CT Town Sued Over Strict Zoning Housing Rules

WOODBRIDGE, CT — A group of organizations and individuals plans to file a lawsuit against the Town of Woodbridge over its strict zoning regulations.

Members of the forthcoming lawsuit claim that the town’s zoning regulations violate the state Zoning Enabling Act and Fair Housing Act, as well as anti-segregation clauses of the state constitution.

Multifamily housing of three units or more is prohibited in 98.4 percent of the town’s land area and requires special exception review for the remaining 1.6 percent, according to Open Communities Alliance.

“For decades, Woodbridge’s zoning has erected unjustifiable barriers preventing lower and moderate income families, who are disproportionately families of color, from moving to town,” OCA Executive Director Erin Boggs said in a statement. “Woodbridge’s unduly restrictive zoning fails to address the stark regional need for affordable housing, disparately harms Black and Latino households, and deepens economic and racial segregation in the area.”

About 4 percent of Woodbridge residents are Black and about 5 percent are Hispanic, according to U.S. Census estimates. About 34 percent of New Haven residents are Black and 31 percent are Hispanic.

The lack of affordable housing was exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Anika Singh Lemar, a clinical professor at Yale Law School, who along with her students is representing the plaintiffs. A handful of cities are compelled to host nearly all the state’s affordable housing.

Zoning regulations that drive up housing prices go against state law that requires towns to provide equal access to housing opportunities, said Alan Schoenfeld of WilmherHale, a law firm that is representing the plaintiffs pro bono.

Open Communities Alliance asked Woodbridge to amend its zoning regulations two years ago to allow more affordable housing. Only 43 of 3,000 housing units were considered affordable in 2020, according to the New Haven Register.