Statement from Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan on the Proposed Vessel Technologies Development in Bethel

**News Release Submitted by Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan**

Sept. 5, 2025

Bethel is facing the largest housing proposal our town has ever seen, a five-story, 75-unit apartment building planned for Nashville Road, right in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood.

The developer, Vessel Technologies, is invoking Connecticut’s 8-30g law — a statute meant to expand affordable housing — to override local zoning and fast-track a project where only 30% of the units would actually qualify as affordable. The rest are market-rate.

Let me be clear: this is not about opposing affordable housing. I rent in Bethel. I’m in my 30s. I know how hard it is to find something affordable in this region. But this project is not about solving that problem, it’s about exploiting a loophole in state law to force through something that doesn’t make sense for the community.

Connecticut’s 8-30g law was intended to open doors in towns that have historically shut people out. But in practice, it does little to move the needle in ultra-wealthy communities where land is too expensive to build anything meaningful, and it has no impact in rural towns with no housing demand. It’s towns like Bethel, the ones in the middle, that get squeezed.

From day one, this project has felt like it was drawn up in a boardroom and dropped into our neighborhood with no real engagement or respect for the people who live here. The message being sent here is clear: sit down, be quiet, and let the developer decide. That doesn’t sit right with me, and it shouldn’t sit right with anyone.

I’ve opposed legislation that would have made 8-30g even more extreme, and I’ve stood up to leadership in Hartford to demand real reform, not to gut the law, but to make it smarter, more effective, and fairer to towns like ours. I support affordable housing. I support growth. But I also believe in standing with the people I represent, and I can’t accept a system that pushes towns like Bethel into a corner for trying to grow responsibly.

We can build housing and protect the fabric of our communities, but only if residents are treated like partners, not obstacles. If your housing policy depends on silencing local voices to succeed, it’s not good policy, it’s lazy policy.

State Rep. Raghib Allie Brennan (D) represents the 2nd district, including Bethel and part of Danbury.