Connecticut gives special-act towns full zoning enforcement powers, including $2,500 civil penalties and injunctions
From October 1, 2026, towns that zone under special acts may use the general statute's orders, court fines, injunctions and civil penalties against zoning violations.
Owners and builders with unresolved zoning violations in Connecticut towns that zone under their own special acts now face the same fines, court orders and penalties as owners elsewhere in the state. Conn. Pub. Act No. 26-9 (2026), An Act Concerning the Enforcement of Zoning Regulations (Substitute House Bill 5391), signed by the Governor on May 7, 2026, took effect on October 1, 2026; it rewrites Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-12, the general zoning enforcement statute, so that it reaches regulations made under the zoning chapter “or by any special act,” letting those municipalities enforce their regulations in the same way as towns zoning under the general statutes.
Conn. Pub. Act No. 26-9 (2026); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-12; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-12a