2026-10-15 - Planning and Zoning Commission

00:00Um

00:03We will uh first do our roll call.

00:06Um

00:07Jared Alaleta

00:08>> Joseph Alaleta

00:09>> David Morris

00:10>> Amy Ronan again

00:11>> Aaron Farbo

00:13>> John Day

00:15>> Online folks

00:17>> Doug Porter

00:19>> Mark Blackmer

00:21>> Dwight Rowanowitz

00:25>> We'll designate Dwight, um John and Amy

00:27as

00:29the alternates today.

00:31And we'll go on to the pledge of

00:32allegiance if you please.

00:38>> I pledge allegiance

00:39>> to the flag

00:40>> of the United States of America.

00:43>> And to the republic for which it stands,

00:45>> one nation under God, indivisible, with

00:49liberty and justice for all.

00:58>> Hey,

00:59um

01:00I would just like to thank all the hard

01:02work that the POCD committee did and

01:06will come in putting this draft

01:07together. Um

01:10I think we really worked hard to make it

01:12actually a

01:13document that we can work with and work

01:16>> [clears throat]

01:18>> work through. Um use it for a more of a

01:20guideline than we have in the past.

01:22That's our That was our goal. So, thank

01:23you very much for all those people that

01:25did that.

01:26Um

01:28Do we have any citizens' comments not on

01:31the agenda tonight and what's on the

01:32agenda tonight?

01:35Hearing none, we'll move on to um

01:38meeting minutes. Um we approved the

01:40meeting minutes from September 17th last

01:43um meeting. So, we only need to approve

01:46the meeting minutes from October 1st.

01:49Um we can have a motion.

01:51>> So moved.

01:52>> Second.

01:53>> Second.

01:54>> Um any uh any discussion?

02:00Hearing none, uh, all in favor?

02:02>> Aye.

02:03>> Aye.

02:05>> Any opposed?

02:07Any abstentions?

02:08>> I'll abstain from the, uh, vote.

02:12>> Thank you. That was Dwight.

02:13Thank you.

02:15Okay, now we're going to open, uh,

02:17public hearing on the plan of

02:19conservation and development.

02:21Um,

02:24I'm sure [clears throat] that, um,

02:25everybody has looked through it and

02:27we're just going to

02:29First, we'll ask for any comments from

02:31the commissioners.

02:33>> Well, one I'd like to echo your comment,

02:36Dave, about, uh, a lot of the work that

02:38went into it. I think,

02:39particularly Amy, was in charge of doing

02:41a lot of, uh, work with different

02:43groups. It's, uh, very helpful in

02:45pulling people together.

02:47A lot of commissions and boards in town

02:49helped put all these comments together.

02:51So, uh,

02:53make it

02:53reflects well on what the community

02:56wants, uh, wants to see in the next, uh,

02:5810 years or so.

03:00I'll save other comments, through the

03:02draft, as we get into into the draft.

03:04But, that's it.

03:06>> Any other comments from the

03:07commissioners?

03:08John, did you want to, um,

03:11kind of guide us through this or did you

03:13>> Sure. Yeah, no, I have I have a little

03:15presentation prepared that if you'll

03:17bear with me,

03:18um,

03:20I've gotten it down to about an hour and

03:2145 minutes. So, uh,

03:24we should we should be

03:26>> You you'll be talking to an empty room.

03:30>> Uh, okay. Can I this this hopefully

03:32won't won't take very long, but I did

03:33want to give give a little bit of

03:35background for folks online or folks,

03:37um, in the room

03:38what we've gone through, um, in

03:39preparing this plan. Can you see the

03:41screen?

03:43>> Yes.

03:44>> Oh, the so it looks like a PowerPoint

03:45presentation?

03:47>> Yes.

03:47>> Okay, great.

03:49Um,

03:50so, just to begin, uh, I wanted to give

03:52a little bit of background exactly what

03:53is a plan of conservation and

03:54development and why the town is doing

03:58this at this point and why it's come to

03:59the planning and zoning commission. So,

04:02per state law, state statutes,

04:04specifically Connecticut General Statute

04:06Section 8-23, requires that every

04:08municipality in the state prepare and

04:10update this master plan every 10 years.

04:14The plan is an advisory document that is

04:17that is

04:18the responsibility of the planning

04:19commission. In the case of Woodstock and

04:21many other towns, we have a joint

04:23planning and zoning commission. But it

04:25is the responsibility of that commission

04:26to prepare and update it. The statute

04:30has a great number of

04:32considerations that it must include,

04:36including things like the future land

04:37use. Again, it's a 10-year plan, so what

04:39will the town look like in terms of its

04:41use of land over the next 10 years.

04:43Housing, particularly affordable

04:44housing, drinking water supplies,

04:46cluster development, soil preservation,

04:49transportation infrastructure, we must

04:51we must consider how we're growing, our

04:53economic trends, our our population

04:55trends.

04:56And then there are a number of things

04:58that that also must be considered,

05:00including community needs for energy,

05:03protection of resources, particularly

05:04agricultural resources, and then other

05:07things like sea level rise concerns and

05:09and technology needs. So, all of these

05:12things need to be considered in the plan

05:14of conservation and development

05:16as it is prepared by the by the town.

05:19How a plan is used.

05:22First, it is meant to coordinate and

05:25communicate with the state and regional

05:28plans of conservation and development.

05:29The state, as you can see on the screen,

05:31develops its plan every 5 years and is

05:34responsible for guiding the investments

05:37and and broad policies of the state of

05:39Connecticut.

05:40And these plans are meant to coordinate

05:42with each other.

05:44Currently, that region, Capital Region,

05:46I'm sorry, the uh Northeast Connecticut

05:49Council of Governments does not have an

05:50active plan of conservation and

05:52development. They are actually beginning

05:53that process right now.

05:56Um and so we're we're getting our plan

05:58in ahead of theirs, so that can actually

06:00serve to inform their plan in terms of

06:02priorities for um this portion of the

06:04the region.

06:05Um any um municipal investments that a

06:09town makes, if it's going to be um

06:10buying land, selling land, making uh

06:13significant um investments in municipal

06:15facilities, extension of infrastructure,

06:17new roads, new bridges, new water lines,

06:21all of those things must be compared to

06:24and um

06:25found in harmony with the plan of

06:27conservation and development, which is

06:28why we have to consider so many of these

06:30uh sort of future-looking things.

06:33Um as well as if this commission, as

06:35it's in its zoning role, is going to be

06:38adopting new zoning regulations in the

06:40way we treat different types of land

06:42use, different development patterns um

06:44over the next 10 years, those also have

06:46to be found largely in harmony with the

06:49plan of conservation and development. So

06:50in short, this plan is to establish

06:52goals that then the town, through its

06:54investments, through its regulations,

06:56then implements over the next decade.

06:59When we seek uh grant money, if we're

07:01going to buy open space, if we want to,

07:03you know, do economic development

07:05grants, um infrastructure extension

07:07grants, things like that, it very much

07:10behooves the town to have those

07:12investments reflected as priorities in

07:14the plan of conservation and

07:15development, and it will greatly assist

07:17our efforts if we can point to

07:18something, say, "Look, this is a

07:20priority for the town. Can you, state

07:22government, federal government, private

07:23foundation, help us to reach this goal

07:26through your funding?" Those sorts of

07:28things uh are very important. And then,

07:30of course, to demonstrate our statutory

07:31compliance in saying that we are in fact

07:34providing for affordable housing

07:36opportunities, that we are providing for

07:38energy um resilience in our community,

07:40that we are planning for future growth.

