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HB 6996 Connecticut House · 2025 Regular Session

AN ACT CONCERNING PROTESTED CHANGES TO MUNICIPAL ZONING REGULATIONS.

HB 6996 modifies zoning change procedures by lowering the voting threshold required for zoning commission approvals. Currently, a two-thirds vote is needed if property owners file a valid protest petition (signed by 20% of affected property owners). The bill changes this to require only a simple majority vote, even with a protest, while raising the protest signature requirement from 20% to 50% of affected lots. This directly affects property owners who may file protests and zoning commissions making decisions on land use changes. The bill makes zoning adjustments easier to approve by reducing the barrier for commission votes when protests are filed.
Issues: ✓ HousingSupports HousingBill lowers voting threshold for zoning changes (simple majority vs 2/3) while raising protest signatures (50% vs 20%), facilitating housing development approvals.85% confidence
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 19, 2025 Last action Mar 31, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Raised Bill → PD Joint Favorable Substitute · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'Substitute Bill' with significant changes to protest thresholds and voting requirements for zoning changes. The protest signature requirement was modified to clarify that owners of twenty percent or more of the area of affected lots must sign protests, and the voting threshold for adopting zoning changes was changed from two-thirds majority to a simple majority vote.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on municipal zoning regulations and protest procedures, but the substantive requirements for challenging and approving zoning changes have been altered.
REQUIREMENT

Changed the protest signature threshold from 'fifty per cent or more of the area of the lots' to '[the owners of twenty] fifty per cent or more of the [area] owners of the lots', clarifying that twenty percent ownership of the area is the minimum threshold for valid protests.

Reduced the voting threshold for adopting zoning changes from a two-thirds majority vote to a simple majority vote of all commission members.

TECHNICAL

Changed bill designation from 'Raised Bill No. 6996' to 'Substitute Bill No. 6996' with updated legislative committee references.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
9
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Mar 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Joint Favorable Substitute
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Committee
REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Planning and Development
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.