While we can blame the General Assembly’s failure to do much of anything to address Connecticut’s affordable housing crisis on the difficulty of getting anything done in the “short session,” the reality is the state has neither the leadership nor the will to enact the legislation we must have. That is evident from what happened this session, and what other states are doing right now to promote affordable housing.

About all that made it through the session was House Bill 5474, which did very little. Some of it was unnecessary, such as providing that zoning regulations “may allow for as-of-right development of any type of middle housing” on land zoned for residential, commercial or mixed use. “Middle housing” includes duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, cottage clusters and townhouses. Municipalities already have this right. Call it the legislative equivalent of comfort food.