Cornwall reconsiders minimum lot size due to lack of new construction

CORNWALL — The Board of Selectmen, at its meeting on Feb. 18, approved sending a letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission asking for revisions to the regulations.

The board requested the commission address two sections listed in the town plan: allowing people to build on smaller lots and revising buildable area requirements for any new houses, noting that Cornwall’s present requirement of three to five-acre minimum lot sizes is the largest in the region, if not the state.

In making the suggestion, the selectmen speak of the inflation that has caused a housing crisis here and nationally.

“The median price of houses sold in Cornwall last fall was reported to have soared to over a million dollars, up from $350,000 four years ago,” the letter reads. “There are also few houses and properties for sale in town. The impact of this housing shortage is large and immediate in Cornwall. Young people have to leave town or live with parents, young families are prevented from moving here, school populations go down and elderly residents are moving out after many years in the community.”

The selectmen also pointed out the lack of construction is causing the tax base to stagnate at a time when demand for services is increasing. This year saw a decline in the grand list.

“We believe that allowing people to build on smaller lots will help alleviate this housing supply problem,” the selectmen wrote. “It should make it easier for people of ordinary means, who the town relies on, to live here.”

The letter was also signed by Jill Cutler, chairman of the Affordable Housing Commission.