Looking Toward 2013––

Draft Town Plan Of Conservation And Development Sets Goals For Newtown’s Future

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has formulated a draft version of its 2003 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, a planning document intended to guide town officials in managing local growth and land conservation during the decade leading to 2013.

Central to the town plan is a “vision statement,” in which the P&Z describes “what life should be like in Newtown in 10 years.”

That 164-word vision statement holds that a prime goal is the protection and enhancement of the town’s picturesque, rural, historic New England setting and attributes. The architecture and landscaping of all local properties should be designed to protect the town’s image as a rural and historic town, the statement adds.

During the coming decade, town agencies will work together to maintain a suitable variety of housing, taking into account residents’ varying lifestyles and economic circumstances, while providing and developing equal recreational activities and facilities for all residents, according to the statement.

The statement adds that the town will work to protect open space areas, farmland, trails, aquifers, wetlands, and other environmentally sensitive areas.

The vision statement holds that local public education will continue to excel in quality and efficiency.

“Newtown will succeed in attracting commercial businesses at a rate equal to its growth [rate], and the design of the town’s roads and [its] traffic patterns will enhance business development, while minimizing traffic congestion for the residents,” it adds.

The town plan contains a broad range of recommendations on managing local change, in order to achieve the goals that are expressed in the vision statement.

To increase the likelihood of meeting the planning goals, the town plan draft contains a series of “action agendas” that list recommended actions and assign town plan implementation responsibilities to various town agencies.

The 98-page town plan draft will be available for public review at the P&Z offices in Canaan House at Fairfield Hills; the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) offices at the Old Brookfield Town Hall in Brookfield Center; Booth Library at 25 Main Street; and the town clerk’s office and the selectmen’s office, both of which are in Edmond Town Hall at 45 Main Street. An electronic version of the document will be posted on the town’s website on the Internet at www.newtownct.org.

On October 15, the P&Z is scheduled to present the town plan draft to the Legislative Council at a council meeting. State law now requires municipal planning agencies to submit proposed town plans for review and comment by local legislative bodies. The council may hold a public hearing on the town plan draft.

The P&Z has tentatively scheduled its own public hearing on the town plan for December 18. At some point after its public hearing, the P&Z would possibly modify and then approve a town plan. 

Municipalities decennially revise their town plans to address changing conditions in planning for the coming decade’s growth and land conservation. A town plan serves as a conceptual framework to guide the P&Z in its decisionmaking on land use applications. P&Z members often cite whether a particular land use application conforms to or diverges from the tenets of the town plan when approving or rejecting that application.

Harrall-Michalowski Associates, Inc, (HMA) of Hamden is the P&Z’s consultant for the planning project. Since early 2002, HMA has produced 12 planning memoranda, which are the basis for the town plan. Those 12 memoranda will serve as appendices to the town plan. The memoranda cover demographics, development patterns and trends, community character, conservation and natural resources, open space, parks and recreation, community facilities, housing, economic development, transportation, a public opinion survey, and a study on creating land use regulations that would maximize the amount of open space preserved in residential subdivisions.

Residential Growth

Based on past growth trends, HMA projects that, “It can be reasonably anticipated that Newtown will continue to face cyclical development pressures to meet market demands for additional single-family detached housing in northern Fairfield County.”

Newtown holds an estimated 11,500 acres of privately owned vacant land, plus an additional 1,350 acres of privately owned agricultural land, HMA notes.

“The 40-year trend of developing single-family detached housing in Newtown is likely to continue during the next ten years,” HMA observes. Between 1990 and 2000, the town’s population rose from 20,779 to 25,031, representing a 20.5 percent decennial growth rate.

The town’s population growth between 1990 and 2000 was numerically greater than the total growth experienced between 1970 and 1990, according to HMA.

The future pace of local residential development will be determined by market forces and municipal land use regulation, it adds.

“While the cost of new housing in Newtown has risen steadily, housing costs in Newtown remain significantly below the cost for comparable housing in lower Fairfield County, where an important portion of the [Newtown] housing market demand originates,” it states.

As long as the demand for single-family detached housing persists in this part of the state, Newtown, with its ample supply of privately owned vacant land and good locational attributes, can anticipate residential growth, HMA states. Also, an expanded population will create a demand for local commercial growth, it adds.

“Change is a constant in every community, and the character of Newtown will continue to evolve as the community matures,” HMA observes of the town’s incrementally changing character.

Future Land Use

The town plan describes future preferred forms of conservation and development in a “future land use plan.” That plan is illustrated by a multicolored map.

The future land use plan describes the most appropriate locations for residential development, commercial growth, business districts, industrial growth, municipal facilities, conservation and open space areas, civic uses, institutional uses, and specialized zoning districts. The future land use plan, as illustrated by the colored-coded map, graphically depicts the town plan’s vision statement.

About 30 percent of the land area in town, including some environmentally sensitive areas, remain vacant land. The future uses of those areas can have significant effects on the town, according to HMA.

To support and protect the local quality of life, a balance between development, the conservation of open space and natural resources, and the preservation of the town’s historical and natural resources is necessary, according to the plan.

While environmental protection and open space conservation are key components of the town plan’s content, the town plan acknowledges that investment and development are necessary to improve the local property tax base, as well as maintain the economic well-being of the town and its residents.