Put Connecticut Back on its Tracks

A message from 1000 Friends of Connecticut's Board of Director, Robert Orr:

Flying into Bradley a couple weeks ago, I felt like I was descending into Sherwood Forest. No state is as thickly wooded as Connecticut (which does a pretty good job of hiding our sprawl). No state has better and more abundant topsoil (70'-80' deep by some accounts) standing ready to reignite local food. No state has as extensive a rail system (yes dormant, but let's rake off the leaves) standing ready to launch multi-mode transportation. No state has as much intellectual capital standing ready to jump on the new economy embracing value over equity pursuits. No state can boast such a balance of man-made and natural beauty.

All this adds up to a state with more potential for attracting enterprising (younger) and accidental (laid off, older) entrepreneurs with better cities, towns, hamlets, and countryside than any other.

All that's needed is a makeover of codes and regulations to stop thwarting normal market forces from embracing the glory still embedded in its bones. Connecticut is the Tuscany, the Val d'Orcia of North America. We just need our Nutmeg version of Iris and Antonio Origo to get the ball rolling.

This could be Connecticut, but its Val d'Orcia with Monte Amiata, view to the west from La Foce. This landscape was barren, completely denuded down to bare rock by over grazing of sheep and poor agricultural practices. However, with much hard work, care and attention in the 1920s, the Origos succeeded in transforming it into the beautiful countryside bordering charming Tuscan towns that you see above. Nothing in the picture is accidental. Connecticut needs the same purposeful approach, political will and fire in the belly to reach the potential of the great gift we've inherited.

Smart Growth Deserves A Better Boost

Smart Growth Deserves A Better Boost

By Susan Merrow

The Hartford Courant

11:04 AM EST, March 7, 2011

From the moment the recent recession reared its head, the phrase "It's a shame to let a good crisis go to waste" has been a theme in many quarters — nowhere more than the smart-growth quarter, where advocates have urged that this time of curtailed spending should be used to rein in policies that have promoted sprawl.

The state budget is the perfect place to begin, for that is where the cost of sprawl is embodied in the huge infrastructure expenditures at all levels of government. In 2009, the General Assembly passed a law, Public Act 09-230, "To define smart growth and require smart growth provisions of state, local and regional plans of conservation and development be consistent." Now would be the perfect time to use those definitions to guide policy decisions, especially in how we spend the state's money.

So how does Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget stack up on issues of smart growth? To find out, read the full article here.

New Report says Connecticut Fixed it First!

Research Confirms President Obama’s SOTU Remarks: Smart Transportation Spending Creates Jobs, Grows the Economy

Report shows investing in repair and maintenance projects and public transportation can help Connecticut revitalize America’s transportation system and rebuild the economy; Connecticut ranked first.

Connecticut, February 4, 2011 – A new report released by Smart Growth America (SGA) provides Connecticut with a roadmap to pursue President Obama’s call to repair our crumbling roads and bridges and invest in public transportation to jumpstart the economy. The report, which highlights how well states created jobs using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) flexible transportation dollars, provides Governor Malloy, the Department of Transportation, and the legislature with a smart investment strategy to get more jobs from the same number of transportation dollars and help rebuild the economy effectively.

Connecticut ranked first, based on how well the state used its portion of the $26.6 billion in flexible ARRA transportation dollars to create jobs. The report was released two years after the passage of ARRA and a week after President Obama’s State of the Union Address and his clarion call to rebuild America and create jobs.

“Smart Growth America commends Connecticut for using its federal stimulus funding to maximize job creation,” Geoff Anderson, President/CEO of Smart Growth America said. “Connecticut should continue on this same path of smart, fiscally responsible transportation policies when it considers its 2011 transportation budget. If Connecticut continues to allocate the majority of its transportation dollars in its new budget to the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges, and expanding access to public transportation, the state can save money and put people back to work.”

Connecticut leaders understand that rebuilding our economy is the most significant challenge of our generation. As the President said in his address, “To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods and information…America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities and constructed the interstate highway system. The jobs created by these projects didn’t just come from laying down tracks or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town’s new train station or the new off-ramp.” This report analyzes state-reported ARRA data and finds that wise spending of transportation dollars produces immediate results in terms of jobs.

The states that made the best use of funds invested in public transportation projects and maintained and repaired existing roads and bridges. The states that ranked poorly focused on building new roads and bridges.

Connecticut spent 100 percent of its ARRA transportation funds on repairing and maintaining roads and bridges; nothing on building new ones; and 9.1 percent on public transportation and non-motorized projects such as trails, bicycle projects and pedestrian projects.

"We're proud that Connecticut “fixed it first” and created jobs critical to our state's recovery. We urge even greater emphasis on mass transit funding, which has a triple benefit: it creates jobs, gets people to their jobs, and improves the quality of life for all of us," said 1000 Friends of Connecticut Chair Susan Merrow.

"We have seen a gradual shift in Connecticut toward investments in public transit where we get the biggest bang for the buck - dollar for dollar, public transportation projects create the highest percentage of jobs. These investments are good for both the economy and the environment," added Lori Brown, Executive Director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.

