The country's premier conference for the pro-homes movement will be in Connecticut next month with hundreds of attendees from a wide array of political beliefs, but Gov. Ned Lamont isn't invited following his veto of a sweeping housing bill earlier this summer.
This year's YIMBYtown conference, organized by Desegregate Connecticut, is scheduled to be held in New Haven in mid-September. The name stands for the acronym "Yes In My Back Yard," a counter to the "Not in My Back Yard" argument against development of more apartments largely in single-family home neighborhoods.
This marks the first time the national conference will be held in Connecticut.
Lamont in June vetoed House Bill 5002, which included a provision known as Work, Live, Ride -- a policy backed by Desegregate CT -- that would have prioritized certain state infrastructure funds for towns that agreed to allow more apartments near public transit hubs.
"We made it very clear to Gov. Lamont that he is not invited unless he has signed," a housing bill before the conference, said Pete Harrison, Connecticut director of the Regional Plan Association. Desegregate CT is a program of the association.
When he vetoed the bill, Lamont said he wanted to see more buy-in from towns before he signed. He's asked lawmakers to come back and work on a new housing bill in a special session this fall.
"The Governor understands the RPA's decision to not invite him to their conference, YIMBYTOWN," said Rob Blanchard, the governor's spokesperson, in a statement. "He still appreciates their work and looks forward to future collaboration on a new bill to address our housing crisis."
The YIMBYtown conference began in 2016 in Colorado and, particularly over the past few years, has attracted people with a wide array of political beliefs. At this year's conference, keynote speakers include well-known climate activist Bill McKibben, liberal activist Tamika L. Butler and Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota.
"The strength politically is that there really are different ways to speak about this issue to different political audiences, but the through thread is: We are simply not building enough homes, and at least the problem that we can absolutely switch tomorrow is land use decisions," Harrison said.
Conservative and liberal states alike have taken action on land use.
In Republican-controlled Montana, state legislation has legalized accessory dwelling units in all cities, required towns to allow duplexes in any single-family zoned neighborhood, cut down on the public hearing process for development and allowed more development without special hearings before zoning boards.
This is known as the "Montana Miracle," and housing experts say several other Republican states including Utah, Idaho and North Carolina have also passed progressive changes to allow more housing. Some of these states have been driven by a desire for economic growth, to build more densely and preserve open land and by the idea that land owners should have the right to do what they want with their property.
More Democratic states including Massachusetts, California and New Jersey also have laws that make it easier to bypass red tape and build housing, experts say. In Connecticut, the conversation about zoning change has been mostly dominated by more left-leaning groups.
Harrison said many other states have seen more bipartisan work on zoning policy than Connecticut has.
"It's safe to say that even in a deep red state, it has crossed over more so than it has in Connecticut," he said.
In Connecticut, those in favor of zoning change have said it would help improve the state's climate resiliency and cut down on housing costs, among other benefits. State Republicans have objected to proposals to reform zoning on a state level saying it encroaches on local control and imposes one-size-fits-all solutions on towns with unique needs.
Harrison said climate change is one of the major themes of this year's YIMBYtown conference. He said Connecticut is one of the states that can expect to see its population rise as people from southern states find their homes unlivable or uninsurable because of the impacts of a warming world.
"As bad as the housing crisis is in Connecticut, we don't think it has started yet. It's the next generation that will not be able to live in places with high growth and lower costs because of climate change and because of insurance rates and construction costs, it will just be too expensive," Harrison said.
More than 600 people are expected to attend the conference, which will take place from Sept. 14 to 16. There are more than 60 panels on topics ranging from transportation, homelessness, insurance and states' zoning changes.
"We're really aiming to align around the goals that Desegregate has been pushing around housing, inequity, transit, energy and sustainability, and bringing those four topics together," said Nick Kantor, director of Desegregate CT.