Eleni Kavros DeGraw

Dear Neighbor,

Over the weekend, I heard that we had 15 straight weekends in a row of rain. I know we had a similar statistic last year at one point, but the rain won’t stop us from all of the fantastic events coming up this weekend. It may, however, stop my tomatoes from flowering!
 
Whether you’re looking to get the best strawberry shortcake in the Farmington Valley at the Strawberry Festival in North Canton, you want to take in the arts in Collinsville, you’re looking to protest at “No Kings Day” in Hartford, or you’re off to celebrate Juneteenth at the big event in Simsbury, the valley really has “it” this weekend.

And let’s not forget to celebrate all of the fathers, dads, uncles, stepfathers, grandfathers, and “like a father” men in our lives on Sunday.
 
You may have heard in the news this week that Governor Lamont has not yet signed off on our omnibus housing bill. His office did sign off on the contents of the bill before passage in both chambers.

While there has been significant misinformation and outright lies about the bill, it’s important to remember that all of the bills contained within the larger bill received a public hearing. That was in addition to the bi-partisan Majority Leader’s Roundtable that met all of last year (and will continue to meet in the off-season this year).

The bill is full of incentives for towns, it helps alleviate some red-tape items for developers that lead to higher cost, it was signed off on by environmental groups in Connecticut as a way to prevent sprawl and preserve open space, and it does not mandate (I repeat, does not mandate) the construction of housing. It does require the towns to continue planning (on the schedule they are already planning on) for housing starting in 2027 to be completed in 2029.

Currently, it suggests a number for each town and the directive is to plan for 25% of that number, but if towns have objections to that number, they can explain to the state why they cannot build it and how the state might be able to assist financially or otherwise in producing housing at the number the town feels is reasonable.
 
The bill includes the bill I have worked on for the last three years, colloquially known as Work, Live, Ride, which encourages the development of transit-oriented districts (where the town chooses where that district will be and what it will contain) and transit-adjacent districts (again, at the choice of local decision-makers).

Transit-oriented districts are a major tool in preventing sprawl that often ruins what we like to think of as what makes our towns our towns. I’ll be on Face the Facts with Mike Hydeck this Sunday to talk about it.
 
Ultimately, I believe the Governor will sign the bill, even if future tweaks need to be made to it, because he has been a pro-housing Governor and because he knows that we have 3.5 million people counting on us.
 
Wishing you a wonderful week and weekend,

Eleni

• Road closes at 2
• Chalk Artists start at 2
• Cornhole starts at 2ish
• MUSIC starts with Jr Krauss and the Shakes at 2:30
• Vendors set up at 2 once the road is closed! Ready by 2:30
• Creek Ends The Night at 9 p.m.