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RiverCOG outlines municipal deadlines, choices under new housing-growth law
Summary
RiverCOG Community Planner Eliza LoPresti told the Planning Commission that Public Act 25-1 requires municipalities to either opt into a regional Housing Growth Plan or prepare their own by July 1, 2027, and that regional assessments and OPM tools will be issued on a staggered schedule through mid-2028.
Eliza LoPresti, Community Planner at the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments (RiverCOG), told the Westbrook Planning Commission on May 11 that Public Act 25-1 creates a timetable requiring municipalities to decide whether to adopt a regional Housing Growth Plan or develop a local plan by July 1, 2027.
LoPresti said the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) will provide state and regional housing-growth targets and initial guidance, with OPM guidelines due March 1, 2026, developable-land tools from the OPM/GIO due July 1, 2026, and a RiverCOG Regional Housing Needs Assessment expected by June 1, 2027. Municipal and regional Housing Growth Plans are due July 1, 2028. These dates shaped the commission's discussion about timing and local input.
Commissioner Marilyn Ozols pressed for clear municipal representation in the regional plan, saying the town needs to be sure “municipal input is represented in the final plan” so local priorities and constraints are not lost. LoPresti confirmed RiverCOG will review municipal drafts and recommend changes but will not itself approve municipal plans.
The presentation flagged key analytic needs: a developable land inventory and measures of housing cost burden including households spending more than 50% of income on housing. LoPresti noted municipalities may consider repurposing existing buildings as an alternative to new construction and that the Public Act does not prescribe age-restricted housing for seniors. The commission agreed this topic will require further discussion at future meetings.
