Letter To The Editor: The Most Pressing Issue Of Our Time

To the Editor:

I am writing to address a recent op-ed by Alexis Harrision called "Heatwaves, the Environment, and Local Zoning" which spreads many falsehoods about recent proposed land use legislation and ignores the well-documented positive impacts that zoning reform has on the environment.

Ms. Harrison writes that recently-proposed state-level zoning changes would make towns "largely unable to make land use decisions" and were written “without much regard to climate change”. Both claims are completely false.

The bill she refers to, HB 5429, proposed last session, would have set modest density goals within walking distance of transit stations, where the state has made significant infrastructure investments, while maintaining local control over the types and locations of home construction. Inspired in part by a Massachusetts law recently passed with bipartisan support, this common-sense proposal would give communities more housing options in areas that already have infrastructure to support them.

The status quo Ms. Harrison is defending means building houses further apart, pushing development away from existing infrastructure and into our forests and agricultural land. Building in places that are already developed but currently underutilized helps preserve the natural spaces and wetlands that are critical to carbon capture and to maintaining our ecosystems. That’s why environmental groups support HB 5429 and are part of our coalition at DesegregateCT.

Plus, encouraging this kind of transit-oriented community also allows more people to live and work without being required to drive. This helps reduce traffic and the pollution it causes. Also, the proposal specifically included carve outs to protect environmentally-sensitive lands near stations.

Ms. Harrison is right that climate change is "the most pressing issue of our time." But climate experts and advocates agree that the solution is to build more homes in walkable, transit-oriented communities and not more sprawl. In other words, zoning reform advances the cause of environmental protection.

— Marcus Palumbo is an Advocacy Fellow with DesegregateCT and a resident of Mansfield. He will be attending Clark University in the Fall.