It is a well-documented fact that Connecticut is in a housing crisis. If the Connecticut State Legislature acts this session to approve bills that prevent people from becoming homeless and increase housing opportunities for people of all incomes, then Connecticut will be taking the first steps toward solutions to end this crisis.
The Housing Growth Fund is one of the solutions Connecticut needs right now.
Today, roughly 20 percent of all the homes currently on the market are listed for over $1 million. Earlier this month, another town in Connecticut was added to Zillow’s “million-dollar” club, a list of cities and towns with a median home value above $1 million. If the high cost of housing isn’t affecting you personally, it is affecting someone you know, friends or even family members who are young professionals, young families, or empty nesters. Whether they’re trying to find a forever home or downsize there is little inventory at affordable prices. Young professionals may have no choice but to live far from their jobs. Young families may not have the choice to purchase a home in their same school districts. And for empty nesters, downsizing may be a thing of the past.
The causes of the housing affordability crisis are complicated, and there is no silver bullet to solving it in the short or long term. It’s not new. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated housing unaffordability to a degree previously unimaginable. There are, however, better ways the state can encourage the development of a variety of housing to help stabilize rents and create affordable housing options for residents of all incomes.
The Housing Growth Fund is a system that would award points to municipalities for creating new housing. These points would then be tallied up once a year, and the highest-scoring municipalities would be awarded money from a pool of state funding established by the fund. This money has no strings attached and local officials would determine how these funds are used for their communities.
When weighing the consequences of building new housing in a town, many local officials worry its infrastructure or town services would be stressed by the added demand. With money from a housing growth fund, municipalities could address these concerns.
This is why I support the current state legislation aimed at creating a Housing Growth Fund. It will not solve the crisis; the state needs to take more action to truly make housing more affordable. However, the housing growth fund is one solution that local officials have been asking for over many years.
During my time as a First Selectwoman of Darien, and as the State’s Housing Commissioner, and as I engage in conversations with local officials today, I know that the Housing Growth Fund would’ve encouraged then and encourage today the development of new housing in towns across the state.
I urge you to contact your local state representative and senator in support of The Housing Growth Fund.
Evonne Klein is a former First Selectwoman from Darien, former CEO for the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH), former Commissioner of Housing for the State of Connecticut.