SGA determined its rankings by assessing how states invested their ARRA flexible transportation dollars, as reported by the states themselves to Congress.

Historically, repair work on roads and bridges generates 16 percent more jobs per dollar than new bridge and road construction. Repair and maintenance projects spend money faster and create jobs more quickly than building new roads because they employ more kinds of workers, spend less money on land and more on wages, and spend less time on plans and permits.

Additionally, historical investments in public transportation have generated 31 percent more jobs per dollar than new construction of roads and bridges. SGA’s analysis of ARRA spending shows that even more jobs were created with public transportation spending – these projects generated 70 percent more jobs per dollar than new highway construction.

"Our new administration in Hartford and new leadership at Department Of Transportation have a chance now to build on this good news and firmly establish the connection between wise spending on transit, fixing existing infrastructure, and growing smart," Susan Merrow concluded.

For the complete report, go to http://smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/lessons-from-the-stimulus.pdf.

Smart Growth America is the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide. From providing more sidewalks to ensuring more homes are built near public transit or that productive farms remain a part of our communities, smart growth helps make sure people across the nation can live in great neighborhoods. For additional information, please visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org.

Affordable Housing and 8-30G

As an intern for the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, I've been asked to comment on section 8-30G of the Connecticut General Statues, commonly known as the Affordable Housing Appeals Procedure. Section 8-30G, enacted in 1989, was a boon to advocates for more fair and affordable housing in the state, but has also been highly controversial. This section of the statutes applies to cases where a developer proposes building affordable housing in any town where less than 10% of existing housing can be described as affordable (meaning a household earning less than 60-80% of the state or area's median income must spend no more than 30% of its income on total housing costs). If a town zoning or planning commission rejects a developer's application to build affordable housing in a residential area, the developer can then appeal the town's decision and the burden of proof would be on the town to prove that rejecting the development was, "necessary to protect substantial public interests in health, safety, or other matters…such public interests clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing; and…such public interests cannot be protected by reasonable changes to the affordable housing development". The gist of the law is that for the developer's proposal to be rejected, the town zoning or planning commission must make a convincing case that such a proposal would clearly be against public interests or somehow endanger the health or safety of the community. Since for the vast majority of towns in Connecticut less than 10% of housing can be classified as affordable, this revision to the statues sent waves throughout the state and has led to the creation of hundreds, if not thousands, of affordable housing units statewide- either through the appeals process or merely because of towns recognizing the difficulty of opposing such developments.

Naturally, section 8-30G has provoked a good deal of opposition from affected towns. There are people that oppose affordable housing for bigoted or ignorant reasons, and enacting a law that favors the creation of affordable housing won’t change those attitudes overnight. Some people bristle at the thought of having local control over town planning compromised by often self-interested developers, and others express frustration and disappointment that the state government, in trying to further affordable housing, would resort to measures which effectively punish towns rather than incentivize- use of the “stick” and not the “carrot”.

But there are also those that want to repeal or revise section 8-30G for perfectly legitimate and principled reasons- namely, that it serves to work against Connecticut “smart growth” efforts. Although developers must site their affordable housing units in residential zones, the exact location of those units can be anywhere, such as on the peripheries of the town or away from population centers. For a town interested in becoming more compact and sustainable, this law can be frustrating, indeed. But other towns may be more interested in restricting any influx of people, or specifically, a certain type of people. As such, instead of restricting their residential zones or revising their zoning regulations to more precisely define their plain for sustainable growth, they insert language into their town statutes which gives overwhelming priority to town residents in applying for affordable housing, effectively barring low-income out-of-towners from residing there. The undertones to this kind of behavior can be clear: urban poor are not welcome in the suburbs. But of course, other towns may very well be interested in providing affordable housing, as long as it fits the context of the town’s broader plan for sustainable growth and doesn’t lead to further sprawl. Considering how vehement opposition to the law can be, it can be difficult to know exactly what the underlying feelings are. Fighting 8-30G tooth-and-nail without suggesting feasible alternatives and demonstrating their successful implementation is not the best way to show one’s intentions.

Some advocates for affordable housing take the view that the smart growth movement in Connecticut is by its very nature elitist and discriminatory, interpreting it as motivated merely by a desire to restrict population growth to the cities, discouraging low-income and non-white Connecticut residents from ever moving outside the cities and achieving the same economic opportunity and quality- of-life that more affluent residents enjoy. I think this view is unfair. I know that the true adherents to a smart growth philosophy believe that an inclusionary and sustainable society are one and the same. And I think the conflict between smart growth and affordable housing is artificial and pointless, and a distraction from the real issues. What I’m hoping for now is greater communication between both sides and sensitivity towards the other’s concerns. The circumstances of an economically and racially segregated state must be considered alongside the need for a radically different approach to population growth and economic development, and I see no reason why both can’t be done.

