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Hugh Bailey

@hughsbailey.bsky.social
682 followers 1.4K following 743 posts

Policy director, Open Communities Alliance, Connecticut

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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Why does the western side of town deserve a 6-story, 176 unit building?” Macri asked Mr. Tesei. I don't know, there's a housing crisis? Will never get over the way Greenwich people talk about their town greenwichfreepress.com/news/governm...
greenwichfreepress.com
P&Z Responds to 6 story, 176 Unit 8-30G Building Proposed to Replace Putnam Green
A proposal to redevelop Putnam Green in Byram with a six story building and 176 residential rental units received feedback from the Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission late Tuesday night. News of t...
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I love amphibians and all but seriously what are we doing here
newstimes.com
Developer redraws controversial 300-unit project in Newtown around breeding pool for frogs and fairy shrimp
“All [development] activities proposed are over 100 feet from both the wetland and [breeding] pool,” Shapiro’s ecological consultants said.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Ryan Fazio took a look at the state's housing crisis, examined the data, and came to the conclusion that the key to solving it is "expanding local zoning control" Truly a leader for our times www.courant.com/2026/09/20/c...
courant.com
CT governor’s race gets testy amid clashes on nearly everything. ‘He’s making that up,’ claim made.
The candidates cannot even agree on whether their race for governor is close or not.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Or as Ryan Fazio calls it, single digits
ctmirror.org
Quinnipiac poll has Lamont with double digit lead over Fazio
Gov. Ned Lamont and Sen. Ryan Fazio will face off in two televised debates. Neither would happen before early voting begins on Oct. 19.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
So sad for Stonington that they now have to allow affordable housing on the site of this closed nightclub with a weedy parking lot. Think of what they're sacrificing!
ctpost.com
Town known for its New England seaside charm ends fight to deny housing plan with affordable units
The deal shaves just three townhouses from the plan and requires minor concessions by the developer in exchange for Stonington’s unconditional approval.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Building giant highways through the middle of cities and along riverfronts was one of the worst infrastructure decisions we ever made, so glad to see we're locking it in place for the next 75 years
ctpost.com
Two designs remain for Connecticut's future Mixmaster. Here's what happens next
One concept involves moving the Naugatuck River.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
24 homes on 11 acres. They still hate it. They still want nothing to be built. They still vilify anyone for trying. You cannot reason with this.
newstimes.com
New Fairfield neighbors protest Danbury pool contractor’s plan for 24 homes with affordable units
“Go walk that property and tell me if you think it fits 24 [homes],” said Monica Oswald.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone. Another car wash, who cares, but this style of opposition is toxic.
courant.com
Proposed car wash draws suburban CT community pushback. Part of it is over water use.
After getting mixed reviews from local regulatory boards, the proposal for a 7,275-square-foot car wash is scheduled for final decision.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Tens of thousands of people die on the roads every year but this guy cares only if there's an undocumented person he can rage at
ctpost.com
Ohio senator blames CT license policy for fatal crash. Lamont defends it
A Connecticut law that went into effect in 2015 allows people who can't establish their legal presence in the U.S. to obtain a driver's license.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
"Fazio wants all students to get into the school they want, full stop." That's what the story says. Bridgeport students should be able to attend Trumbull public schools if they want? That's what Fazio thinks? No, he's talking charters and magnets. Of course he is.
courant.com
CT GOP gubernatorial candidate: All CT students should attend schools they choose
“ZIP CODE SHOULD NOT DETERMINE A STUDENT’S DESTINY IN CONNECTICUT,” Ryan Fazio’s education plan handout said.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Excited for the next few months choosing sides between bad and much worse.
ctpost.com
How Lamont and Fazio would tackle Connecticut’s housing costs
The median price of starter homes in Connecticut doubled to more than $300,000 over the last 10 years.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I hope they're getting some good clicks out of it but man is ct post dot com going crazy on this trial