07:44Again, the state the state plan um

07:47MECOG doesn't have a plan currently. The

07:49state plan um which was adopted last

07:51year does have um areas we're looking at

07:55what's called the um locational guide

07:57map of Woodstock and it it flags areas.

08:00Again, it's a plan of conservation and

08:02development. So, the broadly speaking,

08:03the green areas on a plan like this are

08:06are intended broadly for preservation,

08:08conservation, lower impact development,

08:11or you know, protection of some type.

08:13And then the yellow and pink and orange

08:14areas on this are meant for a

08:16development or increased activity. And

08:18and on the Woodstock map, obviously,

08:21it's it's generally a rural forested

08:23agricultural area. The state sees it as

08:26such. Uh and then a couple of activity

08:29areas. Basically, you know, South

08:30Woodstock and Woodstock Hill and then

08:32East Woodstock

08:34are seen as sort of community centers

08:36that are suitable for some level of

08:38growth.

08:41Um

08:43despite the fact that the state um

08:44identifies a whole lot of things that a

08:46town must consider as part of its plan

08:48of conservation and development, there

08:49actually is very little in the way of

08:51guidance for how a municipality should

08:53prepare a plan. Um and so,

08:55municipalities are really sort of on

08:57their own and can kind of chart their

08:59own course for how to to go about this.

09:01The plan um in in Woodstock um has been

09:04a couple of years coming.

09:06Um I sort of stepped in in the middle uh

09:09of the process working with you guys for

09:10the last year plus.

09:12Um the current plan was adopted in 2015.

09:15So, we're a little bit behind um the the

09:17deadline.

09:19Um however, the state has given us uh

09:21that that extension to to finish this.

09:24Um there was a POCD committee

09:26established and and as the chair pointed

09:28out, um Amy Monahan has chaired that

09:31group um for the last 2 years or so

09:33working initially with um MECOG and

09:35Julia Fay who was your consulting

09:37planner prior to my um, work with you.

09:40Um, there was a a lot of conversation,

09:42community conversation. There were

09:43targeted stakeholder surveys, you know,

09:45the agricultural community, economic

09:46development, seniors. Um,

09:50all, you know, were were had had

09:52specific um, surveys and questionnaires.

09:55And then, um, again, about a little

09:57under a year and a half ago, we were

09:58brought in, Take It Planning Policy

10:00Group, to help um, sort of take over

10:02from Nikog and Delia and uh, to help

10:05bring this process to conclusion. We,

10:07um, essentially at that time kind of

10:10started a little bit from scratch and

10:12established essentially a vision. Um,

10:15which a a an approach starting with a a

10:18broad vision for what we would like to

10:20see in Woodstock and then a thematic

10:22approach. Um, and particularly what

10:24we'll get into sort of the three

10:25categories of those of those themes. Um,

10:29and uh, the the other major thing that

10:31we did

10:33was that the state the town had for many

10:35years, um, a separate document called

10:37the plan of open space and conservation,

10:40which was developed by the conservation

10:41commission back I around 2003 or so.

10:45Um,

10:46maybe a little bit earlier than that.

10:48Um, which was in need of update and so

10:50it was decided, um, in this process that

10:52we would update those two plans together

10:55and incorporate them. So, essentially

10:57the plan of open space and conservation

10:59became largely the the first half of the

11:02the plan of conservation and development

11:03update.

11:05And then the subcommittee, uh, again,

11:07chaired by by Amy, um, sort of went

11:10through chapter by chapter, section by

11:11section, drafting this, reviewing this.

11:14Um, seeking input, uh, and then as the

11:17the draft came together, it was brought

11:19back to the Planning and Zoning

11:20Commission, which has the ultimate

11:21responsibility for reviewing and

11:22adopting. Um, and and we scheduled this

11:25public hearing a couple of months ago.

11:26So, that broadly speaking, that was the

11:28process.

11:29Um, I can stop right here. Amy, do you

11:31want to add anything about about the the

11:33process?

11:35>> Uh no, not at this time.

11:37>> Okay.

11:38Uh didn't mean to put you on the spot,

11:40but um so

11:42first um just a little bit of

11:44background. So, you know, one of the

11:46things that we're we are asked to

11:47consider in developing a plan of

11:48conservation and development is sort of

11:50who we are and where we are

11:52demographically, economically,

11:53population-wise. What are there are

11:56there important trends? Where do we fit

11:58in terms of the state, in terms of the

11:59market? Um so, we do have a little bit

12:01of initial analysis. None of nothing

12:04here will surprise members of the

12:05commission, probably members of the

12:07public either. We know who we are in

12:09Woodstock. Um but, you know, the town

12:11has grown from a very small rural

12:13community in the '60s

12:15uh when we only had about 3,000 people

12:17and we're now up over um 8,000.

12:20However, population over the last 15

12:23years or so has been relatively flat. Um

12:27and current projections are that that

12:29population will continue to remain to be

12:31about flat. Our growth rates are slowing

12:33down. Our our you know, our population

12:35is aging somewhat. We're not having as

12:37many kids and our school is not growing.

12:39So, we're projected to stay right around

12:418,000 people for the next 15 years or

12:43so. This is again, that's a projection.

12:45It's not you know, it's it's not locked

12:48in stone. We can certainly change

12:50direction. We could grow, we could

12:51shrink, but that the current projection

12:53has us being about flat.

12:56Um our age distribution, as you can see

12:59on the in the chart in the upper right,

13:00we are a little bit older than the state

13:03in general. We have more of our uh

13:05percent by percentage, we have more

13:07people in the 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and um

13:1270 to 79 population in Woodstock than in

13:15the state overall, which has a few more

13:17very older you know, significantly older

13:19people and and the the youth population

13:22is a little bit um larger in the state,

13:24particularly young adults, 20 to 40. Um

13:28Woodstock is significantly smaller than

13:30the state numbers.

13:32Uh and we are a little bit less diverse

13:34in terms of our ethnic

13:36our racial makeup than the state or even

13:38Northeast Connecticut. We're

13:39predominantly white Caucasian about 86%

13:43with another 12% Hispanic or Latino

13:46which is you know certainly lower than

13:47the state's numbers of 64 and 17 for

13:51instance. Again,

13:52sort of who we are. We we recognize

13:54this.

13:55Um household sizes have declined over

13:58the last 20 years or so.

14:00We were up over two and a half people

14:02per household and now we are under two

14:04and a half people per household. Um the

14:06this is sort of echoed in trends across

14:09the state although

14:11more precipitous in Northeast

14:12Connecticut and Woodstock than in the

14:14state overall which stayed right around

14:16two and a half the whole way. And and

14:18what that means is that even though our

14:21population is relatively flat, our

14:23number of households could grow because

14:27households are smaller and that still

14:28reflects a potential demand for new

14:31housing.

14:32Um

14:34in terms of our housing stock, we are

14:36largely a

14:37a owner

14:39occupied particularly we are very

14:40heavily single family 85% of our housing

14:43stock is single family residence which

14:45is then all owner occupied. Our

14:47multi-family tends to be 79%

14:50renter occupied. And both of those

14:52levels are higher than the cog or the

14:54state in general.

14:57In terms of our economics, Woodstock I'm

15:00going to avoid calling Woodstock a

15:02bedroom community. However, Woodstock

15:04does tend to export more people in terms

15:08of jobs than it imports.

