PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING NOVEMBER 21, 2009
Present: Regular members Lynn Cheney, David Colbert, Pat Hare, Chris Hopkins, Heidi Kearns, James LaPorta, Alternate members Buddy Hurlburt and Emilie Pryor, commission staff Karen Griswold Nelson and commission planning consultant Tom McGowan
Absent: Alternate member Josh Tyson
Others present: Anne Kosciusko.
Vice Chairman Pat Hare called the meeting to order at 10:10A.M. in the Cornwall Town Hall.
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING on the Adoption of the Proposed Cornwall Town Plan of Conservation and Development as prepared by the Cornwall Planning &Zoning Commission as required by Section 8-23 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
Commission planning consultant Tom McGowan gave a brief overview of the process used for the preparation of the draft Plan as being presented and heard in the continued hearing process that morning by the Cornwall Planning & Zoning commission. Mr. McGowan acknowledged points brought up during the November 19th public hearing, including recommendations for more definitive language regarding farmland and agriculture in the “Economic Development” and “Natural Resources” parts of the draft Plan, recommendations for DSL and better technology connections to the village centers to promote economic opportunities, and incorporation of parts of the current Plan into the draft Plan for continuity. Mr. McGowan addressed the process used by the Commission to create the draft Plan being presented, starting with the 2007 public forum after which 4 subcommittee groups were defined and formed, “Housing”, “Economic Development”, “Community and Cultural Resources” and “Natural Resources”. Mr. McGowan acknowledged the work of Mr. David Grossman, entitled “Cornwall in the Zeros”, as included in the draft Plan, the mapping done by Housatonic Valley Association and Northwest Conservation District and the natural resources analysis done by the Kingsmark Environmental Team in conjunction with the “Natural Resources” subcommittee. Mr. McGowan referenced two public forums held by the ”Economic Development” subcommittee; one focused on West Cornwall and the other Cornwall Bridge and gave an overview of the work done by the other three subcommittees in their preparation of their section of the draft plan. Mr. McGowan, noting that the draft Plan was about “peoples, places and houses”, hit on high points of each of the four sections, stated that subcommittee chairs were all prepared to give overviews of their assigned sections.
Annie Kosciusko, co- chairman of the “Economic Development” subcommittee recognized the “Economic Development” subcommittee members and co-chairmen Jim LaPorta and Heidi Kearns. Mrs. Kosciusko addressed work done by the subcommittee as part of the preparation of their section of the draft Plan focused on the two villages of Cornwall Bridge and West Cornwall, including surveys of the current structures and lots in and around the villages, septic and well capacity surveys, 2 public input forums and the start of a preliminary marketing study. Mrs. Kosciusko addressed recommendations tendered in the draft Plan to make the village centers safer and more pedestrian friendly and to implement village district regulations to maintain the character of the villages while allowing for appropriate growth.
Mrs. Kosciusko acknowledged remarks from the November 19th public hearing, stating that language was to be added to add greater support for home based businesses. Noting that the outdoor recreation aspect was the town of Cornwall’s biggest tourist attraction, Mrs. Kosciusko addressed recommendations including the creation of a brochure to make outdoor recreation more a focus of the Cornwallian economy.
In response to questions from Mrs. Norma Lake (Rattlesnake Road) as to the particulars of village district regulations cited, Mrs. Kosciusko and Mr. McGowan addressed the statutory changes enacted by the state legislature in recent years to allow local Zoning commissions to create and enact village district regulations, regulations that would establish and give power to regulate specific standards for such factors as setbacks, parking, signage, construction features, etc. Mr. McGowan stated village regulations, usually based on the features of existing structures and conditions that the community wished to maintain, would be used as general guidelines to regulate appearance, size and scale and give the Commission greater regulatory control to maintain and permit new development in a fashion that townspeople would like to maintain and continue to see in the future.
In response, Paul Baren, Whitcomb Hill Road resident and “Economic Development” subcommittee member, suggested that not only public but private groups would have to support and help implement such village regulations.
Patrick Mulberry, Whitcomb Hill Road, raised questions regarding home based business regulations with Mrs. Kosciusko responding that the commission was not planning to change existing regulations. It was agreed that the draft Plan could be modified to say that the town encourages home bases business, now and in the future.
