New Haven Zoning Ordinance Reform

The City of New Haven, acting through the City Plan Department, seeks proposals from a multi-disciplinary Consultant Team (“the Consultant”) to review and reform New Haven's Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map . The scope will focus on aligning the zoning ordinance with the recently adopted ten-year Plan of Conservation and Development, Vision 2034 New Haven’s Comprehensive Plan , with attention to housing opportunity and stability, displacement prevention, economic development, and climate resiliency.

The project will result in the development of a new zoning ordinance that supports the City’s long-term goals. In addition to ensuring consistency with the Vision 2034 Plan, the updated ordinances are expected to:

• Modernize, simplify and streamline the ordinance including development review and approval procedures
• Promote walkable, mixed-use, and transit-oriented development patterns
• Expand the housing supply by encouraging development in targeted areas and supporting a diverse range of housing options
• Protect stable neighborhoods from displacement
• Update the ordinance to support development of modern commercial, retail and emerging industries
• Support environmental protection and climate resilience
• Create consistency between the zoning ordinance and the General Statutes, Special Acts, and relevant codes and other applicable laws
• Reflect best practices in land use administration, design standards, and placemaking tools in similar urban areas
• Promote transparency and public access to the development process through simple clear language and internal consistency
• Include simple illustrations, graphics and navigational features that make the updated ordinances easy to use and understand
• Be internally consistent and easy to maintain

The scope must include four primary tasks: (1) project administration and management (2) communications and engagement (3) evaluation of the current ordinance, recommendations and development of a framework for reform, and (4) draft reformed zoning including new zoning districts and zoning map.

New Haven is a lively coastal city on Long Island Sound with a growing population of about 134,000 people. Laid out in 1638, New Haven was the first planned City in the United States and is characterized by its unique historic neighborhoods, lively arts and commercial districts, and cultural amenities shaped by waves of urban immigration. As a Coastal City, New Haven’s former industrial economy was heavily dependent on its rivers and harbor. One of the City’s primary challenges today is how to best increase housing density on previously industrial or underdeveloped land while anticipating climate change future sea level rise. Roughly half of all households in the city are "cost-burdened" (spending 30% or more of their annual income on housing) and Connecticut ranks near the bottom of all states for housing availability with a shortfall of at least 120,000 housing units. The need for more housing is significant. These factors place critical infrastructure and risk and impact historically underinvested, low-income neighborhoods disproportionately.

In 2025 New Haven adopted a ten-year Plan of Conservation and Development: Vision 2034 New Haven’s Comprehensive Plan . This plan was the result of two years of significant engagement using an innovative approach that prioritized the voices of historically excluded populations leveraging the planning process as an opportunity to build trust in government, overcome barriers to participation and produce a plan rooted in equity. A significant goal of the Vision 2034 planning process was to overhaul the New Haven City’s Zoning Ordinance to align with the Plan. The last comprehensive zoning Ordinance adoption was in 1963 during the urban renewal era, and the current regulations are in many ways at odds with the City’s current land uses or goals.

This project represents a unique opportunity for the selected team to create a modern framework that will impact the future land use and economy of a renowned, lively, and growing City. The selected team must demonstrate experience working in diverse and developed urban communities and writing clear, regulations that are accessible to a wide range of audiences.

The Consul tants will work directly with the Zoning Reform Working Group comprised of City Plan staff but will engage with topical experts and residents to guide the overall effort. The Consultants will prepare materials for and assist with facilitating workshops of stakeholders including residents, design professionals and developers. Selection will be based on professional competence and experience. Cost will not be an evaluation factor at this stage. While it is critical that the chosen c onsultants have a solid grasp of zoning policy planning and policy best practices, equally as critical is the ability to successfully engage the working group and have the ability to design an ordinance that is universally accessible to the public and key users.