36 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 focusing on developing housing for students, staff, and faculty on its own land rather than limiting it to commercial or academic uses. Here, the difference between a stabilizing anchor and one that creates vulnerability depends on governance structure, ownership patterns, and the institution’s willingness to engage as a civic or financial partner. Developable Land & Zoning Reviews In Connecticut, there is limited developable land across the I-95, I-91, and I-84 corridor, combined with the large footprints of anchor institutions, making intentional land-use decisions especially important. CMDA works with a mix of suburban municipalities seeking walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods and cities pursuing growth. Despite these shared goals, both face a common frustration that development isn’t happening at the pace or scale they expect. The problem is that many zoning codes are not clear, and developers aren’t going to spend weeks parsing complex zoning codes to determine whether a residential project is possible. Even when municipalities undertake zoning rewrites with the goal to encourage more progressive development, codes are undermined with detailed regulations that silently kill projects. CMDA performs third-party zoning reviews to help municipalities simplify and clarify their codes. David recalls three of the most common reasons why zoning codes in Connecticut have failed to encourage development: mixeduse requirements mandating 51% commercial space across all floors, which makes typical upper-floor housing infeasible because “no one’s putting commercial on the second floor of your four story building.” The second is restrictive side yard setbacks (such as 5–10 feet plus additional requirements tied to building height), and the third: density caps that limit the use of otherwise allowable building envelopes. After completing these zoning reviews, CMDA Map.
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