A whole bunch of links on a trial
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Finally, a Greenwich Democrat says we need to rethink 8-30g. Truly a bold stance! greenwichfreepress.com/letter-to-th...
greenwichfreepress.com
Oberlander: On 8-30g, It’s time to ask whether the policy needs to change
Greenwich Free Press (https://greenwichfreepress.com/letter-to-the-editor/oberlander-on-8-30g-its-time-to-ask-whether-the-policy-needs-to-change-252448/)
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
"in center of heart" ... It's planned as far on the outskirts of town as exists. Headline writing, come on.
courant.com
Affordable housing plan: 176 apartments in center of heart of one of CT’s richest towns
Targeting one of Connecticut’s wealthiest suburbs, a developer is looking to use the 8-30g law to win permission for constructing a six-story building with more than 170 apartments in the heart of it.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My town wants a 9-month pause on development so it can ... do all the stuff it should be doing anyway? patch.com/connecticut/...
Town documents say the commission wants time to review Oxford’s zoning regulations, road and sewer infrastructure, pedestrian network, development density and the town’s 2018 Plan of Conservation and Development. The proposal also cites the August 2024 flooding that caused extensive damage and fatalities in Oxford.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Ned Lamont definitely acting like someone who's not at all concerned about this primary. Definitely
ctpost.com
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (opinion): Lamont is 'steady, strong leader that Connecticut needs'
Congressman Jim Himes writes that 'Governor Lamont has delivered real results for our state and has a clear vision for what comes next.'
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I swear Hearst CT had a no mugshots policy. Oh well, I guess
ctpost.com
Police say alleged serial burglar kept returning to downtown Bridgeport building
Detectives expect additional charges.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Hey Fred Camillo, there's this weird trick where utilities can actually build more capacity. Is this what bad-faith anti-housing people are left with?
greenwichsentinel.com
The Coming Building Capacity Storm
Tweet Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Infrastructure Realities Hit Home as Utilities Hit Capacity Limits By Fred Camillo Recently, I was made aware of a shocking development: our utility comp...
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I don't know, seems pretty self-explanatory
ctpost.com
Why your phone alerts you to flash flood warnings and other disasters
Flash-flooding is just one type of disaster the system can warn people about through the phone.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
How long can Hearst CT go without running a story about Gilmore Girls, a show off the air going on 20 years now? A week, tops, I think
ctpost.com
‘Gilmore Girls’ pilot home has former bakery, river views
The four-bedroom Markham home has original pine floors, exposed beams, a wraparound verandah and a detached former village bakery.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
It's like the perfect Bridgeport story: The announcement comes months after warning investors in a May U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the company faced doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern.
ctpost.com
A drone company opened a Connecticut factory after warning it may not survive
The facility is expected to create 50 jobs, officials said.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Wow, a new study. And people say we can't do big things
ctmirror.org
Amtrak launches new study on New Haven-Providence route
The new study of Amtrak rail lines between New Haven and Providence will put more emphasis on public input than a 2016 proposal.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Whole bunch of people who really want to speed through school zones
ctpost.com
Fairfield residents blast controversial speed cameras at packed meeting: 'This wasn't ready'
Residents were mainly critical of speed cameras as town officials gave updates and made argument on why the initiative is needed for road safety.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
What is the point of all these studies on traffic and revenue that developers have to pay for if the town can just say "Nuh-uh" and that's the end of it? www.courant.com/2026/07/15/c...
The Goman+York consulting firm put out a report concluding that the development would generate about $1.6 million a year in new tax revenue for the town, even after accounting for new expenses for community services, snow clearing, extra school enrollments, road paving and more.