15:10Only about 500 residents 540 residents

15:14both live and work in Woodstock. Another

15:171100 come to Woodstock from elsewhere

15:20but more than 3500 people who live in

15:23Woodstock go elsewhere for employment

15:26for employment. So we are we tend to be

15:29a community that is more residential

15:31than business focused in terms of our in

15:33terms of our makeup.

15:36In relatively good shape financially in

15:38terms of our municipal expenditures, our

15:40grand list, our total indebtedness. And

15:42some of the the key employers that again

15:45would surprise no one line master,

15:47Rogers Corp, Northeast placement. These

15:48are all relatively large employment

15:51employers in Woodstock.

15:54Then getting into the actual vision and

15:56again a lot of the work that was done in

15:592024 and 2025

16:02before I sort of took over the effort

16:05was in developing a lot of that data and

16:07developing a lot of that input. And so

16:09we took that data and input and

16:11basically sculpted a vision statement.

16:14That identified what Woodstock wanted to

16:17be and how it saw itself over the next

16:19decade. And so I'm going to take a

16:21moment and just read the whole statement

16:23if you don't mind. And you know, feel

16:26free to close your eyes and and and

16:27think of Woodstock as we read this.

16:30The town of Woodstock planning and

16:31zoning commission. In developing this

16:34update to the 2015 plan of conservation

16:36and development is led by a strong

16:38commitment to preserving and enhancing

16:41the historic scenic rural and

16:44agricultural landscape of Woodstock.

16:46It is also led by its intent to promote

16:49actions and policies that will encourage

16:52a community with wider and more

16:53diversified opportunities for homes.

16:56Agriculture.

16:58And appropriate industry. The town will

17:00seek to balance its stewardship efforts

17:03with the need of the community to grow

17:05and allow its current and future

17:07residents to live, work, learn, and

17:09thrive here in a way that fundamentally

17:12respects Woodstock heritage.

17:14We envision a Woodstock.

17:16That protects the natural, cultural, and

17:18historic resources that make Woodstock a

17:20treasured place,

17:22develops its land and its economy in a

17:24way that expands opportunity in

17:26Woodstock in a sustainable way without

17:28sacrificing our history or our future,

17:32enjoys the abundance of resources and

17:34opportunities, and strengthens the

17:36common ties that draw the community

17:38together.

17:39Over the coming decade, Woodstock will

17:41continue to welcome the thoughtful

17:43welcome thoughtful development in town

17:45balanced with a continued conservation

17:47of natural and cultural resources that

17:50are essential to the realization of this

17:51vision.

17:56And that's an important statement that

17:58very much um formed the basis of

18:01everything that is to come uh in this

18:03plan.

18:06And so you'll note that we highlighted

18:09three key themes and in that vision

18:11statement. And those are protect,

18:14develop, and enjoy.

18:17Um and because of those things, so we we

18:20looked at the what do we want to do in

18:21Woodstock? We want to protect. And the

18:23the the key elements that went into that

18:25portion, that theme, is elements of

18:28soil, water, air, wildlife, open space,

18:31agricultural resources, and our history.

18:34Those are things we want to protect.

18:36When we look at the the theme of

18:37develop, we want to look at again

18:40agricultural development, housing,

18:42infrastructure, our schools, our

18:44resilience in the way that we grow.

18:46And in the theme of enjoy, we looked at

18:49things like our town resources, our

18:50recreation, our community organizations,

18:53and our multiple boards and commissions

18:55and people who are dedicated to making

18:56Woodstock a great place.

18:58And so those three themes formed the

19:01basically the skeleton, the the the the

19:03um infrastructure of how the rest of the

19:06plan was structured.

19:09So we we basically broke the rest of the

19:11plan down into those three three key

19:12topics. So, under protect we again we

19:16looked at conservation. We incorporated

19:18the plan of open space and conservation

19:20and updated that. I'm sorry, that was it

19:22in 2001. So, it was a little earlier

19:24than I thought.

19:26Um and looking at all sorts of things,

19:28our water resources, our soils, our key

19:30watersheds, our drinking water supplies,

19:32our natural resources, our uninterrupted

19:35forest blocks. Uh and particularly our

19:37our key agricultural resources. Since we

19:39examined all of these elements and

19:41identified the things that are necessary

19:44to protect and the methods in which to

19:46protect them. So, we looked at our

19:47water, our soils, our climate

19:49resilience, looking at things like doing

19:51better and and having better access to

19:53mapping. Looking at things like green

19:56infrastructure and um

19:58uh low-impact development. So,

20:00stormwater management. Um and certainly

20:03the elements of water conservation,

20:05energy conservation, uh riparian

20:07buffers, and things like that. All of

20:09those elements were considered and

20:11prioritized in the protect area.

20:14We also certainly looked at our key

20:17um land covers, our farmlands, our

20:19forests, our open spaces. Um looking at

20:22the the protection that we've done in

20:24terms of agricultural preservation,

20:26forest land preservation, uh our PA 490.

20:30Um and then we made some recommendations

20:32on prioritizing acquisitions. What types

20:35of land should we be investing in

20:37protecting over the long term? Uh where

20:39are they located? What characteristics

20:40do they have? Um how do we support our

20:43working farms, our working forests, as

20:45well as our wildlife corridors? So,

20:47those things were prioritized and

20:49identified in that portion of the

20:50chapter.

20:52And then some of the more human scale

20:54things, our historic character, um our

20:57historic district on on Woodstock Hill

20:59and our historic um properties,

21:01resources, vistas, our stone walls, our

21:04scenic roads. Um and and not is this

21:08about protecting those things through,

21:10you know, easements, through open space

21:12acquisition, but it's also about

21:13stewarding those things to make sure

21:15that a farm, once protected, doesn't

21:18just grow up to become a a forest, that

21:20it be retains its active agricultural

21:23uses, and that the farms the farmers

21:25that that farm those lands

21:27can thrive.

21:29Um, and so those were the elements that

21:31were included in protect.

21:36Then in the in the develop theme,

21:38um, we talked a lot about housing, um,

21:41which is, again, housing is sort of the

21:44major human interface with the town of

21:46Woodstock.

21:47Um, we recognize that Woodstock is

21:49extremely um,

21:52uh,

21:53dependent on its single-family

21:54residences. Um,

21:56you know, we don't have a particularly

21:58uh, high-density uh, development, so

22:00we're we're generally dependent on our

22:02on our automobiles to get from place to

22:04place.

22:05Um, and we don't have a lot of uh,

22:08higher-density multi-family mixed-use

22:10opportunities that would allow people to

22:13um, not have not be in their cars uh,

22:16getting from place to place.

22:17And so we looked at the opportunities

22:20for new residents, for lower-income

22:22residents, for aging residents, people

22:24who are looking to downsize, um, and and

22:26trying to find opportunities for um,

22:29new housing uh, choices in Woodstock.

22:34Also, we and obviously we we talk about

22:36agriculture as a conservation priority,

22:39but agriculture is one of the major

22:41business uh, sectors in Woodstock, and

22:43so the development of agriculture

22:46as a a business entity, as an economic

22:48driver, re- remains incredibly

22:50important. So, you know, farmland sort

22:52of spans the conservation and the

22:54development end of things.

22:56Uh, and that includes, you know, making

22:58sure that our regulations are in place

22:59to allow farmers to expand the the

23:02potential uses on their property and

23:04looking at

23:05agritourism opportunities

23:07and agribusiness opportunities both on

23:09farm and in our community in general.

23:12And then leveraging those resources, the

23:13Woodstock Fair, the

23:15you know, farm to farm to table, farm

23:18stands. Um

23:20and coordinating our small business

23:22promotion that that is also very rural

23:24and and agricultural based.

