New POCD passes in Salisbury

SALISBURY — The Planning and Zoning Commission voted Dec. 17 to adopt its new 10-year Plan of Conservation and Development.

The document went into effect on Dec. 27, on schedule to receive discretionary state funding.

“We are just squeaking by,” Michael Klemens said at the Dec. 17 meeting, explaining that the schedule has been kept tight to ensure the document gets adopted by the funding deadline.

The POCD is a state-mandated document that functions as an “an advisory framework to address long-term community needs consistent with the Growth Management Principles of the State of Connecticut’s Conservation and Development Plan,” as per the Salisbury town website.

The vote comes after a months-long deliberation and editing process which included a public engagement meeting in September, review by both the Board of Selectmen and the Northwest Hills Council of Governments, and a public hearing on Dec. 16.

While the Sept. 30 public engagement meeting brought a large turnout, many of whom were concerned by what they perceived as overreliance on certain studies and overly-directive language in the document, the public hearing in mid-December yielded comparatively few participating residents.

At one point in the meeting, Land Use Administrator Abby Conroy noted that there were only 14 people in attendance, which are scant numbers for a commission that has become accustomed to several-hour-long hearings with more than 70 audience members in recent months.

Klemens and Conroy presented the marked-up document during the hearing, which showed edits derived from public commentary at the September meeting and feedback from the BOS. Contributions from residents were few, with only several comments added to the record over the 1.5-hour session.

Notable issues discussed due to the public comments included the lack of sewer access around the entire perimeter of Lake Wononscopomuc and multimodal use of the rail trail, which would consider allowing both pedestrian and vehicle traffic on parts of the pathway.

Klemens reasserted, as he had in previous meetings regarding the POCD, that the strategies outlined in the POCD are exploratory, meant to allow for future discussion and consideration. “It doesn’t mean we have to do it,” he said of the document.

The Dec. 17 meeting, which lasted less than a half hour compared to recent meetings that have run for nearly five hours, had a mildly celebratory atmosphere fitting with the holiday season. “It’s really a product I believe we, as a Planning and Zoning Commission, can be quite proud of,” said Klemens, before the commission gleefully adjourned just before 5:30 p.m.