But numerous speakers discounted that, saying the enrollment impact was just a formula based on the number of overall bedrooms. At least one challenged that idea, warning there would be substantially more new students if tenants and buyers used unassigned rooms such as a den to provide sleeping room for additional children.

Several other speakers criticized a consultant’s traffic study, saying it didn’t measure the actual impact on residents along side roads who already have extensive waits to turn onto Route 4. Joyce Bettencourt told commissioners that she and other Edgewood Estates residents along Worthington Drive already face too much traffic.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
They were fine with it when it was a giant office park, but are mad now that people might live there.
courant.com
Upscale CT suburb signals it may refuse state’s biggest affordable housing plan
The powerful developer behind the plan cautioned that the final decision needs to be based on state law rather than “speculation.”
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Reposted by Hugh Bailey
Tom Broderick @trumbullbrod.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Wrote a piece w/ my CT Parking Reform Co-founder about our state’s new flexible residential parking rules. Connecticut’s new parking regs went into effect on July 1st, and our message to builders and municipalities is the same: EMBRACE PARKING FLEXIBILITY! ctmirror.org/2026/07/09/p...
ctmirror.org
Opinion: Parking flexibility comes to CT: Let’s embrace it
Ushering in parking flexibility is a mainstream, common-sense policy that will help build more homes for our friends and family.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
How dare they take away our precious abandoned malls
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Hey that's great, now how bout you fix the Larkin Trail from Southbury to Naugatuck that's been mostly out of commission since the floods nearly two years ago. It's a state park, too
portal.ct.gov
Governor Lamont Announces $40 Million in Federal Health Investments To Improve Outdoor Recreation at Air Line State Park Trail
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Anyone who wants political advice should listen to Ben Proto, whose party wins races all the time.
ctinsider.com
Ben Proto (opinion): Connecticut Democrats following the Mamdani playbook
Connecticut Republican Chair Ben Proto warns that state cannot afford New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's socialist experiment.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Hearst CT can stop doing this any time. Extreme heat means people could die. These stories do not call for fun-in-the-summer photos.
ctpost.com
Extreme heat could make it feel like 110 or more this week in Connecticut
The combination of heat and humidity could make temperatures feel like it's 110 degrees out or more.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Haar is being way too nice. Hurley should not have gone.
ctpost.com
Making sense of Dan Hurley's trip to Trump's MAGA-soaked, UFC birthday bash: Dan Haar
Hurley had a right to go, but folks in Connecticut are upset over his support for Trump's politicized White House event.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
If this stupid exchange doesn't sum up housing in the Connecticut suburbs. Put it where it's zoned for! There is no place it's zoned for. Exactly. www.newstimes.com/news/article...
“I don’t understand why something like this can’t be put where it’s already zoned to be put,” said Janet McKeown.

Planning and Zoning Commission member Barbara Manville agreed.

“Create your project, but in a current zone,” Manville said.

