Check out our supported bills here!

Despite the disappointing end of the 2023 session, a sneaky-important piece of Work Live Ride did become law - namely, the Office of Responsible Growth was formalized in the statutes and it received additional staff funding. They have since hired additional staff.

Yes!

We listened to good faith concerns about the previous bill, conducted extensive research and local organizing over the past year, and collaborated with a wide range of public and private groups to determine how we could make the best TOC bill for Connecticut that works for everyone. Check out this link to see what is the same and what is different about it.

The bill has 3 components related to allowing more housing as of right:

1) allowing “missing middle” developments of 9 homes or less,

2) allowing any development over 10 units containing 30% deed restricted homes, and

3) allowing any development owned by the public, non-profits, or religious organizations with 100% deed restricted homes.

It still contains language incentivizing publicly owned developments and alternative equity models like Community Land Trusts.

Updated this year, the size and location of the TOC District will be defined by a communitie’s planning & zoning commission as well as the local wetlands agency or commission. This way, there can be environmental review and public comment about climate impacts up front in the design phase. After a TOC District has passed, if a proposal includes or abuts wetlands, there will be a public hearing in the wetlands agency.

Transit Oriented Communities and Transit Oriented Development are pretty much the same concept - building more homes and jobs near transit service - but we prefer to emphasize the community part and to make the larger argument that TOCs are the key to a post-sprawl future and not just small, one-off projects.

Yes, very!

76% of likely CT voters support building more homes near bus and rail routes according to a recent poll conducted by Growing Together CT. A Pew Research poll shows that TODs have over 80% of support from likely voters in the Northeast.

Yes! Governor Lamont name dropped Work Live Ride specifically in the current two-year budget that passed last session. We didn’t get everything we wanted in this budget (and won’t be seeking additional funding in the short session) but we were grateful for the Governor’s support.

We want to make it clear that the future of our state’s economy and population growth is tied to building more homes around public transportation. We want to see more homes and more jobs and greater access to both.

Work Live Ride does that.

Check out our News page to read the latest the press coverage about Work Live Ride!

TOCs are a popular and proven concept to generate more homes. States like Massachusetts, California, New York, and Montana have recently passed similar bills.

It is true, there are no mandates. Towns and cities have the choice to opt-in or not. We want to support communities that are eager for these kinds of developments and think that’s a better way to see growth in our state and our state’s capacity to plan. Mandates from the state (without the proper support) have been hard even for pro-homes allies locally to support and we want to change that dynamic.

That’s up to the local community!

Rather than dictate the size of a district or location near a specific station, Work Live Ride allows the local Planning & Zoning Commission and wetlands agency to determine the district’s size and what transit route it is concentrated around by working with the ORG. All that matters is that the community creates one district within its borders that is a reasonable size.

About ⅔ of towns in the state!

There are 111 towns and cities that have at least one regular transit route, including bus service. This year, we are only focusing on communities with bus or rail transit and have removed the previous “transit adjacent community” category for now.

The Office of Responsible Growth will help towns and cities with three state “buckets” of funding: planning and design, infrastructure improvements, and home construction subsidies. Funding will come from existing grants overseen by other state agencies that the office will streamline and from a discretionary fund the office will oversee directly.

Yes and no.

This is purely an optional proposal and does not punish communities that don’t. However, communities that do opt-in will be prioritized for state funding and will come first in line. We also hope to see the ORG and other agencies begin to hold local governments accountable for completing and implementing their Plans of Conservation and Development and Affordable Housing Plans.

Yes!

This year we are including local bus, rapid bus, and train service to expand the types of riders and communities that can benefit from TOCs. Even if a bus station is only a sign on the side of the road right now, if a town or city wants to prioritize this as the future of their communities, they can.

Yes!

Contrary to some people’s perception, there is a rich density of transit service across the state. It has been underfunded and underappreciated in many circles, but we think the best answer to these problems is more transit riders, which Work Live Ride will create.