The circus is coming to town. At least the political “circus” known as the Connecticut General Assembly. Opening Day has just occurred as this column is being written.
Gov. Malloy gave his annual lecture to the House and Senate on “fairness” and on what a great state we live in. He called for ever more socially responsible programs, and outreach to those deemed “most in need.”
Of course, “those most in need” is a relative matter, that is subject to differing opinions. One reason we have elections is to determine how needs and resources to pay for meeting them should be balanced.
No mention of paying for anything came from the governor’s lips. However, his budget adjustment bill, “Governor’s Bill” HB 5035, was introduced earlier in the day and forwarded to the Appropriations Committee.
Cursory review of the bill shows that there are some “winners” but mostly “losers.” Among 51 departments there were 11 whose “bottom lines” reflected increases. The rest either suffered decreases or stayed the same. Or perhaps even disappeared.
Although another was created, namely “Gubernatorial Transition,” to the tune of $100,000.
The budget adjustment and its related issues will predominate in legislative activity during the next few months. Underlying the governor’s rousing speech on “fairness” in budgeting are cross-currents in the hand the legislature is being dealt. It would perhaps not be unfair to characterize this Legislative Short Session as pitting the “haves” against the “have-nots.”
Cutting school aid for Weston and other “wealthy” towns to zero, as the governor has suggested now and in the past, is considered to be insufficient. Among the first bills that were presented this year toward implementation of the governor’s budget recommendations was SB 8, sent to the Education Committee, defining how the state should determine aid grants based on a complex set of financial and other metrics for each municipality.
My very favorite current bill is HB 5045, “An Act Establishing Accountability for Fair and Affordable Housing through Zoning Regulations.” I have always felt that allowing and in fact requiring a lot of the language that is presently in our subdivision regulations to be reflected within zoning regulations, as proposed in this bill, would be a good thing for Weston. Especially several provisions in HB 5045 that would be protective of our natural environment.
The mélange of zoning, subdivision, planning, and regulations as well as affordable housing lingo in HB 5045 is complex, and perhaps tricky in places. But it is reassuring to see how it follows up on last year’s plain-spoken definition of a non-conforming use. The bill specifies that zoning regulations “shall not … provide for the termination of any non-conforming use solely as a result of non-use for a specified period of time without regard to the intent of the property owner to maintain that use.”
NOTE: “About Town” is also a television program. It appears on Fridays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 p.m. on Cablevision Channel 88 (Public Access). Or see it at www.aboutweston.com.