To The Editor:

Local control of zoning in Newtown once belonged to its people. Our small-town charm and historic character made us unique, nicer and proud to call this home.

Over the years, a bit of that charm’s been systemically eroded, thanks in part to Connecticut’s 8-30g “Affordable Housing Statute," allowing developers to sue towns like ours, forcing placement of high-density projects in places zoned for single-family use.

Zoning and land-use belong in our hands, not Hartford’s. I consistently work to reform 8-30g.

8-30g doesn’t reflect the real-world limitations of small town infrastructure. We’re already seeing what happens when 10-lbs of development is forced into a 5-lb bag by allowing developers a mechanism to skirt local zoning without first considering infrastructure needs — before choking our roads, and straining finite resources like water, sewer, parking, recreation, and more. That’s not good lawmaking. It’s the hallmark of absolute power.

Never mind that 8-30g’s measure of success is mathematically unattainable because it doesn’t count units in Newtown’s manufactured home communities or subsidized units at Nunnawauk Meadows. Its “10% affordable” measure is commendable in concept, but arbitrary in practice if towns are set up to fail.

We absolutely need affordable housing for younger families, downsizers, and workforce newcomers. But 8-30g has never been a solution. My colleagues and I regularly propose practical reforms, and the Democrat Supermajority ignores our, and your voices.

Enter HB-8002, the Supermajority’s November 2025, hastily-called “Emergency Special Session” 107-page book of mandates. It freed developers’ from having to bring 8-30g challenges to court by granting “as of right” authority to fast-track high-density in towns like ours.

No “emergency." No public hearings. Supermajority passed. Governor signed.

If you agree we don’t need less robust, one-size-fits-all zoning laws, perhaps it’s time to stop adding to Hartford’s Supermajority.

CT needs better balance. With your vote, I pledge to continue fighting the Supermajority in Harford to keep the character that defines Newtown.

State Representative Mitch Bolinsky

Newtown