Falls Village launches online tool to monitor town plan progress

FALLS VILLAGE — Residents who want to see how the town is following through on its long-term plans now have a new way to keep track.

At the Board of Selectmen meeting on April 13, Planning and Zoning Commission member Doug Cohn introduced a new “POCD Workbook” available on the town website. The tool is posted on the Planning and Zoning Commission page under “Resources.”

The workbook is designed to help residents and officials monitor progress on the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development, or POCD — a document that outlines Falls Village’s goals for growth, land use, conservation and infrastructure over the next decade, essentially a roadmap for how the town wants to develop.

The workbook takes the form of a spreadsheet that breaks down those goals and shows which town boards, commissions or organizations are responsible for carrying them out.

“It’s a work in progress,” Cohn said.

Connecticut requires every municipality to adopt and update a POCD every 10 years. Towns that fail to keep their plans up to date may become ineligible for certain state grants — typically those over $25,000 — unless the requirement is waived.

Falls Village adopted its current POCD in 2024.

First Selectman Dave Barger was not at the April 13 meeting. Selectman Judy Jacobs led the meeting in his absence.

In other business, Selectman Chris Kinsella said the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant committee is preparing a request for proposals to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for a trash compactor at the transfer station.

Jacobs reported that the state Department of Transportation is repainting lane markings on Route 63 between Goshen and its intersection with Route 7 in Falls Village through Sept. 15.

Kinsella also said the town’s Infrastructure Committee met with Cardinal Engineering on April 15 to review grant applications for bridge repairs.