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sHB5396 / File No. 264 1
General Assembly File No. 264
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5396
House of Representatives, March 31, 2026
The Committee on Planning and Development reported
through REP. KAVROS DEGRAW of the 17th Dist.,
Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the
substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ON
CERTAIN LAND OWNED BY A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Religious organization affordable housing development" means 2
a development proposed by a religious institution or jointly proposed 3
by a religious institution and any other developer that is located on real 4
property owned by such religious organization where not less than 5
twenty per cent of the proposed dwelling units are subject to affordable 6
housing deed restrictions; 7
(2) "Dwelling unit" has the same meaning as provided in section 47a-8
1 of the general statutes; 9
(3) "Religious organization" has the same meaning as provided in 10
section 49-31k of the general statutes; 11
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(4) "Affordable housing deed restriction" means a deed restriction 12
contained in an instrument filed on the land records of the municipality 13
in which the development is located that requires, for not less than forty 14
years after the initial occupation of the development, that certain 15
dwelling units in the development be sold or rented at, or below, a cost 16
in rent or mortgage payments equivalent to not more than thirty per 17
cent of the annual income of individuals and families earning sixty per 18
cent of the median income of the state or the area median income as 19
determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 20
Development, whichever is less; and 21
(5) "Summary review" has the same meaning as provided in section 22
8-2r of the general statutes. 23
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any zoning regulations 24
adopted pursuant to section 8-2 of the general statutes or any special act, 25
except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any proposed 26
religious organization housing development shall be allowed subject 27
only to summary review. 28
(c) Any zoning regulations adopted pursuant to section 8 -2 of the 29
general statutes or any special act may require that a religious 30
organization housing development have: 31
(1) A gross density of (A) thirty or fewer dwelling units per acre if 32
less than twenty-five per cent of the dwelling units in such development 33
are subject to an affordable housing deed restriction, or (B) fifty or fewer 34
dwelling units per acre if twenty-five per cent or greater of the dwelling 35
units in such development are subject to an affordable housing deed 36
restriction; 37
(2) A height not greater than the maximum allowable height for a 38
residential development in the municipality; 39
(3) Side and rear setbacks of not less than fifteen feet; and 40
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 8 -3n of the general 41
statutes, off-street motor vehicle parking if the development is greater 42
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than one -half mile from any public transit station, provided such 43
parking requirements shall not exceed one parking space per dwelling 44
unit. 45
(d) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to 46
any real property: 47
(1) Owned by a religious organization for fewer than three years; 48
(2) Located in a special flood hazard area designated on a flood 49
insurance rate map published by the National Flood Insurance Program; 50
(3) Located within a radius of three thousand two hundred feet of any 51
facility that extracts or refines oil or natural gas; 52
(4) Lacking adequate access to water or sewerage infrastructure; or 53
(5) Used as a cemetery. 54
(e) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to 55
any development that would require the demolition of any property 56
listed in the (1) National Register of Historic Places, or (2) State Register 57
of Historic Places, provided such demolition may occur for property 58
listed in said state register if such demolition has been approved, in 59
writing, by the State Historic Preservation Officer. 60
(f) The summary review process specified in subsection (b) of this 61
section shall require that a decision on any application be rendered not 62
later than ninety days after receipt of such application by the planning 63
commission, zoning commission or combined planning and zoning 64
commission, except an applicant may consent to one or more extensions 65
of not more than an additional ninety days or may withdraw such 66
application. 67
(g) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to make any 68
portion of real property used for a religious organization affordable 69
housing development exempt from taxation pursuant to section 12 -81 70
of the general statutes unless such development meets the requirements 71
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of said section. 72
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subdiv. (c)(1), "if twenty per cent" was changed to "if less than twenty-
five per cent", for accuracy.
PD Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
All Municipalities Potential
Revenue
Loss
Minimal Minimal
All Municipalities Potential
Savings
Minimal Minimal
Explanation
The bill requires municipalities to consider certain proposed
affordable housing developments under summary review process. This
results to a potential revenue loss to municipalities beginning in FY 27
to the extent fewer special permit fees are paid and a potential savings
beginning in FY 27 to the extent fewer public hearings are held. It is
anticipated any impact will be minimal as this bill only applies to
affordable housing developments that a religious organization wants to
build.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of affordable housing
developments that are built.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5396
AN ACT CONCERNING AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
ON CERTAIN LAND OWNED BY A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION.
SUMMARY
The bill requires all municipalities to consider proposed affordable
housing developments that a religious organization wants to build on
its own land under a summary review process. This requirement applies
regardless of conflicting zoning regulations. The bill (1) defines
qualified developments, (2) lists certain restrictions municipalities can
put on them, and (3) excludes certain parcels from its requirements.
