Housing and internet are key concerns for Cornwall town plan

CORNWALL — Keeping on schedule with revisions to the town’s 10-year Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), a workshop meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) attracted 50 residents on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Town Hall.

The P&Z has set the date for a public hearing on the document for Tuesday, Nov. 12, at Town Hall at 7 p.m. Town residents can offer opinions and ask questions on the draft plan at that point. 

The POCD is a document that is required by the state and must be updated every 10 years. It forms the basis for town zoning regulations and therefore has a substantial impact on how a town looks and functions. 

Town residents are able to weigh in during this preliminary period on, for example, whether they want to preserve more open space, whether they want to make rules regarding building design, what they want their roads to look like. An essential component of most Northwest Corner towns: The request to protect the towns’ “rural charm.”

At the workshop in Cornwall last Tuesday, town officials and then private citizens were invited to comment. All comments were kept short. P&Z Chairman David Colbert indicated that anyone with a more substantial comment should send thoughts in writing to the commission for proper attention.

The POCD was last updated in 2010. The present updating process has been going on for two years, with four subcommittees working on economic development, housing, natural resources and cultural and youth resources.

“Town plans are advisory, not to be confused with regulations,” Colbert explained. Items included in town plans are not the zoning rules themselves; they serve as guides for the rules.

In the coming weeks, based on additional comments that may be received, the plan will be tweaked and a draft prepared for the November public hearing, Colbert said.

Voicing the selectmen’s view, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway highlighted concerns that the year-round resident population is declining and there is what he called “an extreme lack of rental housing for elderly and for younger people.”

 Overall, he said, the selectmen appreciate the work that has gone into the plan over the past two years.

Other groups represented at the meeting expressed positive views of the plan, some joining in the call for rental housing and affordable housing in general.

Janet Carlson of the Economic Development Commission spoke of the need to create and support business opportunities in town, and to find ways to support the needs of self-employed residents.

Caroline Nastro reminded the P&Z of the connectivity needs in the town, favoring fiber optic cables and expanded cell phone coverage while remaining sensitive to health and environmental effects.

Some felt that current regulations are not hospitable to a developer who might want to create workforce (affordable) housing.

Following the public comment portion, the P&Z decided to consult the state attorney general’s office about telecommunication findings and issues before deciding on wording for the POCD.

“We want to be connected with the outside world,” Ridgway commented.