Legislation championed by DesegregateCT would increase affordability, incentivize transit-oriented development, and more.
Today, Work Live Ride, as part of HB 5002, passed in the House of the CT General Assembly 84-67. Regional Plan Association and DesegregateCT would like to thank all of the Reps who supported an important and comprehensive bill to address the housing shortage in Connecticut. HB 5002 is a pro-homes bill and at the core of it is simple: we need to build more homes, more types of homes, and homes in smarter places in CT to finally tackle the housing shortage and climate crisis - and this bill will help!
“Work Live Ride is one step closer to helping towns and cities build more homes and create more jobs near our bus and rail stations. Passing again in the House is a testament to the patient leadership of Rep. Kavros DeGraw and Majority Leader Rojas, but it’s also, frankly, an indictment of the pace of progress on the housing shortage in CT that it is so hard to take meaningful steps like Work Live Ride, parking reform, and other important reforms in the bill” says Pete Harrison, Connecticut Director at Regional Plan Association.
HB 5002 is a big bill and includes Work Live Ride; the most ambitious parking reform east of the Rockies; a fair share allotment; conversion of commercial properties as of right, tweaks to public housing authorities; blocking anti-homeless hostile architecture; and still other important reforms.
“Now we turn to Majority Leader Duff to call HB 5002 in the Senate as soon as possible. This bill will help countless communities we have met with that buy into a pro-homes future and will amplify the work underway with the CT Municipal Development Authority to bring more state capacity to local leaders. The current and future residents of CT need this law on the books!” says Nick Kantor, Program Director of DesegregateCT.
Work Live Ride passed the Connecticut House during the 2024 session with 90 votes, but was not taken up in the session. Following this House vote, HB 5002 will now move to the Senate. Desegregate Connecticut, a program of RPA, has been a champion of transit-oriented development in Connecticut since the program’s inception in 2020.
“Work Live Ride will help streamline the state’s ability to meet our economic and environmental goals outlined in the 2025-2030 State Conservation & Development Plan. Closer to home, we’re excited for the opportunities the bill provides the pro-homes movement to grow and organize proactively in towns and cities across Connecticut,” says Harrison
“We thank all of our coalition members, local leaders, and pro-homes advocates who have worked hard for months to see Work Live Ride, parking reform, and everything else in HB5002 become a reality. Let’s keep up the momentum!” says Kantor.
###
About Regional Plan Association
Regional Plan Association (RPA) is an independent non-profit organization that conducts research, planning and advocacy to expand economic opportunity, environmental resiliency, improved health, and better quality of life in the New York metropolitan area. Since the 1920s, RPA has produced four landmark plans for the region. The most recent was released in November 2017. For more information, please visit www.rpa.org.
About Desegregate Connecticut
Formed in June 2020, DesegregateCT is a pro-homes coalition of neighbors and nonprofits fighting for better land use laws to make Connecticut more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable. For more information, please visit desegregatect.org
