To The Editor:

I was confused by a recent letter dismissing the HB 8002 housing bill as addressing “no emergency.” Try telling that to families where rent costs more than their neighbors’ McMansion mortgages. Or retirees forced out by rising property taxes. Or adults reaching 40 that still can’t afford their first home. When working people write rent checks that consume half or more of their income, that’s an emergency. If you’re fortunate enough not to feel it, count your blessings. But don’t use your privilege to pull up the ladder behind you.

The real debate isn’t whether Hartford got everything right; of course it didn’t. The real debate is what we mean by “local control.” Local control … to do what? Build communities where working families can afford to live? Or preserve exclusivity while teachers and seniors get priced out? We can use local control to plan proactively: allowing 8,000-square-foot lots, accessory units for aging in place, and mixed-use in Sandy Hook for example. Or we can maintain exclusionary zoning and act shocked when people have had enough of being pushed out.

I love Newtown because we’ve proven ourselves to be a welcoming community. That’s the Newtown I love. That’s the character of Newtown I want to preserve. Let’s preserve that together.

Samuel Grummons

Newtown