House Special Committee on Housing advances multiple housing bills; several pass unanimously

The House Special Committee on Housing voted on a series of housing-related bills during an executive session, approving amendments and advancing multiple measures to the regular calendar or the consent calendar.

Committee members unanimously approved an amended version of HB 572 that removes a larger appropriation and keeps a $150,000 appropriation to create a statewide compilation of municipal and county-owned properties deemed appropriate for residential development. Representative Page, who spoke to the motion, said the change was intended to make the appropriation “manageable in this particular budget environment” while preserving an enabling program to speed approvals by allowing a bypass of minor site-plan review if a local legislative body authorizes it.

The committee also adopted amendments and passed by unanimous roll call votes: HB 342 (as amended), HB 382 (parking limits, as amended), and HB 631 (permitting residential uses in some commercial zones, as amended). Representative Howland described HB 342’s amendment as an effort to allow certain infill lots to be built “by right” when they match neighborhood lot patterns, while Representative Page and others framed HB 631’s amendment as an attempt to preserve municipalities’ ability to control ground-floor commercial uses while encouraging mixed-use development.

Other committee actions…