-Owen Deutsch

Plans for High-Speed Rail Moving Full-Speed Ahead

Tomorrow--Thursday, July 29--DOT Officials from Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts will host a public informational meeting to discuss the environmental impact of the planned New Haven-Hartford-Springfield high-speed rail line. According to Governor Rell, the project "has tremendous economic development potential for Connecticut and will go a long way to ease congestion on heavily traveled Interstate 91." Transportation officials from Connecticut and the other states involved have been collaborating with the federal government and Amtrak to complete necessary preliminary work.

Earlier this week, Governor Rell also announced the state Bond Commission is expected to approve $260 million in bonding to improve the corridor. This funding may be matched by $220 million in federal funding should Connecticut's application be approved. Officials have high hopes the NHHS High-Speed Rail Line will attract enthusiasm on the federal level given the strong regional collaboration taking place in New England.

Come to One Union Place in downtown Hartford at 6:00 P.M. tomorrow evening to learn more and to speak for the public.

Woman Hits Liability Lotto-Will CT Nature Lovers Lose 3000 Acres of Paradise? Public Hearing TONIGHT!

In mid-May, a Connecticut jury awarded $2.9 million to Maribeth Blonski, 43, for injuries sustained after she crashed her mountain bike into a large, obvious, yellow gate at the West Hartford Reservoir in 2002. In response, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) is considering closing its gates to all recreational activities to avoid potential future lawsuits and higher insurance premiums.

The MDC is a non-profit municipal corporation created in 1929. It owns several recreation areas, including the West Hartford Reservoir, which the MDC itself calls a “nature lovers paradise.”

Blonski, from Wethersfield and Rocky Hill, formerly hosted a public access television program about mountain biking. She publicly commented that at the time of the accident her head was down and she did not see the gate until she was only three feet away. Court documents indicate she was riding between 20 and 30 mph. An expert witness noted skid marks 20 feet from the gate, and that she was riding in the wrong direction.

The MDC argued the accident was a result of Blonski’s own negligence and that as a political subdivision of the state, it is immune from such lawsuits.

Nevertheless, after a complex legal analysis involving Connecticut’s Recreational Liability Statute and definitions of “municipal corporations,” “government functions,” “corporate profits,” and “proprietary functions,” the judge determined that the MDC was notimmune from liability. The jury then decided the rider was 30% at fault and that the MDC was 70% at fault for not having signs and warnings to make riders aware of the gate that was present and closed for most of 30 years.

Since the jury announced its decision, the MDC has entered a motion to set aside the verdict. Opposition to closing the West Hartford reservoir has become vocal. West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka and town councilor Joseph Verrengia will introduce a resolution calling for the MDC not to close its reservoirs, and State Rep. David Baram said he will propose legislation that will stop future lawsuits against the Metropolitan District Commission.

Additionally, a public meeting on this topic will be held Tuesday, July 20^th at 5:30 P.M. in the Auditorium of the Town Hall in West Hartford. If you appreciate the West Hartford Reservoir, it’s important that show up and say so.

Livable Communities Planning in Hartford Sets Example for the State of Connecticut by Erin Bourgault

U.S. Congressman John B. Larson held an open forum on Monday, June 28^th on Livable Communities and the Hartford “One City, One Plan” and iQuilt Proposals, with special guest Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Hartford’s plans should set an example for the rest of the state of Connecticut towards urban planning, improving transportation and housing options, and protecting the environment. The proposals include goals to revitalize downtown Hartford and enhance its role as a cultural center, as well as connect people to the city by improving mobility and coordinating multimodal transport. The major focus of iQuilt, the “Capitol District Vision Plan and Hartford’s Pathways of Innovation,” is to create a Greenwalk between Bushnell Park and the riverfront, as well as a “Connecticut Square” outdoor festival space to transform Hartford into a more friendly and welcoming environment.

Although Hartford is a compact district, many people drive throughout the city. By improving streets so they are enjoyable, walkable and bike-able, citizens can become less dependent on cars. The new proposal includes a connection to Union Station in order to enhance the use of public transportation in Hartford. The American Public Transportation Association estimates that families with access to good public transportation can save an average of $9,000 per year in transportation costs compared to households with no transit access. Congressman Earl Blumenauer used the phrase “bike partisanship” and stated that cycling is a tool to bring people together. Improving transportation options across the state of Connecticut would do more than decrease traffic congestion; it would improve quality of life.

The proposals and commitments in Hartford connect to the proposed Livable Communities Act, written by U.S. Senator Dodd of Connecticut. According to Senator Dodd, “This legislation provides funding for regions to plan future growth in a coordinated way that reduces congestion, generates good-paying jobs, creates and preserves affordable housing, meets our environmental and energy goals, protects rural areas and green space, revitalizes our Main Streets and urban centers, and makes our communities better places to live, work, and raise families.”

In March 2010, Senator Dodd and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Ron Sims went to New Haven and Hartford to promote the integration of housing, transit, and smart land use to create more livable communities. Congressman Larson said, “As we work to rebuild our economy and put our neighbors back to work, we must also rebuild our communities, making them greener more sustainable and more livable for generations to come.” Hartford has begun to take on this goal, and the rest of the state of Connecticut should follow.

For more information, check out www.hartfordiquilt.org.