P&Z Starts Work On 2012 Town Plan Update

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have held an initial session on updating the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, a comprehensive decennial advisory document that the P&Z uses for general guidance in its land use decisionmaking.

P&Z members on February 4 discussed their approach to revising the document, which the state requires municipalities to update at least once every ten years.

Public officials’ desire to have a freshened town plan available for reference has prompted the P&Z to expedite the plan’s update, moving its projected completion date up by two years, from 2014 to 2012.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean provided P&Z members with copies of a sample letter that would be sent by the P&Z to various local agencies requesting those agencies’ participation in the town plan’s revision. That letter asks the agencies to inform the P&Z about the progress those agencies have made toward achieving the many municipal goals and objectives listed in the 2004 town plan.

George Benson, town director of planning and land use, suggested that the P&Z wait until the town government’s budget proposed for the 2010-11 fiscal year is final before it seeks various local agencies’ help  in updating the 2004 town plan.

Town land use staff members would perform the bulk of the technical work in updating the town plan, Mr Benson said.

Mr Benson recommended that the town plan be restructured to simplify its use, making its contents more easily accessible to the general user.

Also, the P&Z should participate in the planned revision of the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, Mr Benson said.

That document addresses the town’s planned land uses for Fairfield Hills, an approximately 185-acre parcel containing many buildings which the town acquired from the state in August 2004. Fairfield Hills closed as a state psychiatric hospital in December 1995.

A section on Fairfield Hills’ planned uses would be included in the 2012 town plan.

Division Of Labor

During the February 4 session, P&Z members discussed which sections of the 2004 town plan they would study in their initial review of the document, with an eye toward formulating the 2012 town plan update.

Among those initial assignments, member Michael F. Porco, Sr, will review the Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) zoning designation. Ms Dean will review the Hawleyville Center Design District (HCDD) zoning regulations. Member Dennis Bloom will be studying the regulations for the South Main Village Design District (SMVDD) zone. Member Rudolph Pozek will be considering the Aquifer Protection District (APD) zoning regulations.

Members are expected to return to the full P&Z with comments on improving the town plan’s contents in those subject areas.

Ms Dean suggested that multiple P&Z members review each section of the town plan to provide various perspectives on improving the plan.

Ms Dean noted that the P&Z has no money to hire a planning consulting firm to aid it in updating the 2004 town plan. She said that the agency put much effort into formulating the 2004 town plan, which was produced with the aid of a consulting firm.

She said, however, that when the 2004 town plan was being formulated, that consulting firm essentially would give back to the P&Z the information which the P&Z had already provided to the firm, amounting to a situation which was not especially helpful in fashioning a plan.

The P&Z will seek various planning data from the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) for inclusion in 2012 town plan, she said. HVCEO is the regional planning agency covering ten area towns.

Mr Benson said the P&Z already has a good base of information for a town plan revision. He said he hopes it is not necessary to hire a planning consultant for the project.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland urged that the agency review the town plans of other area towns for guidance in updating the Newtown document.

Ms Dean suggested that instead of holding separate special P&Z sessions specifically to work on the town plan update, the panel should discuss the matter at its regular twice-monthly sessions.

The current comprehensive plan, which the P&Z approved in March 2004, addresses a broad range of issues facing the town, including: community character, conservation, natural resources, open space, housing, economic development, community facilities, and transportation. The voluminous document lists a broad range of planning goals for the town.

The P&Z often cites whether a given development proposal adheres to or conflicts with the tenets of the town plan when, respectively, approving or rejecting construction applications.   

The 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development is available for review at the town’s website on the Internet. The address is www.newtown-ct.gov/Public_Documents/NewtownCT_POCD/toc.