“There are no current zones that would allow our project,” Olson repeated. “That’s why we had to come up with a new zone.”
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Himes: “The primary reason housing is not getting built is local and state land use policies and zoning regulations over which the federal government has very limited control, appropriately so.” I don't know about that
ctmirror.org
CT lawmakers support passage of federal housing bill. What's in it?
The bill is a rare piece of major bipartisan legislation that got through a divided Congress months out from the midterm elections.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
There's this narrative that CT students are all leaving for big SEC schools, and it's true a lot are leaving the state, but they're all going to UMass.
ctpost.com
Connecticut students leave for college more than most Americans
Connecticut students leave the state for college at unusually high rates.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
CT doesn't lead the U.S. in new home permits, it led the nation in the rate of increase in new home permits, which, if you start from a low number, is not all that hard to do. Headline writing! Come on!
ctinsider.com
Connecticut gets F on Realtor.com affordable housing report despite leading U.S. in new home permits
Connecticut ranked among a "stagnant bottom" tier with New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California and Hawaii.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Rousing stuff from the incumbent here: "More important, what are we going to do going forward to reduce electric costs? What are we going to do to bring down health care costs? I’m going to talk about my campaign." Chills!
ctmirror.org
Finished with fundraising, Josh Elliott goes on the road
Josh Elliott's paperwork for a $3.75 million grant for his campaign to claim the Democratic nomination for governor was being filed Friday.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I miss having a career in journalism. I don't miss my former employer
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Part of this plan, should it win, would mean taking the comedy club out of downtown, a few years after it was established as a key cog of the downtown regrowth plan. Less than ideal, in that respect
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
“The people of this town should have the final say what they want and don’t want in their town.” Yes good idea that's the way to get things done
courant.com
Opponents to 689-unit housing plan in CT suburb face setback. ‘This town is becoming unrecognizable’
Residents at a standing-room-only hearing took turns criticizing the proposal for a mammoth 689-unit apartment complex
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Hey Seymour, still time to cancel this Linda McMahon quietly plans Seymour school visit after backlash elsewhere in Connecticut www.ctpost.com/news/article...
ctpost.com
Linda McMahon quietly plans Seymour school visit after backlash elsewhere in Connecticut
McMahon spoke at Yale University in April after her visit to a Fairfield school in January was canceled amid parent opposition.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Wow, great job, Shelton. Thanks for protecting the state from, let's see ... three single-family homes. Just imagine!
ctpost.com
Shelton is moving to buy historic farmland before it can become housing
Shelton officials are moving to purchase the former Guy’s Eco Garden property in an effort to preserve farmland and prevent residential development.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
I love when they rerun headlines from 2002 Manufacturing, commercial? Bridgeport is close to choosing a future for the Remington Arms site www.ctpost.com/news/article...
ctpost.com
What's next for Bridgeport's iconic Remington Arms site?
Mayor Joe Ganim's administration expects to forward a redevelopment proposal or proposals to the City Council in July.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Stop making everything worse for everyone
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Housing is a big issue in Connecticut. Prices are rising, supply is low, etc. etc. When reporters write about it like this, saying a town is "helpless and frustrated" that it has to allow new apartments to be built, it's a choice. It makes housing sound like an imposition. Don't write like this.
newstimes.com
Bethel officials question whether they rushed approval of affordable housing project
“I feel ... (as though) we’re in a hurry to finish up,” said Diane Ryan, a member of Bethel’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Almost like we're desperately short of supply or something
ctinsider.com
Connecticut housing market sees bidding wars erupt as listings lag and sales fall
Connecticut home sales fell in May as listings stayed tight, pushing up prices and fueling bidding wars.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
"Connecticut’s racial imbalance law, which dates to the end of the Civil Rights era, was designed to prohibit racial segregation in schools" Was it, though?
ctpost.com
Four CT schools have been out of compliance with state desegregation law for 15 years, report says
Four Connecticut schools were racially imbalanced for 2025-26, according to the state Department of Education, with 17 more schools at risk.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The idea of a two-term Democratic governor losing a Democratic primary in CT seems insane but at some point Ned Lamont could offer something more compelling than "Check out my fiscal guardrails"
ctpost.com
Ned Lamont well ahead of Josh Elliott in new CT governor poll, but young voters key: Dan Haar
Lamont outpolled Elliott by 60% to 19% among voters 65 and over but the 18-to-34 crowd backed Elliott by 68% to 22%.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
“Don’t you think I’m due this?” she asked. Honestly hard to believe this person exists
ctmirror.org
Report: Erin Stewart received more than $120,000 in severance
A new investigative report shows former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart demanded more than $200,000 in unused time off as she left office.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
No surprise that this reporter buried the most interesting part halfway through the story A development application included over $37,250 in new fees. And the town acknowledges they recently upped their fee requirements. I wonder if that dissuades potential development?
greenwichtime.com
Apartment plan for former Ridgefield animal sanctuary withdrawn after clash with wetlands board
"We do our job to protect wetlands and watercourses per our regulations in the state. I don’t think this letter was appropriate," Tim Bishop said.
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Hugh Bailey @hughsbailey.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Four years of agony? At least New Canaan is keeping things in perspective.
newcanaanite.com
‘We’ve All Endured Four Years of Agony’: P&Z Gives Formal Approval for 102-Unit Affordable Structure at Weed and Elm
Bemoaning what the Planning & Zoning Commission’s chair characterized as the failure of a local developer and legal “intervenors” to negotiate an alternative project, the appointed body this week vote...
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