Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo is calling on the state to halt all zoning mandates immediately, arguing that Connecticut Natural Gas and Aquarion Water Company lack the infrastructure to serve new development in town.
Camillo and other local elected leaders, not identified in the release, issued the demand on Wednesday, July 23. A press conference is scheduled for Friday, July 24, at 1 p.m. outside Greenwich Town Hall.
"A moratorium on zoning mandates throughout the State of Connecticut is immediately needed so work can be done to improve infrastructure and better meet the demand in the State," Camillo said in the release.
The demand follows months of opposition by Camillo to state housing legislation. In February, he testified before the Connecticut General Assembly's Housing Committee against SB 151, a bill that would have limited local zoning restrictions on housing. Greenwich's bipartisan state delegation, including Republican State Sen. Ryan Fazio and Democratic State Reps. Tina Courpas, Stephen Meskers, and Hector Arzeno, joined him in opposing that bill.
What triggered the demand
Camillo said he learned that CNG does not have the capacity to meet demands from new and expanded housing in Greenwich. Conversations with Aquarion revealed similar water-supply constraints. Neither utility has publicly confirmed or characterized those limitations.
In a July 21 op-ed in the Greenwich Sentinel titled "The Coming Building Capacity Storm," Camillo wrote that both utilities "acknowledged the dilemma and pledged to work with Town officials to get the word out." He described the strain as extending beyond gas and water to electric service, sewer capacity, storm-water systems, and road networks.
"Hartford should not require towns to approve development without first ensuring that the infrastructure exists to support it safely and reliably," Camillo wrote in the op-ed, two days before the formal moratorium demand.
What it means for development
No specific legislation or executive mechanism has been proposed to implement the moratorium. If Camillo's claims about utility capacity are accurate, projects requiring new gas or water connections along Route 1 or in downtown Greenwich could face unclear timelines for hookups, whether or not the state grants a pause on mandates.
No response from Governor Ned Lamont's office or legislative leaders was available as of July 23.
What happens next
Camillo said he is finalizing a public forum with CNG, Aquarion, and Eversource in September at Greenwich Town Hall, where the utilities would present capacity data and outline future service plans. The Friday, July 24 press conference should reveal which local leaders are co-signing the moratorium call and whether any state officials have responded.