Marie Prentice, Lake Road, suggested that the Cornwall Bridge community would like to see a greater emphasis on resolving traffic issues in Cornwall Bridge. Mrs. Prentice stated that resolving traffic issues was a bigger priority in Cornwall Bridge as so much more depended on it. In response, Mrs. Kosciusko noted the lack of consensus within the community and the issue raised by such a lack of consensus.
In response, Mr. Mulberry stated his belief that traffic design ideas brought forth by Tim Prentice seemed to have been dropped, with reiteration by Mrs. Kosciusko as to the lack of a vast majority of the townspeople to be behind any one idea.
First Selectman Gordon Ridgway addressed current things being done to promote economic viability, noting that while there has been little or no expansion in the town in the past twenty years, the town is currently proposing increased flexibility and even expansion of the village centers and that money is in place to continue work on the village centers.
Note was made by Lynn Cheney that “roads” were also addressed in the “Community and Cultural Resources” section of the draft Plan.
Mr. Ridgway suggested that the draft Plan might recommend the elimination of the restriction of limited retail opportunities within home based businesses. In response, Mr. Hopkins suggested that cooperative efforts between home based business and village center businesses, i.e. co-ops, etc. might be alternatives to consider.
In response to concerns raised by Mr. Charles Hepprich (Cornwall Bridge business owner) as to issues with septic capacity, Mr. Ridgway stated that waste water treatment infrastructure in town village centers was being looked at on a regional basis and that regular meetings were taking place between town officials, area health agencies (TAHD, etc.) and septic installers to consider viable solutions. Mr. Ridgway suggested that two components were being considered, community water and community septic and that new technology and microsystems for both were being researched. Mr. Ridgway addressed ongoing conversations with CL&P to negotiate an easement agreement to use CL&P owned land in West Cornwall to site a micro-treatment septic system, a project that ultimately would help increase public presence in the village of West Cornwall.
David Colbert, co-chairman of the “Natural Resources” subcommittee, recognized the “Natural Resources” subcommittee members and co-chairman Rick Lynn. Mr. Colbert acknowledged the comprehensive environmental resource study done by the Kingsmark Environmental team and the maps prepared by the Northwest Conservation District that could be used now and updated in the future. Mr. Colbert gave an overview of the “Natural Resources” section of the draft Plan, summing up the recommendations brought forth in the draft Plan, including the establishment of a Conservation Commission, the enhancement of conservation subdivision regulations and the creation of ridgeline protection regulations,
Lynn Cheney, co-chairman of the “Community and Cultural Resources” subcommittee stated that their subcommittee covered a broad range of topics and “that which was left out of” the other 3 subcommittees. Mrs. Cheney addressed the 30 plus town organizations and 9 town commissions in the town covered as part of their charge and the subsequent findings of volunteer burn-out. Mrs. Cheney addressed recommendations brought forth in the draft Plan including the creation of a telephone directory, attention paid to the growing need for social services and the discontinuation of abandoned roads. Mrs. Cheney and co-chair Emilie Pryor addressed other ideas covered including the recreational opportunities in the town and the subsequent recommendations from both the “Economic Development” subcommittee and theirs as to the creation of a brochure that would not only promote economic development but raise awareness of recreational opportunities. Mrs. Cheney addressed two amendments to be made to their section based on comments from the November 19th hearing, first a greater emphasis on support for the Cornwall Consolidated School and the Cornwall Free Library and secondly the encouragement of better hours and services for the social services department in the Town.
Paul Baren raised questions as to whether the professional firm (Harrall-Michalowski hired by the “Economic Development” subcommittee) could look at firmer recommendations from the Commission for road and village center design, suggesting that nothing would happen if no one was sure of what they were looking at or for. In response, Mrs. Cheney stated that the “Cultural and Community Resources” of the Plan does support the Tim Prentice plan.
In response, Mr. Hare, noting that once the draft Plan was approved, stated that the
P&Z commission would be addressing major issues and the consideration of which parts of the community had a greater priority. Mr. Hare added that the Commission was dealing with limited capacity to take on issues outside of their purview.
In response, Mr. Hepprich suggested that the Cornwall Bridge business owners be part of the process, noting his own 40 years plus of presence as a business owner in Cornwall Bridge. Mr. Hepprich stated his personal belief that the traffic situation was not as dangerous as sometimes assumed.
Martha Loutfi (Stone Hill Road) addressed her concerns regarding the emphasis of the language in the draft Plan on social services for the elderly, suggesting that a general survey of the town be undertaken, a survey that might show a larger range of issues than stated.
