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LCO No. 1571 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5290
February Session, 2026 LCO No. 1571
Referred to Committee on PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduced by:
(PD)
AN ACT CONCERNING COASTAL SITE PLAN REVIEWS FOR
CERTAIN SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 22a-109 of the 2026 supplement to 1
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 3
(b) The zoning commission may by regulation exempt any or all of 4
the following uses from the coastal site plan review requirements of this 5
chapter: (1) Minor additions to or modifications of existing buildings or 6
detached accessory buildings, such as garages and utility sheds; (2) 7
construction of new or modification of existing structures incidental to 8
the enjoyment and maintenance of residential property including but 9
not limited to walks, terraces, elevated decks, driveways, swimming 10
pools, tennis courts, docks and detached accessory buildings; (3) 11
construction of new or modification of existing on -premise structures 12
including fences, walls, pedestrian walks and terraces, underground 13
utility connections, essential electric, gas, telephone, water and sewer 14
service lines, signs and such other minor structures as will not 15
Raised Bill No. 5290
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substantially alter the natural character of coastal resources or restrict 16
access along the public beach; (4) activities conducted for the specific 17
purpose of conserving or preserving soil, vegetation, water, fish, 18
shellfish, wildlife and other coastal land and water resources; (5) interior 19
modifications to buildings; [and] (6) minor changes in use of a building, 20
structure or property except those changes occurring on property 21
adjacent to or abutting coastal waters ; and (7) construction of a single -22
family residential structure except when such structure is (A) located on 23
an island not connected to the mainland by an existing road bridge or 24
causeway, or (B) in or within one hundred feet of the following coastal 25
resource areas: Tidal wetlands, coastal bluffs and escarpments and 26
beaches and dunes . Gardening, grazing and the harvesting of crops 27
shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter. If a zoning 28
commission adopts an exemption pursuant to subdivision (7) of this 29
subsection, such commission shall, not less than quarterly, submit a 30
report to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection 31
detailing any such single -family residential structure approved by the 32
commission during the period covered by such report. Notwithstanding 33
the provisions of this subsection, shoreline flood and erosion control 34
structures as defined in subsection (c) of this section shall not be exempt 35
from the requirements of this chapter. 36
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 22a-109(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To allow zoning commissions to exempt certain single -family
residential structures from requirements concerning coastal site plan
reviews and instead submit quarterly reports to the Commissioner of
Energy and Environmental Protection concerning the approval of such
structures.
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[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]