23:29And then finally looking at those

23:30infrastructural systems that maintain

23:33our ability to

23:35to function and to be interconnected. So

23:37our road and transportation systems

23:40making sure that our um our roads and

23:43infrastructures are resilient and are of

23:46high quality and are safe. That also

23:48looking at things like bicycle and

23:51pedestrian access and bicycle and

23:52pedestrian safety. Um

23:55telecommunications towers and and other

23:58kind of communications infrastructure,

24:00broadband internet. All of these

24:02elements

24:03are critical to to Woodstock working

24:05together and and being able to grow and

24:07thrive as well as our current

24:09infrastructure, our public water lines

24:11and our public sewer lines which for the

24:14for the time being and for the

24:15projectable future are you know, limited

24:17to that area of of Harrisville and South

24:19Woodstock, a little bit on Woodstock

24:21Hill to serve the academy.

24:23And so we you know, analyzed our ability

24:26to expand that and on our you know,

24:28relative lack of interest in expanding

24:30and basically looking to preserve and

24:32maintain that infrastructure as it is.

24:38Then we get into the third of the three

24:40themes which is enjoy which is I think

24:42kind of a novel approach to looking at

24:44some of these things that make Woodstock

24:46special.

24:47Um and so we want to look at our in in

24:49this section we looked at the the

24:51elements of Woodstock that make it a a

24:54special place to live in, to visit and

24:57to interact. and so our parks our trails

25:00our recreation programs and outdoor

25:01experiences the preserved farms the

25:04forests that you know the

25:07open space trails

25:09making sure that we had our core

25:10amenities were well taken care well

25:12taken care of town parks

25:14the Woodstock Academy you know

25:16recreation facilities Roseland parks and

25:18making sure all of these things are well

25:20taken care of well maintained and are

25:22responsive to the needs of a changing

25:25demographic to make sure that the

25:26programming

25:28meets our needs.

25:31Then we looked at our traditions and our

25:34common um

25:36the things that sort of bring us

25:37together as Woodstock our fairs our

25:39festivals things from the Woodstock fair

25:41to the 4th of July Jamboree and in in

25:43East Woodstock our our community

25:46libraries our scenic roads

25:48and and the

25:50um

25:51traditions that are established and um

25:54fostered by our small businesses by our

25:56nonprofit groups by our community

25:58development organizations to kind of

26:00keep things happening in Woodstock keep

26:02Woodstock promotion

26:04growing

26:06and fostering our connections and so we

26:08we identified those and looking to

26:10foster and support support those.

26:12And then this is perhaps one of the most

26:14important things is recognizing that

26:16Woodstock is a small town that has

26:18embraced

26:20basically small government and and

26:21government by

26:23um volunteers government by its citizens

26:26and we have such an extensive list of

26:29community organizations town boards and

26:31commissions volunteer led groups

26:35you know our committees our commissions

26:37our boards

26:38um

26:39that you know work tirelessly year round

26:42for no pay

26:44just for the love of Woodstock for the

26:45love of community and so we want to make

26:47sure that we um

26:49inventory these groups make sure that

26:50they are supported that they have

26:52resources, that they are interconnected,

26:54um and that they are able to continue

26:57their good work

26:58through sort of sensible capital

27:00planning and coordination.

27:03So, those were the primary areas of

27:04focus.

27:05And then each of those themes we we

27:08broke down those topics. So, for in in

27:10in develop we talked about

27:11transportation and roads and bridges and

27:14that sort of thing.

27:15And each of those

27:16areas had specific goals and specific

27:20actions. And so then we gathered all of

27:23those recommendations for specific goals

27:25and specific actions into a a large

27:28implementation table. And this is at the

27:30end of the draft of the plan of

27:32conservation and development and it

27:33essentially represents a detailed to-do

27:36list. So, we set these goals, we have

27:38this broad vision for what we want

27:40Woodstock to be over the next 10 years.

27:42How are we going to get from here to

27:44there?

27:46This is where implementation comes in.

27:48So, for each of those action steps, what

27:51we have done in the implementation table

27:53is we break down the action item. So,

27:55for instance, in the protect category,

27:58continue to use farmland soil data as a

28:01tool for prioritizing agricultural soil

28:03conservation. That's a very specific

28:05goal.

28:06That's fine, but whose job is it and how

28:08important is it and how much is it going

28:10to cost? And so each of those tasks are

28:14assigned a lead entity. So, in that

28:16case, the goal is the lead entity is the

28:18open space and agricultural preservation

28:20commission.

28:22There are support entities, certainly

28:23town staff, and the board of selectmen

28:26through through providing resources to

28:28them.

28:29This is an ongoing project, but it's a

28:31relatively low-level project cuz using

28:33soil data is not a major capital

28:35investment. We're not buying anything.

28:37We're using available data. And so it's

28:39a relatively low-cost thing. And so in

28:41this

28:42implementation table we break down all

28:44of those tasks in a way that everyone

28:46understands whose job is it,

28:48how much it's likely to cost, what the

28:50priority is, how long it's going to

28:52take, and when they should get started

28:54on it.

28:55Um and so that is the full breakdown of

28:59um

29:00all of our tasks to help us achieve our

29:03goals in the plan of conservation and

29:05development.

29:07So that's the structure of the plan.

29:09Uh moving forward from here, again,

29:11we're having a public hearing right now.

29:13The public hearing

29:14um can continue if the the commission

29:16feels it's important. We could broaden

29:18outreach, but again, there's been

29:20extensive outreach through this process

29:22through a a great number of public

29:23meetings, through surveys and input and

29:26a solicitation of all the different

29:27boards and commissions. Um so it can be,

29:31you know, modified from here.

29:33Um once it is adopted,

29:35the plan as we see it today is in its

29:38basically um

29:40draft form. Um

29:43there will be it will be cleaned up. It

29:44will be, you know, any typos are going

29:45to be corrected. We're going to add a

29:47lot a lot of great pictures um and and

29:49basically clean it up so it is a

29:51showpiece document. Um and so over the

29:54next month or two, once it's adopted, we

29:56will clean it up and have a final uh

29:58layout that will be available on the

29:59town website that will be will be

30:00available in hard copy for boards and

30:02commissions to use.

30:04And this will become our 10-year plan.

30:05In many ways, it will be for the

30:07planning and zoning commission. Uh

30:09there's a lot of regulatory changes

30:10recommended here

30:12um for open space commission, for the

30:14board of selectmen, for the board of

30:15finance, for economic development. These

30:17are our marching orders for the next 10

30:19years.

30:21Um we are going to, following this, um

30:24the COG is going to be working on the

30:26regional housing growth plan and their

30:28regional plan of conservation and

30:29development. So this document will be

30:31used extensively in guiding the

30:33formation of those plans, which are our

30:35next um

30:37uh our next tasks. And then we basically

30:40take those goals and they and and the

30:42specific recommendations and we take

30:44action. The Planning and Zoning

30:45Commission will have a full agenda of of

30:48regulation changes

30:50and recommendations to move forward over

30:53the next 10 years when it's not dealing

30:54with, you know, applications and that

30:56sort of thing. So, those are the

30:57proposed next steps.

31:00Um, and I will stop there and be happy

31:02to um answer any questions that the

31:04commission may have about the process

31:07um

31:08or the document itself. And and I can

31:10bring the actual document itself up on

31:12the screen if people want to ask about

31:15specific sections of the plan.

31:17And I'll turn it back over to you, Mr.

31:19Chair.

