Protect Fairfield
- Jun 2
- 2 min read
Dear Fairfielders,
Protect Fairfield: Tell Governor Lamont to VETO HB 5002
Connecticut residents are facing the most aggressive housing overreach in state history. The legislature has passed HB 5002, a bill that completely undermines local zoning and imposes arbitrary, one-size-fits-all mandates on every town and city in the state. The only thing standing between this disastrous bill and our community is a veto from Governor Ned Lamont.
This is our last chance to prevent Connecticut from going down the same litigious, chaotic path as New Jersey, where towns are now caught in endless court battles, stripped of their ability to plan growth and manage land use responsibly.
CALL TO ACTION:
Call Governor Lamont Today: 860-566-4840 or Toll-Free: 800-406-1527
Email: governor.lamont@ct.gov
Tell him to: "VETO HB 5002, protect local control and stop the overreach."
Deadline, Wednesday, June 4th.
What’s in HB 5002?
No parking restrictions are allowed for any development under 24 units. This is not a planning standard; it’s a political number negotiated in the middle of the night by special interests, ignoring how people live and work. This parking policy does not exist statewide anywhere else in the U.S. It’s impractical, inequitable, and sets up towns for irreparable harm, congestion, and overdevelopment.
State mandates of hundreds or thousands of new units in nearly every town, overriding local planning and environmental constraints.
Towns are coerced into surrendering zoning power to the state or face de-prioritized funding for small-town infrastructure, environment, and planning.
Who benefits?
Developers and their lobbyists. HB 5002 is the biggest handout to developers in state history, and they got it passed behind closed doors, at 2 a.m. on a Saturday.
Meanwhile, Connecticut residents get stuck with:
Decades of anti-business policy failures
Soaring property taxes (already #2 in the country behind New Jersey)
Exploding state debt
Doubling of energy costs and surcharges for green energy policies
Chronic underfunding of schools, infrastructure, and town services
A decade of population decline and housing inventory mismanagement
How They Voted
State Senator Tony Hwang, R-28 voted NO. Read his Op-Ed here.
State Representative Jennifer Leeper, D-132 voted NO, but was silent on the floor, and failed to speak up to encourage her fellow democrat caucus members to vote no.
State Representative Sarah Keitt, D-134 voted NO, but was silent on the floor, and failed to speak up to encourage her fellow democrat caucus members to vote no.
State Representative Cristin McCarthy-Vahey, D-133, voted YES.
Lobbying Efforts: Where was First Selectman Gerber?
Our neighbor, Trumbull’s Democrat First Selectwoman Vicki Tesoro spoke out against HB 5002, but where was Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber? As this bill was being passed to strip local zoning control, worsen traffic, and speed up deforestation, Fairfield's First Selectman stayed silent.
This is the Tipping Point
We’re being told to give up local control to fix a problem that the state’s policies created. Zoning isn’t the villain; failed leadership is.
We can’t fix bad policy with worse policy. HB 5002 is a reckless experiment that will backfire statewide. Please ask the Governor to VETO HB 5002.
We hope you find this information helpful. Please contact us at rtc@fairfieldrtc.com with any questions, we always welcome hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Laura M. Devlin
RTC Chair
Mike Grant
RTC Vice Chair
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