Bethel, a wealthy suburb in Connecticut that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, does not want affordable housing to mar their pristine community.
According to the Hartford Courant, Manhattan-based Vessel Technologies is planning a five-story, 75-unit apartment complex in the town, but residents in the majority white Democrat town are fighting the efforts.
Diversity for thee but not for me!
The developer is warning officials that they face expensive litigation if they reject the project.
The stark warning came during a heated planning commission meeting last week where Vessel’s attorney delivered a blunt message about the state’s 8-30g law that severely limits towns’ ability to block affordable housing projects.
“And the cost of litigation is not something to be just disregarded,” attorney Jason Klein told commissioners last week — a comment that was perceived by town officials as a threat, the Connecticut Post reported.
Vessel wants to construct its signature five-story building on nearly 4.5 acres along Nashville Road, but offered a compromise of just four floors following heavy neighborhood pushback this summer.
Bethel residents object to the project, blasting its five-story — later four-story — height and 75-unit scale as completely out of step with the town’s low-rise, single-family character.