31:20>> Thank you, John. Thank you for all your

31:22work. Um

31:24>> [clears throat]

31:24>> Let's get any commission comments yet?

31:27Or do we want to open it to people who

31:29can open

31:30>> Well, so the last meeting where we

31:31discussed this, we talked about

31:34scorecards, etc. And I guess adjacent to

31:38that

31:39is my question of how we get or how are

31:42we going to

31:43uh

31:45inform the people who have been

31:47designated as the lead person or

31:50commission

31:52that they are now charged with carrying

31:54these things out.

31:56And how is that process going to happen?

31:57Are we going to call them up or are we

31:59going to send them a memo?

32:00>> that they're going to get handed

32:02the finished copy and say, "This is our

32:04guideline." I mean, all the commissions

32:05have had input and know what's going on.

32:09>> But you have to read through the entire

32:11thing in order to see if you are

32:14uh designated as the person to carry it

32:16out for all of them.

32:18>> Well

32:19Yeah.

32:19>> I mean, I we would hope that people

32:20would do that. However,

32:22you know, it's a big document and and I

32:24I worry that

32:26there are going to be things that people

32:28will be say that uh

32:31you know, open space is charged with

32:33doing this and this and this

32:35and it'll just go by the wayside. I

32:38guess I worry about that.

32:39>> I think the implementation table is um

32:42if you leave the first 112 pages out and

32:46just look at that table,

32:48then you get a very clear um

32:51plan of who is in charge of what by

32:53item. So I think we can shrink like the

32:56the mass of looking for where you're

32:58involved to that, you know, 20-page

33:01table. And then they can go back into

33:03the document to find um background about

33:06what was said about those topics.

33:09I do agree with your concern though

33:11because in the past these documents have

33:13been created and then kind of shelved.

33:15We discussed that when we started this

33:18whole update how we wanted to create a

33:19document that was user-friendly and

33:22encouraged people to actually do what

33:24was in the document. And I think that um

33:28the layout that John created with all of

33:30our input um and the three

33:33different, you know, themes will help

33:36with that. But I do think that we

33:39we or someone has to be tasked with

33:42annually, maybe we call the Board of

33:45Selectmen to send out an annual letter

33:46that says, you know, to every

33:48commission, have you done any of your

33:51POCD goals and report back and kind of

33:54do an annual. I think that would be

33:56logical.

33:58>> Does it make sense to go through the

34:00list of implementation

34:02guideline or the the long list that's in

34:05the back.

34:06And

34:07call out

34:09the different commissions and people

34:12who're responsible for different things

34:13and put under each commission a list of

34:17things they're responsible for.

34:19And up front

34:21send them that list and say, you know,

34:23over the next 10 years

34:25we're hoping you will be able to

34:28accomplish some goal.

34:30>> I don't think that falls on us.

34:31>> That doesn't fall us.

34:33>> We We have this document. We produced

34:34it. We handed it to the commissioner to

34:36say,

34:37this is

34:38to the chair or to to different

34:40commissions and say,

34:42you know, this this is the document that

34:44we produced with your input and these

34:48this is your guideline.

34:50>> Yeah. I I will note also uh

34:53the very last the very last

34:55implementation item on the list, the

34:57very last thing on page whatever it is,

34:59114,

35:01is a task for planning and zoning, which

35:04is to undertake an annual review of the

35:06progress of the POCD,

35:08including a survey of implementation

35:10partners led by the planning and zoning

35:12commission at their January or February

35:13meetings. So, this you know,

35:16amongst the many things that planning

35:17and zoning has charged themselves with,

35:20um ongoing monitoring and communication

35:22with the other boards and commissions is

35:24a key element. So, we will, you know, we

35:27I and certainly what we we will do is we

35:30can um do a little bit of a little bit

35:33of outreach and we can, you know,

35:35um email and I can can coordinate with

35:37with chairman of the various commissions

35:39to say, you know, here's the plan. Um

35:42you know, here's the implementation

35:43table. There's a bunch of stuff for your

35:45commission. We'd encourage you to review

35:47this at your next meeting with your

35:48commission to talk about the different

35:50goals.

35:51Um and and you know, we'll be checking

35:54in with you. Um we meaning the planning

35:56and zoning commission on an annual basis

35:58over the next decade just to to see how

36:00it's going and see if there are

36:02resources that you need, if there there

36:03are obstacles,

36:05or if priorities have evolved. But but

36:08we did assign to ourselves

36:10um

36:11doing some coordination uh and and

36:13follow-up.

36:16>> Joseph,

36:16>> uh John, that implementation table, the

36:20uh 25 pages, uh is that uh like a

36:23Excel spreadsheet that you put together?

36:25>> Um

36:26>> Um I I put it together in Word. Uh

36:29I could convert it to a spreadsheet, but

36:31it's it's a Word table right now.

36:33>> Because I was going to kind of follow up

36:35on John's suggestion and under the lead

36:37entity, if the table could be sorted

36:40just by each commission. So,

36:44when this is finally approved and we can

36:46have maybe three or four pages that

36:50offer to each board commission chair

36:53board or commission chair uh just uh

36:56sorted based on

36:58their lead entity responsibility. Uh it

37:01might

37:01>> Yeah, I mean it wouldn't be it wouldn't

37:02be too difficult to convert a a Word

37:04table to an Excel spreadsheet and sort

37:06it. That's that's very doable.

37:08>> Okay.

37:09>> That that that's exactly the kind of

37:11thing I had in mind.

37:12>> Okay.

37:13>> Something that would just make it easier

37:14for people to just look at quickly what

37:17are what are my responsibilities here.

37:19Right.

37:20And and not have to worry about somebody

37:21else's.

37:22>> Yep.

37:23>> Cuz otherwise it you know, it's it's

37:25sort of daunting cuz like

37:27stuff can get lost like

37:28>> Yep.

37:29>> Makes sense.

37:31>> Do Any other commissioners have

37:33um comments? I mean, we'll get a chance

37:35later. I just wanted to before we open

37:37it up to the public comment.

37:39>> Okay, we're going to go to public

37:40comment. Um Please if you have a

37:42comment, just um state your name for the

37:45um for the record and

37:48we are ready to hear from you.

37:56Yes, Don.

37:58>> Don Aleta, chair of Open Space and

38:00Parkland Preservation Committee.

38:02Um

38:03uh

38:04Your point is well taken. But most of

38:06the committees already know what their

38:08jobs are. It's in our job description

38:11when people volunteer to sit on these

38:12various commissions, boards, and

38:14committees. And we are charged with

38:17creating an annual report already that

38:19talks about needing the votes. So, I

38:21know my plan for that is simply to send

38:24P&Z a copy of what I already sent to the

38:26Board of Selectmen and at Board of

38:27Finance.

38:28>> Okay.

38:30Thanks.

38:34>> Yes, did.

38:36I

38:36Derek May just recently moved back into

38:39town. I had a chance to review this.

38:42I like the document. A lot of work a ton

38:43of work obviously went into it.

38:46Seems very comprehensive. The only thing

38:47I noticed um

38:49as a potential omission is I've got

38:52background in fire department in in

38:54another town.

38:56There's very little

38:58mention of

38:59the three Woodstock fire departments.

39:02Um

39:04as far as I

39:06I think they um

39:09deserve a paragraph. I guess is what it

39:11is what it comes to. If we're talking

39:13about

39:14the points that John brought up

39:16we're talking about a sense of village.

39:18Talking about um

39:20municipal development cuz

39:23there is still entities anything can

39:25change and probably

39:28the nature of things we're talking

39:29about.