Norma Lake addressed the amount of resources named on the Cornwall website, suggesting that increased communications and better minutes be addressed as well as the need for human contact.
Margaret Bardot spoke to the issue of discomfort by many people with using computer information and the need for a human being to communicate with.
Paul Baren spoke to the dangers of traffic in Cornwall Bridge.
Nora Horan spoke to the issue of redundancy in the purview of town organizations and commissions, suggesting that a decrease in redundancy would be a good idea or that the consideration of one night a month or combined meetings be considered.
Mrs. Kosciusko spoke to the consideration of a volunteer coordinator.
Donald Bardot spoke in support of traffic issues being addressed; stating his belief that the Cornwall Bridge green was basically useless in its current state and that attention paid to traffic issues was needed if economic growth was to happen.
In response to concerns raised that pertained to town government, Gordon Ridgway, noting that Cornwall Bridge was well represented on the Board of Selectmen (Richard Bramley and K C Baird, both Cornwall Bridge businessmen) suggested that small practical options such as flashing traffic signs and crossing zones be considered, options that could be undertaken by the town on its own. Mr. Ridgway addressed comments in the draft Plan that spoke to efforts being made to ramp up social services and suggested that a survey, as recommended by Ms. Loutfi, was a good ideal.
Mrs. Kosciusko pointed that traffic issues were seen as a high priority in several parts of the draft Plan.
Pat Hare, co-chairman of the “Housing” subcommittee, recognized the “Housing” subcommittee members and co-chairman Chris Hopkins and acknowledged the efforts of Dave Colbert to include photography in the draft Plan. Mr. Hare addressed the recommendations brought forth in the draft Plan including the consideration of a housing trust zoning fee for new construction, the creation of a local housing finance corporation as proposed by committee member Don Bardot, a study to consider and provide direction in making accessory apartments in the town qualify for affordable housing and the consideration of an incentive housing study.
In response to questions from Marie Prentice regarding the affordable status of accessory apartments, Anne Baren, Mr. Ridgway, Mr. McGowan, and Ms. Griswold Nelson gave input as to the issues of the disconnect between zoning regulations and building code and other issues with state and federal requirements for affordable housing units including accessory apartments.
Pat Mulberry addressed the recommendation for the assessment of a housing zoning fee, suggesting that such could cause issues with the cost of normal development.
Martha Loutfi addressed recommendations regarding agriculture in the “Housing” section (sale of acre lots from farms) suggesting that such a practice could be a moral hazard and conflict in that it might attract a lot of one acre lots which ultimately reduce the visual ability of a farm to continue to look like a farm.
Don Bardot, Pine Street, stating his belief that the recommendation for new housing within the existing villages had been dropped from the draft Plan, registered his objections to the recommendation.
In response, Mr. Hare addressed the trade-offs of new development and the maintenance of an existing visual rural character. Citing the build out-map, Mr. Hare addressed the implications of a dramatic change in the landscape with an additional 3800 houses and addressed the concept of “Transfer of development rights” (TDR’s) that provided for a concentration of new houses within certain areas. Noting the difficulty of putting such practices in place, Mr. Hare addressed the recommendation brought forth by the “Housing” subcommittee after an “exhaustive study of the issues with professionals”, pointing out that the recommendations for new regulations for cluster housing was mandatory as opposed to other recommendations. Mr. Hare referenced letters from Hector Prud’homme and Dan McGuiness as part of the recommendations brought forth.
Margaret Bardot, Pine Street, questioned the likelihood of 3, 000 housing units being built in Cornwall in the next 10 years, suggesting that the concept was “a scare tactic”.
With questions raised by Mr. Mulberry as to the areas of new development being defined, Mr. Hare pointed out that the issue of residents being faced with land being preserved elsewhere at the cost of having homes built next to their homes.
In response to Mrs. Bardot’s concerns that the concept of TDR’s and cluster housing might actually encourage more people to come to Cornwall to build, Mr. Hare stated that the concepts of cluster and TDR’s can be complicated and that such a perception, as stated by Mrs. Bardot, was a concern.
After discussion, it was agreed that the public hearing would remain open until the December 8th meeting as which time any changes being considered based on public comment could be discussed within the context of a public hearing:
By action of vice chairman Pat Hare, the continued public hearing was to reconvene at 7:30PM on December 8th for final comments.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Griswold Nelson