Plan of Conservation and Development
The Town of Southbury is in the process of updating its Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). This document will be used as a blueprint for how the Town wants to develop over the next ten years and is a guide to local decision making in areas such as natural resource preservation, economic development, housing, land use and public services.
Connecticut State Statutes (CGS) Section 8-23 defines the scope of topics that must be addressed in each town’s plan, and mandates that the plan be reviewed at least once every ten years.
Since the town’s first Comprehensive Plan of Development in 1966, Southbury has a long history of preparing, adopting, amending, and implementing plans to guide land use trends and address future needs. The last plan was adopted in 2012.
How the Plan is used
The Plan is used as a guide in day-to-day and long-range decisions for the Southbury Planning and Zoning Commissions, Town agencies and those of other levels of government, private organizations that provide services to the community, property owners, private individuals, and developers who may reside or work in Southbury.
The Plan serves as a model by which the Town and the community can evaluate impacts of development proposals on the spectrum of inter-related recommendations. It also helps guide priorities when preparing the annual budget and capital improvements. Through these methods, the Plan becomes a guide and tool in the continuing activity of community planning.
Your town. Your plan.
A consulting group, SLR, is working with the town to revise the town’s POCD for 2022 and is interacting with residents, land and business owners to be a part of the process. A first step was a community survey held last fall, the results of which are now available. Multiple community Open Houses, consisting of presentations, interactive exercises, and Q&A are being held to solicit input. Once the Plan is written and complete, a public hearing will also be held. The goal of the Planning Commission is to adopt the Plan by the end of 2022.
For updates on the process and how to get involved, visit www.southbury-ct.org/POCD.
Kevin Bielmeier
Economic Development Director
Town of Southbury
EcoDevDirector@southbury-ct.gov
(203) 262-0683
[This article first appeared in Southbury Neighbors magazine.]