39:30People who don't work in town including

39:33myself.

39:34Um who are staffing that so you can see

39:37there's opportunity for change there.

39:39We're talking about um

39:41water supply issues, roads, everything.

39:44So,

39:45introducing a

39:47at least a paragraph acknowledging that

39:49along with the other good uh boards and

39:51commissions and entities within town I

39:53think would be good. And that may at

39:56some point

39:57this document may benefit that

40:00discipline when they're going for grants

40:02and looking for solutions.

40:04Um to be able to point back to document

40:06like this and say, "See, we are part of

40:08of this." So, there's still opportunity

40:11to do that.

40:12>> [clears throat]

40:12>> Um

40:13I'll submit that for your consideration.

40:15Thank you.

40:16>> Thank you, Derek.

40:19>> See.

40:20To add on to to Derek's point, we have a

40:24relatively new emergency response

40:27um

40:29director, I guess he is, um but a new

40:31emergency response kind of entity in

40:33town that coordinate and they do a lot

40:36um

40:37for emergency planning and that also

40:40would be beneficial to have in there

40:42because we are under more threats of all

40:44different types, whether you know,

40:46people

40:48and I know that they go out for grants,

40:50so I don't know if I would like to see

40:51that added. If first topic gets added

40:53in.

40:56Thank you for that.

41:00>> Great. Thank you, Derek. Anybody else?

41:03>> No.

41:05>> Yes.

41:05>> I will speak. It's just

41:07I'm chairman of Wetlands, just

41:09go follow up with his

41:11go up with his comment is

41:14there's a probably volunteerism in

41:17the fire departments and

41:19you know, it might be a good idea to try

41:21to recognize that if that's going to

41:23change

41:24at some point how we look at

41:26our services, whether we do some

41:29amount of fire companies or

41:32uh offering more funding for fire

41:34companies, so

41:36um

41:36that could be a major

41:38thing for us and

41:40probably going to your insurance and

41:42house insurance

41:44is somewhat based on how far you are

41:45from the fire station.

41:48So.

41:49And even now, as far as I know, when

41:51they have any alarm, and when stop,

41:53all three fire departments respond right

41:55away.

41:57They're at least

41:58uh alerted and standby.

42:03>> Thank you.

42:06Um anybody else?

42:14Um

42:18Thank you guys, everybody, for showing

42:19up. You My concern is that I

42:24we did our best to get

42:26this out so people could see it and show

42:27up if they wanted to.

42:29Um put it on the website and then we put

42:31it on Woodstock Proud.

42:34Um

42:39Is our we set with our public input or

42:41should we extend this and try to get

42:42more people on more input? I don't know

42:44if it's going to

42:46I don't I'm just I'm just throwing it

42:47out there to see what people think.

42:51>> I I'd have one comment if I could

42:54address it with with John

42:57and maybe the rest of the commission on

42:58the housing

43:00on page 58.

43:02You know,

43:03paper copy, not sure if that aligns with

43:05the

43:06online

43:07>> table at the top? Yeah.

43:09Let me I'll bring it up just so we're on

43:11the same literally on the same page.

43:14>> Okay. And it's not so much a table if

43:16you can go down it's in that second

43:18paragraph.

43:20I don't know if you can blow it up. It's

43:22pretty hard for

43:24anybody to read it. Maybe we can zoom.

43:27I was just concerned

43:29about four lines down the the last

43:33sentence in that second paragraph. The

43:352022 Woodstock Affordable Housing Plan

43:38starting with that.

43:41Uh calculated the housing gap of

43:43approximately 945 ownership housing

43:46units and 465 rental.

43:51I don't know where that number came

43:53from.

43:54And I think we may want to just

43:57strike that whole sentence.

44:00The numbers really aren't adding up.

44:03And when I looked at that affordable

44:05housing report for a gap analysis

44:08uh there were two tables

44:11one that um

44:12housing gap analysis for a family of

44:14four households

44:17and that actually showed just a deficit

44:19of 49

44:22opportunity housing opportunities

44:25uh in the extremely low-income range.

44:29The other

44:31housing gap analysis for renters

44:34actually showed a surplus of available

44:37housing units. Uh the table is made up

44:40of a supply and demand uh numbers and

44:43that's that's where I'm saying I'm

44:45getting my numbers from.

44:47But anyway, uh

44:48that number of 945

44:52needed

44:53housing units and 465

44:57additional housing units

45:00don't know where those numbers came

45:01from.

45:03>> Are they are they are they not or this

45:05was this was pulled from the plan that

45:06was already adopted? Is it that are

45:08those not reflected in that plan?

45:10>> I was looking for that but that same

45:12statement or similar and I really

45:14couldn't find it, John.

45:16Doesn't mean it's not in there but I

45:17didn't see it under uh either that

45:20housing gap analysis section or

45:22>> I yeah cuz I I wasn't involved in the in

45:24the drafting or adoption of that plan.

45:25This was just uh pulled from there but I

45:27can I I I can tentatively

45:31have that have that taken out unless it

45:33can be verified. That's that's fair.

45:35>> Okay.

45:43Uh that was the only comment that I

45:45wanted to make, John, I think on on the

45:47report. Otherwise, uh

45:49the work through the different meetings

45:50and reviews have seemed to capture a lot

45:54of what everybody was talking about

45:55looked at.

45:56>> So

45:57That's Thank you, Joe. Um Mr. Chair, I

46:01would I would No, I mean that's that's a

46:02that's a change that can be made. I to

46:04to um

46:05Derek May's uh note and and Bill

46:08Ruinsky's comment on that, I I would I

46:10think that's an outstanding

46:12um

46:14thought and and that's something that we

46:15hadn't uh noted enough of.

46:18I would propose that we would add a um a

46:21small section under

46:24town volunteerism to specifically call

46:26out um the fire companies as well as our

46:29emergency management um force

46:32uh reflecting their value to the

46:34community um and per Bill's note noting

46:37that it is a very difficult demanding

46:40volunteer job um

46:42that not only keeps people um engaged in

46:45the community but also keeps

46:47budgets down um for the town and and and

46:49maintains that level of of uh

46:51volunteerism connectivity. Um I'm happy

46:54to do that if you would like to

46:57um

46:59you know, I I would say I wouldn't want

47:00you to to adopt this this evening but

47:03you know, it's it's really up to you if

47:05you'd like to close the hearing or not,

47:07you know, with with the note that this

47:08that section will also be added.

47:12>> Do we have any input from um anybody

47:14online?

47:19>> Uh there was a Mark

47:20>> Great presentation and uh thank you,

47:23Amy, and thank you to everybody that

47:25worked so hard on this.

47:32>> Okay. Is there

47:35There's no member of members of the

47:36public online

47:38that I can see.

47:39>> so, no.

47:40>> Okay.

47:42>> I would recommend maybe keeping the

47:44hearing open uh for one more meeting

47:47just so the finalized version is

47:50available online and people can read it.

47:53I think it's very close to being

47:54approved uh but

47:56um just to give everybody a chance to

47:58look at the real final final version.

48:02I don't think it hurts to hold it open

48:04for one more meeting.

48:06It may

48:07keep it open and it may close pretty

48:09quickly.

48:09>> Yeah. If we continue it to our next

48:12regular monthly meeting.

48:13>> Yeah.

48:15>> I agree, Joseph.

48:17>> Doug Porter, I agree with Joseph. I

48:19think leaving it open for another

48:20meeting, another month or another till

48:22another meeting, I think it's good.