By law, under a “summary review” process, a project that complies
with local zoning regulations is approvable without a public hearing,
variance, special permit or exception, or other discretionary zoning
action (other than a review of a site plan for regulatory compliance and
a determination that public health and safety will not be substantially
impacted). The bill requires municipalities to make a decision on a
religious organization’s application within 90 days of receiving it, unless
the organization agrees to one or more extensions totaling up to 90-days
or withdraws the application.
The bill’s summary review process appears to align with the federal
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which prohibits
land use regulations that substantially burden religious exercise, but by
providing a process applicable only to religious organizations it is
unclear whether it may violate the First Amendment’s Establishment
Clause (see BACKGROUND).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
QUALIFYING AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
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Under the bill, qualifying affordable housing developments must be
proposed by a religious organization, but they may do so jointly with
any developer. Religious o rganizations must be religious nonprofits
under federal tax law.
Under the bill, at least 20% of the dwellings in a qualifying proposed
development must be deed -restricted for at least 40 years to preserve
them as affordable for people earning no more than 60% of the lesser of
the federally determined state or area median income. They may be
rental or ownership units.
(Unless at least 30% of the units are preserved for low -income
households, these developments will not qualify as set -aside
developments for purposes of bringing suit under the Affordable
Housing Land Use Appeals Procedure (§ 8 -30g). But deed -restricted
units in these developments generally would qualify for points toward
a moratorium (see BACKGROUND).)
Housing developed under the bill’s summary review process is
subject to the property tax unless it otherwise qualifies for an exemption
under existing law.
Eligible Parcels
A qualifying development must be proposed on property that the
institution has owned for at least three years and with access to
adequate water and sewer infrastructure . The development cannot
require demolishing a property on the national or state registers of
historic places, unless the state historic preservation officer gives written
approval. Also, the property to be developed cannot be:
1. a cemetery;
2. in a special flood hazard area (as shown on National Flood
Insurance Program’s rate map); or
3. within 3,200 feet of a natural gas or oil refinery or extraction
facility.
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SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED ZONING RESTRICTIONS
Under the bill, municipal zoning authorities must generally allow
qualified affordable housing developments on an organization’s
property subject only to a summary review (which by law includes
checking whether the proposal meets specified requirements, like those
on lot size and building frontage).
The bill specifies certain restrictions on density, setbacks, building
height, and parking that may be included in zoning regulations.
(Presumably, local regulations cannot conflict with the restrictions the
bill permits.)
The bill specifically allows zoning regulations to:
1. limit a development’s gross density to (a) 30 units per acre when
fewer than 25% of them are deed-restricted affordable units or (b)
50 units per acre when at least 25% are deed-restricted affordable
units;
2. set side and rear setbacks of up to 15 feet;
3. set a maximum height for buildings, if it is no lower than the
maximum for other residential developments in the municipality;
and
4. regardless of the law on setting off -street parking requirements,
require one off-street parking space per dwelling unit if the
development is over 1/2 mile from a public transit station (the bill
does not define “public transit station”).
BACKGROUND
Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Procedure (CGS § 8-30g)
The procedure generally requires municipal land use commissions to
defend their decisions to reject affordable housing development
applications or approve them with restrictions that would have a
substantial adverse impact on the project’s viability or the affordability
of income-restricted units. (In traditional land use appeals, the appellant
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(for example, a developer) must convince the court that the commission
acted illegally or arbitrarily or abused its discretion.)
Generally, a prospective developer can use the appeals procedure to
contest a commission’s decision on an application if (1) fewer than 10%
of the municipality’s housing units are affordable, based on certain
statutory criteria, and (2) the municipality ha s not qualified for a
moratorium.
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
Broadly, this federal law prohibits the government from
implementing a land use regulation that impose s a substantial burden
on the religious exercise of any person, including a religious
organization, unless it furthers a compelling governmental interest and
is the least restrictive means of doing so. RLUIPA may also be violated
when a land use regulation treats a religious use less favorably than
secular uses (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq.).
U.S. Constitution’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses
The First Amendment has two provisions concerning religion: the
Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. Broadly, the
Establishment Clause limits the government from becoming
intertwined with religion by establishing, sponsoring, or supporting it.
The Free Exercise Clause limits government interference with religious
beliefs.
Courts have taken different approaches to evaluating Establishment
Clause claims, including looking to historical practices and
understandings and considering whether governmental actions
benefiting a religious group serve a secular purpose and avoid
entanglement.
Related Bills
sHB 5502, favorably reported by the Planning and Development
Committee, extends the law on approving certain middle housing and
mixed-use developments under a summary review process to proposed
developments on (1) lots that were previously zoned for residential use
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and (2) certain lots zoned for industrial use.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 8 (03/13/2026)