Wilton residents and officials may not have supported Connecticut’s latest housing law, but the town is now beginning to confront what the wide-ranging legislation will mean for its zoning, infrastructure and housing planning.
Wilton’s State Rep. Savet Constantine (D-42), along with Francis Pickering, director of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (WestCOG), presented to the Board of Selectmen last week (Tuesday, Dec. 16) about the highlights of HB 8002 — An Act Concerning Housing Growth, through which local and state officials hope to address Connecticut’s housing shortage.
The bill was passed during a special session vote by the State House of Representatives (90-56) on Nov. 12, and by the State Senate (20-14) on Nov. 14. Gov. Ned Lamont signed the legislation into law on Nov. 26, making it effective as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Constantine — who voted against the bill — told the Board of Selectmen that one of the advantages of the much-publicized housing legislation is that it allows for a housing growth plan that is town-led.
“Unlike a lot of towns, we’re actually building. I mean, let’s say it’s slightly over 1,000 units that have either gone in or are projected to come in,” Constantine said. Those units are up and down Rte. 7, which is commercial, she added.
Part of coming up with a plan is considering what Rte. 7 is going to look like, Constantine said, “which we know is a huge concern to, I think, everybody in this room, all the residents I’ve spoken to. But it’s a chance for the town, along with the COG’s help, whether the town does their own housing growth plan.”
Regional Planning Requirements
Pickering said that WestCOG is currently preparing its Regional Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) — a state-mandated document every town participates in — which must be approved by July 1, 2026. The updated POCD must now include an assessment of sewer and water availability, a requirement that was previously encouraged but is now written into statute.
The new state law also requires regions to estimate how much housing each municipality can reasonably accommodate over the next 25 years based on infrastructure capacity. For Wilton, preliminary estimates show roughly 1,100 new housing units could be added between now and 2050 — about 40–50 units per year. Shorter-term five-year estimates, based on recent development trends, point to around 80 units (approximately 16 per year). Pickering said these numbers may be adjusted as more recent development in Wilton is factored in.
Pickering said WestCOG will offer technical assistance to its member towns and cities, of which Wilton is one, so they can conform to the mandates that are included in the new housing legislation, including the regional housing growth plan, which is due in the summer of 2029.
“So we’re focusing right now at the COG on what municipalities need to do in 2026 in order to comply with state law,” Pickering said. “And I expect that there will be attention on municipalities. There will be people out there looking to ensure compliance.”
What Must Be Allowed by 2026
Starting July 1, 2026, towns and cities’ zoning regulations have to allow transit community middle housing developments and mixed-use developments, subject only to a summary review, on any parcel that is zoned for commercial or mixed-use development and may allow transit community middle housing developments, subject only to a summary review, on any parcel that allows for residential use, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.
Transit community middle housing developments are defined as residential buildings with two to nine units, such as duplexes, triplexes, cottage clusters, perfect sixes and townhouses. Mixed-use development refers to residential and nonresidential uses in a single building, according to the legislation.
The summary review, Pickering explained, is a new term. According to the legislation, the review is a process through which “a project can be approved if it complies with zoning regulations, without requiring a public hearing, variance, special permit or exception, or any other discretionary zoning action, except for a determination that a site plan conforms with the applicable regulations and public health and safety will not be substantially impacted.”
“What you need to do, or your Planning and Zoning Commission in conjunction with your planner, is to update your regulations to provide for this by July 1,” Pickering said.
Pickering emphasized that while municipalities must allow this development somewhere, towns still retain broad discretion to shape outcomes through their zoning regulations — including building form standards, incentives, design requirements, fees, and mobility or parking standards. “The key is: does it comply with your regulations?” he said.
Parking Rules and New Districts
Another big change surrounds the issue of parking, according to Pickering.
Beginning July 1, 2026, local zoning can’t reject a proposed residential development with fewer than 17 units solely due to a failure to conform to a requirement for off-street parking unless the lack of parking will have a specific adverse impact on public health and safety, according to the bill.
The bill also allows municipalities to adopt parking requirements for residential developments with at least 17 units, but developers will also be allowed to submit a parking needs assessment to local zoning officials in rebuttal.
The legislation also calls for the establishment of Conservation and Traffic Mitigation Districts.
“And this recognizes that there are some places in a municipality where road space is at a premium. Traffic may be especially congested,” Pickering said.
Each municipality can create up to two of these districts where officials can impose minimum parking requirements on residential developments of up to 15 units. These districts can each only cover no more than 4% (or combined total of 8%) of the municipality’s land area, Pickering said.
Pickering added that if a town sets up two overlapping districts, the overlapping “doughnut hole” would legally have zero required parking, a quirk he believes was intentional based on testimony heard during the legislative process.
Hostile Architecture Clause and Drafting Error
Pickering also discussed what he said appears to be a drafting error in the language of the bill.
This part of the legislation deals with “hostile architecture,” which can be, for example, a bench that is designed to prohibit a homeless person from sleeping on it. What this part of the legislation requires is that, as of Jan. 1, there is a place to receive complaints about hostile architecture that the town would then investigate.
Where the drafting error appears to be is in language that implies “if you build a new school and the benches in the school are designed to prohibit sleeping, then you have to demolish the entire school,” Pickering said. “I do not believe that’s the legislative intent. So what I would do here is defer to legislative intent, which is probably to determine that there are hostile architecture features. You remove those features and you do not remove the entire building.”
Constantine agreed, adding that the change refers to architecture going forward, not those that are already in existence.
Other Approaches to Address Housing Costs
Pickering said there are other solutions the state can look into to help with housing and cost of living.
“We do know we need more housing, but the solution for everybody who is financially strapped is not a new home,” Pickering said. “Other solutions may be, can we provide income support? Can we elevate their wages, right? Or is it an earned income tax credit? Can we provide rental support? Is it vouchers? Are there opportunities for property tax abatement? That’s a huge driver of housing costs in Connecticut.”
He added developers can look at existing building stock and redevelop it, or subdivide existing single family homes.
Pickering described this as a “shrink to fit” approach — converting larger single-family homes into multiple smaller units where feasible — and said state building code adjustments could help make such conversions more economically viable.
Wilton’s Housing Market Conditions
Second Selectman Ross Tartell said that in Connecticut the vacancy rate is extremely low, and in Wilton, there are fewer than 30 houses for sale.
“So you have almost no housing available for people who want to do anything,” Tartell said.
Pickering said towns have to look to a long-term plan, adding that over the last 50 years, housing construction has outpaced population growth in the state while household sizes are also shrinking.
“So part of it is looking at how we develop smaller. Is that new townhouses and condominiums and apartments, or is it carving up existing single family homes?” Pickering said.
He said the issue can’t be solved with zoning alone, as there are other factors that drive up costs, such as tariffs, cost of materials, labor, lending and state regulations compliance.