48:24Gives some people an opportunity to

48:25digest whatever was spoken about tonight

48:28and it's

48:30there's no rush for us to do anything

48:32until maybe it's the next meeting and go

48:34from there.

48:36>> So yes, John. I would make that a

48:37motion.

48:38>> I'll second it.

48:40>> Okay. All in favor?

48:42>> Aye.

48:42>> Aye.

48:43>> Aye.

48:43>> Aye.

48:44>> Any opposed? Any abstentions? So moved.

48:49Um

48:52>> Do that.

48:53>> November what? 19th meeting?

48:56>> Yeah, to the next next regular monthly

48:57meeting.

48:58>> Yeah.

49:00>> I think we have another public hearing

49:01then, but it shouldn't

49:03I'm not sure if that's going to happen

49:04or not. So

49:07Well, great. That gets us through that.

49:10And that

49:11um

49:15eliminates the Okay, is there any new

49:17business?

49:18>> I have no new business.

49:20>> Can I just make one request?

49:21>> Sure.

49:21>> For the people who came into this public

49:23hearing, now we have a whole month to

49:26talk up

49:28this plan. If there's a lot in here,

49:30there's a lot to learn from it and try

49:32to get new people to come next month. So

49:34I appeal to you to invite others to come

49:37next time.

49:41>> Okay.

49:42Old business

49:43that was negated because we

49:46kept the public hearing open.

49:48Um

49:50that brings us to number eight.

49:52Home occupations, John.

49:54>> Uh no new home occupation applications

49:56this month.

49:58>> Okay.

50:00Do we have any more citizen comments?

50:03Hearing none, we're going to

50:05communications to get our ZEO report.

50:09>> Uh I posted the ZEO report uh this

50:11afternoon. Um nothing too out of the

50:14ordinary. A couple of

50:16um

50:17accessory buildings, uh garages, a new

50:19ADU, um

50:21which is good to see.

50:23Uh a couple of bonds, uh one released

50:26for erosion sedimentation, and the folks

50:28for Scranton Village, the owners of

50:29Scranton Village, stopped in the office

50:31this after this morning and dropped off

50:33their uh stormwater bonds. Um so they

50:36are moving along. We anticipate they're

50:39going to have their their um special

50:41permit filed in the next week or so, and

50:44they can actually start their

50:45construction work.

50:47Um we do have a public hearing scheduled

50:49for uh November for Jeffco Fibers with

50:52the the former Crabtree and Evelyn

50:54property,

50:55um looking to add uh storage and

50:57warehouse building. So that that special

50:59permit hearing will open in November.

51:01Um I'll note that we also uh approved,

51:04uh we, meaning you, the town meeting,

51:07uh would stock approve the new citation

51:09ordinance that will allow

51:11um land use violations as well as scenic

51:13road violations and historic

51:14preservation violations to be addressed

51:17um a little bit more directly with

51:19fines.

51:20Um and then we are um

51:24in the loop now finally about the cog uh

51:27starting to undertake their regional

51:29plans of conservation and development

51:30and housing uh growth. So what they're

51:33looking for volunteerism and

51:35participation in both of those.

51:38>> Uh

51:38>> John,

51:40would you be able to comment a little

51:41bit more on NECOG's uh

51:44function and participation in creating

51:46that regional housing plan uh

51:49to

51:50address the state's requirement that

51:53every municipality have something or

51:55each municipality

51:57coordinate with a cog in their area.

52:01>> Yeah, um that's well I mean that's a

52:02pretty good summary, Mitchell. I don't

52:04know how much you want me to elaborate

52:05on that, but yeah, so the basic process

52:08is um the state uh you know the the

52:12state law public act 25-1 created the

52:15responsibility for every municipality to

52:17come up with a housing growth plan. And

52:20that housing growth plan um which will

52:23be um

52:26required to be submitted for for the

52:28Northeast Connecticut towns by June of

52:312028. So, we have just under 2 years um

52:35to develop this.

52:36The process by which this happens is

52:39sort of slowly rolling out um and and

52:43the the function of the the basic

52:45timeline is this.

52:46The state um has the first

52:49responsibility, the Office of Policy and

52:50Management, specifically the Office of

52:52Responsible Growth,

52:54um is charged with coming up by the end

52:57of this calendar year, so in the next 2

52:58months,

53:00the big um housing growth

53:03targets for the next 10 years. So, the

53:0610-year target of total housing growth

53:09um

53:10that is that is projected to be

53:12necessary in the entire state.

53:14Um they take that big number

53:17and then divide it up amongst their uh

53:20nine councils of government. So,

53:22Northeast Let's say the number is

53:25you know, for ease of you know, ease of

53:27numbering, let's say the number is

53:2890,000. And let's say equal

53:30distribution,

53:31each cog would be then responsible for

53:3310,000 of these numbers. That's that's

53:35not going to be the distribution because

53:37obviously the capital region is much

53:38much bigger and more populous than than

53:40Northeast Connecticut.

53:41But, the state will divide up that big

53:44housing number amongst its nine COGs.

53:48That process is going to happen um in

53:51again the next 2 months. That's the

53:52gross number. And so at at beginning of

53:562027, Northeast COG will receive um the

54:01big number. And that is not only a a

54:03gross number for the entire COG. They

54:06must then take that gross number and

54:09divide it up amongst its member

54:11municipalities.

54:13And further divide it into um its net

54:17number of affordable units and

54:19affordable of different types.

54:21Um multi-family ownership, senior

54:23housing, you know, um you know, mobile

54:26manufactured what whatever the category

54:28of affordable. So, that that the COGs

54:30have to take the gross state number and

54:32turn it into a net affordable municipal

54:36number.

54:38Amongst amongst its member

54:39municipalities. And Northeast COG is uh

54:41what like 11 11 communities, 13

54:43communities, something like that.

54:45Um

54:46that number is going to be developed

54:49with the input ideally with the input

54:51and participation of all of the member

54:52municipalities in the COG over the next

54:556 months. Basically between December and

54:57June.

54:58Um

55:00the the the COG will be working with our

55:02member municipalities to come up with

55:04each town's target number.

55:06And the big number from the state is a

55:0810-year target.

55:10Um the COG will be coming up with a

55:125-year

55:14goal

55:15uh for each municipality. And so then

55:17over that period, the municipality must

55:20decide

55:21if it

55:23wants to participate in this regional

55:24process

55:25and work with the COG and the leadership

55:27of the COG to come up with a regional

55:30housing development plan, housing growth

55:32plan with municipal targets and

55:34municipal actions to try to get to our

55:37municipal number that's been

55:39um targeted with us and and assigned to

55:41us by the cog.

55:44Or a municipality can choose to go it

55:46alone. If we disagree with the cog's

55:48approach, if we disagree with the cog's

55:50number, if we believe that we can do

55:52more, if we think, you know, we're

55:54restricted because of infrastructure,

55:56because of soils, because of whatever

55:57reason, because of market, that that's

55:59an unrealistic number, we can submit and

56:01develop or we can develop and submit an

56:03alternative number to the cog and to the

56:06state and come up with our own municipal

56:09housing plan similar to what we did with

56:11the affordable housing plan back, you

56:13know, 4 years ago or so.

56:15The framework of this plan is going to

56:17be a little bit different because there

56:18are actual numbers um assigned to it and

56:21actual types of housing um assigned to

56:24it brought rather than just sort of

56:25broad goals, like, oh, let's loosen

56:27let's loosen our, you know, multi our

56:28our

56:29ADU regulations or something like that.

