After years of work, town plan approved in mere minutes

CORNWALL — The vote was quick, with no discussion on the motion. Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members paused when it was done, perhaps feeling the same sense of anticlimax. Why weren’t balloons and confetti falling from the sky?

Nearly three years after the process began, the new Town Plan of Conservation and Development was approved April 13. It was requested that the meeting minutes reflect all commissioners who had participated in the process.

State law requires a town plan be revised every 10 years. Cornwall planners decided it should be done as comprehensively as possible. The process began with a June 2007 weekend forum to seek public direction. It included a year of work sessions by four committees addressing major development and conservation issues. The committees included dozens of residents.

A draft went to a public hearing last November, which included this explanation from planning consultant Tom McGowan: While it is essentially an advisory document, McGowan said it does have certain statutory functions.

“As P&Z updates zoning regulations, it must refer back to and find a basis for the change in the town plan. The same goes for proposed zone changes,†he said.

“When the town proposes to acquire or sell land, abandon roads or build buildings, state statutes require P&Z give advisory comment relative to the plan. It also has to be generally consistent with the state plan.â€

P&Z has been working since then to make minor changes and correct typos and such in the document. Last week’s approval followed months of final review, accounting for the quick dispatch at the meeting.

Copies of the plan are available at Town Hall, libraries and online at cornwallct.org.