It s been said in a recent article that a transportation system is the lifeblood of a state s economy. Connecticut s economy by delivering goods to market and workers to their jobs. That article ably and accurately points out the connection that a modern, efficient transportation system is vital to making the state s economy not only survive but also thrive. However, the last part of the statement above about delivering workers to their jobs is the most striking to homebuilders because policy makers have largely not demonstrated, to date, a clear understanding of the next crucial connection in the chain to a healthy economy . To comprehend the next vital connection in the state s efforts to make our economy thrive through building markets and creating jobs, policy makers need to understand that homes are where jobs go at night .
Transportation systems deliver workers to their jobs from their homes .
Even if we solve all our transportation needs, an enormous task to be sure and one that should not be delayed, it will not do the state s economy well if workers do not have the homes they want from which to start and end their daily journey . And, therein lies a major problem with the economic development efforts in Connecticut. There is a huge disconnect between the state s policies of supporting economic development, job creation and market expansion and the rest of the state s vast and varied anti-housing policies and actions. Throughout Connecticut, most municipalities routinely deny or delay approvals of residential developments, severely restricting the home building industry s ability to bring homes to market and driving up the cost of what can be built. The homes that one sees now being built have been in the approval pipeline sometimes for years, producing a tragic waste of financial and human resources that figures into the price of each of those homes.