56:31It needs to be a little bit more

56:32specific than that.

56:34Um but that is a decision that that

56:36Woodstock and all the other communities

56:38of Northeast Connecticut will have to

56:40will have to um that's a decision we'll

56:42have to make basically no later than

56:45July of 2027. So, in about 8 months, we

56:49have to decide whether we're going to

56:50participate in the cog process or go it

56:52alone and come up with our own plan. And

56:54then we'll basically spend the next year

56:57working with cog or working on our own

56:59to come up with um

57:01our housing growth plan.

57:03And so that's that's broadly the time

57:04frame.

57:06>> Have you heard of any punitive measures

57:08the state is thinking of either

57:10not punishment but maybe reducing

57:12funding for road care or schools if

57:16towns don't meet their

57:18assigned target of housing growth? Any

57:21of that commentary?

57:23>> As of right now, the the the language of

57:25the statute is very, very clear that it

57:29is it operates on incentives, not

57:31penalties. That they you know, the the

57:33the reason

57:35the the part of the reason that it was

57:37not adopted that the public act was took

57:40until November to be adopted

57:42um was to make sure that all of the

57:46sticks were removed and and only carrots

57:49remained. Um obviously it's a big

57:50responsibility to come up with this

57:51plan, but if a town um

57:55you know, submits an acceptable plan

57:58and makes good faith efforts towards

58:01towards the

58:02uh achievement of the goals as

58:04established in the plan, it unlocks a

58:06variety of of grant housing grant and

58:09housing opportunities through the

58:11housing growth fund, um through priority

58:13funding, you know, through through OPM

58:15and other grant programs. So, you could

58:17say

58:19you know, that maybe the backhanded

58:21stick is if the town, you know, chooses

58:24to opt out of the system entirely or you

58:26know,

58:28um half-heartedly adopt something and

58:30you know, does not make good faith

58:32efforts towards implementation of those

58:34goals,

58:36you know, it's possible that the town

58:38may lose out on

58:40funding opportunities. You know, that

58:42that are that are discretionary, but

58:44nothing that is currently available to

58:47municipalities is slated to be taken

58:49away if we do not participate.

58:52It is it is only a failure to unlock

58:56incentive funding.

58:58>> Great. Thank you.

59:01Amy.

59:03>> Don, I have a question. Are there any

59:06topics that we should be focusing on in

59:09preparation? Cuz I'm hearing that we

59:11have 8 months or a maximum of 16

59:13meetings

59:14before we actually have to start making

59:16decisions about this housing. So, are

59:19there like do you have documents you can

59:22give us or you know, do we have to plan

59:25the topic like cover certain topics in

59:27that 8-month period to be prepared for

59:29this work.

59:31>> Um yeah, I would So, I would and and

59:34I'll I'll I'll note and you know, I've

59:36I've said this at a couple of earlier

59:37meetings that I've been a little bit

59:39chagrined that NICOG has been late to

59:41the late to the party on some of these

59:43things

59:44that other other COGs are

59:466 months ahead in terms of their

59:47planning.

59:48>> And do you like send us sort of

59:50documents you know, kind of goes along

59:53in that process between now and then so

59:55that we're better prepared?

59:56>> Yeah, we could. Um

59:59yeah, um and but I will I will also, you

1:00:01know, there's also a certain level of

1:00:03difference because I mean, first of all,

1:00:05we don't even know what the state

1:00:06numbers are going to be yet, you know,

1:00:08and and so a lot will depend on that. Um

1:00:12but I would note and I don't mean to to

1:00:14jump the um

1:00:15the agenda, uh Mr. Chair, but I'll I'm

1:00:19going to put on the screen um the the

1:00:21piece of correspondence that's in

1:00:23correspondence

1:00:24um which addresses just specifically

1:00:26this. This is a letter from NICOG to

1:00:29First Selectman Paquette

1:00:31um

1:00:32that was sent at the uh last week um

1:00:35beginning of October um about the

1:00:37housing growth plan.

1:00:39Um it talks a little bit about what the

1:00:40housing growth plan is and it goes into

1:00:43some of the specifics that um I think to

1:00:46to Amy's question, what we should be

1:00:48thinking about um which is, you know,

1:00:51consistency with our regional plan with

1:00:53our municipal plan and our WPCA goals.

1:00:56Um looking at, you know, zones um or

1:00:59properties that might be suitable for uh

1:01:03you know, additional housing

1:01:04development. Uh different strategies and

1:01:06I think this is something that we can

1:01:07look at our existing affordable housing

1:01:09plan

1:01:10um for, you know, promoting different

1:01:12housing types, looking at an inventory

1:01:15of our developable land in town.

1:01:17Um looking at our zoning regulations, uh

1:01:20Uh, infrastructure needs, our current

1:01:21capacity, what kind of flows we send to

1:01:24Putnam, what kind of water um system

1:01:26capacity we have.

1:01:28Um

1:01:29as well as, you know, some of our our

1:01:31demographics and our housing profile.

1:01:33Um, so there there is some of those

1:01:35things to consider. The state has

1:01:38um done

1:01:41They they've come up with some

1:01:42preliminary recommendations on how to

1:01:44conduct an inventory of developable

1:01:47land. Um, so that work is being done in

1:01:49the background and is going to be

1:01:51available to COGs and and ultimately to

1:01:53municipalities as well

1:01:55um to assist in those efforts.

1:01:57But, yeah, I mean, it you know, broadly

1:02:00speaking, we're looking at housing

1:02:01growth opportunities, particularly

1:02:03affordable housing.

1:02:04And so we're, you know, we should be

1:02:05looking at those standard things. What,

1:02:07you know, our zoning regulations, our

1:02:09developable land our infrastructure, you

1:02:12know, um

1:02:13those kind of key things that that would

1:02:16impact our ability and uh to develop

1:02:19certain types of housing in certain

1:02:20locations.

1:02:23And yes, and and insofar as um guidance

1:02:27from other COGs

1:02:29is useful, I'm happy to share it. Again,

1:02:31I I I want to be a little bit sensitive

1:02:33to not stepping on the toes of of our

1:02:35COG, which is charged specifically with

1:02:38leading this process and frankly funded

1:02:41to lead this process. Like,

1:02:42municipalities are given zero dollars to

1:02:44do this planning. COGs are given several

1:02:46hundred thousands of dollars every year

1:02:48to do this planning. So,

1:02:50I would encourage us to take their lead.

1:02:52Um, but but, you know, not wait around

1:02:54too long.

1:02:59>> Thank you, John.

1:03:01Um

1:03:03brings us to budget report.

1:03:05Um

1:03:07We seem to be staying within our bounds

1:03:10on that.

1:03:12>> Yeah, there's there's nothing

1:03:14particularly of note there, I would say.

1:03:16>> Um, any additional correspondence other

1:03:19than I mean that we covered that.

1:03:21>> other than the knee thing, that's

1:03:22it.

1:03:23>> Okay.

1:03:26And then

1:03:26>> Mark still on?

1:03:27>> Mark still on?

1:03:30Brings us to a number 12, adjournment.

1:03:32>> [laughter]

1:03:34>> Bye Mark.

1:03:35>> Is there a motion?

1:03:36>> Move to adjourn.

1:03:38>> There you go.

1:03:39>> [laughter]

1:03:39>> We have a second?

1:03:41>> Second.

1:03:42>> All in favor?

1:03:43>> Aye.

1:03:44>> Aye.

1:03:44>> Aye.

1:03:46>> So moved.

1:03:47>> Thank you everybody.

1:03:49>> Can I

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