They should go where there's water and sewer!

State Rep Arzeno said, “We have heard repeatedly from people of all political stripes that zoning is not the major leading factor in advancing housing diversity. We know that cost and infrastructure challenges are key issues. Yet this bill ignores both.”

Democrats as well as Republicans, because this is Greenwich.

Unanswered question here: If "zoning is not the major leading factor in advancing housing diversity" then there shouldn't be a problem changing it, right?

With “Ink Barely Dry” on 8002, Housing Committee Holds Hearing on 151 to Promote Starter Homes and Townhomes Opponents had concerns about environmental issues, like increased impervious surface, drainage, stormwater management and flooding. Supporters cited Connecticut's dire housing shortage and noted two s...

Greenwich, you'll be shocked to learn, is deeply concerned about SB 151.

We just signed a housing law! Isn't one housing law enough?

greenwichfreepress.com/news/governm...

Yeah you're not surviving that one

"One size fits all" as an anti-housing mantra has cross-state appeal, apparently

Oh the imperviousness of it all

Imagine supporting large-lot zoning and calling yourself an environmentalist

Listening to anti-housing people talk in this public hearing and it's clear that "impervious surfaces" is the new "local control."

Opinion: Connecticut housing reform does not stop at zoning I see every day how desperately people need more housing options, young families, seniors, and workers who want to live near their jobs.

Danbury's planning director makes some excellent points, but I think it's important to note how exclusionary zoning stops these conversations from even getting started in most of the state

Opinion: Connecticut housing reform does not stop at zoning www.courant.com/2026/02/11/o...

Connecticut’s “Emergency” Housing Law: Fair Share Returns, Deadlines Start Slipping When Connecticut lawmakers rushed an omnibus housing bill through a November special session, they insisted the situation was dire enough to justify extraordinary measures. Public hearings were skippe...

As always, no indication of what these people actually favor. They hate the process for getting homes built. Fine. What do you want? There's agreement that the crisis exists, so what now? And please spare us the "unleash the market" or whatever

yankeeinstitute.org/2026/02/10/c...

Betsy Gara, executive director of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, said one of the issues for municipal leaders with the original fair share proposal was that it didn’t consider sewage and wastewater capacity. “We’re hopeful that this new methodology will fairly consider water and wastewater capacity. I know that the [sewage needs] study is not going to be done,” Gara said. “However, municipalities themselves are acutely aware of their limitations on wastewater and water capacity.”

Small towns love to use sewage capacity as an excuse to do nothing on housing, as if whatever they have at this precise moment is etched in time, never to be changed

CT housing needs assessment required under H.B. 8002 underway ctmirror.org/2026/02/09/c...

Colin McEnroe (opinion): Gold for Trump, silver for Kanye, bronze for RFK. Welcome to the Winter Head Games. With the Olympics and Super Bowl taking place, President Trump ups his game to draw attention to himself, observes columnist Colin McEnroe.

It's tempting, I know, but there has to be a way to go at least a week without writing about Trump and RFK

Colin McEnroe (opinion): Gold for Trump, silver for Kanye, bronze for RFK. Welcome to the Winter Head Games. www.ctpost.com/opinion/arti...

What a fun chart

I think that's a safe assumption. As the saying goes, they're not sending their best

Sen. Rob Sampson, R-North Haven, told me his exit was a protest over Lamont and Democrats "trying to inject national politics into our state legislative battles, and I think it's inappropriate." He added, "The violence that's going on is being stoked by people on the left" and said Lamont should be toning down the rhetoric, not inflaming it.

That's right, Rob Sampson, it's the people on the left who are shooting themselves on the streets.

Dan Haar: A tense and colorful day of politics as the CT Capitol opens during campaign season www.ctpost.com/politics/art...

Some CT Republicans walk out of Lamont's State of the State following ICE criticism One of the lawmakers has a son who works for ICE, he said.

What a hill to die on

www.ctpost.com/politics/art...

Laura Devlin, the Republican town chair and a former state representative, called the loss “disappointing” as voters did not respond to GOP messaging about higher taxes and the urbanization of some parts of town.

Wow, voters didn't respond to a fake message about something that's not happening? That's a shame

GOP's Tony Hwang loses to Fairfield First Selectwoman Christine Vitale ctmirror.org/2026/02/03/g...

The role of emotion in politics. All those critics are just too darn emotional, I guess

What in the world

“I actually kind of think the opposite because I think quite a bit of leadership in the legislature, and even the governor particularly, are really motivated and have deep dived on this issue and understand the scale of it so much that I do think there’s just general momentum for continuing to do more each session,” Harrison said.

I'm going to need to see a citation on this one

What comes next after Connecticut's big housing law? Here are some possibilities www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/...

Tony Scott calls Just Cause "one of the worst bills I have ever seen."

What are you even talking about?

“That legislation ultimately denies the right of the property owner to use their property the way they would choose to,” said Housing Committee ranking member Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott. Sampson is also a landlord and said regulations like this would make it harder for people in his industry.

You know what else denies the right of the property owner to use their property the way they would choose to?

Zoning.

Looking forward to Rob Sampson, anti-zoning crusader