In a March 24 opinion piece titled A plea for a hold on zoning reform, author Alexis Harrison of Fairfield attacked H.B. 6107 and (without naming it) S.B. 1024. As a fellow Fairfield County resident (from the neighboring town of Trumbull) who thinks zoning reform is one key to building a more prosperous and inclusive Connecticut, I’d like to counter its claims and make an argument of my own. 

With the 25th anniversary of the Sheff v. O’Neill decision coming up in July, it’s time to fulfill the ruling’s true legacy and reform exclusionary zoning in Connecticut.

In a December 17 opinion piece titled Zoning reform must consider the character of each town, Alexis Harrison of Fairfield argued against HB 5132, a bill that would reform zoning laws in the state. As Katherine Levine Einstein laid out in her book Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis, these are common arguments against building more homes, but they should not stop us.

We need to reclaim a teachable moment and help our students process the historic protests sweeping Connecticut and the country. I teach an eighth grade American history class in Connecticut. At their best, social studies classrooms are vehicles for dignified, challenging discussions about American society, and their physical absence across Connecticut is a loss for all its students right now. According to the National Council for the Social Studies, the primary purpose of a social studies class is “to help young people make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society.” Even amidst pandemic and economic suffering, the mission to transform young people into just such citizens is still important.