New Haven Housing Authority Proposes Zoning Reforms, Land Tax

The Housing Authority of New Haven, Connecticut recently proposed a housing plan that would implement the zoning reforms gaining momentum around the country.

According to an article by Laura Glesby for the New Haven Independent, the Housing Authority’s laundry list of policy recommendations resembles a YIMBY party platform, rather than the traditional approach to housing subsidies: “Pre-approve certain building plans. Eliminate parking minimums. Support single-room apartments. Implement a land tax.”

The recommendations can be found in the “Breaking Ground: Solutions to Advance Affordable Housing in New Haven” report, which can be read in its entirety online.

“The report culminates a series of community conversations hosted by Elm City Communities (ECC) on the affordable housing crisis, strategizing with NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab, and research by ECC’s policy director Will Viederman,” reports Glesby.

Connecticut has been building a track record of legislative work on supply-side approaches to housing affordability, like those included in the “Breaking Ground” report, although a statewide zoning reform package approved by the Connecticut State Legislature in 2021 stopped short of the mandatory statewide implementation that other states have implemented recently. The legislature’s efforts to adopt a new round of zoning reforms fell short of approval before the end of the legislative session in 2023 as well.