On Thursday, January 23, the Planning & Zoning Commission held a special meeting regarding the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). The POCD is a document that highlights Newtown’s 10-year plan regarding housing, land use, economic development, and more.

The POCD has been a work-in-progress for months now, finally coming to a close with a unanimous vote to accept the draft as is, with some minor changes the public and commissioners brought forth.

The first person to speak at the meeting was the Bike & Trail Committee Chair Charles Zukowski. He thanked the commission for their inclusion of trail plans. “I just want to thank you for adding the action item 8.2.5, ‘Preparing a Trail Plan.’ I just want to say that we’re looking forward to working with the relevant departments and commissions to help make that happen in the near future.”

David Rosen, the Planning & Zoning chair, responded, “I think [the trails are] one of the great assets that this town has, and I don’t think there’s any losers out of that deal having a good trail network.”

Resident Ned Simpson was next to speak. He suggested an annual progress review and adding sidewalk and affordable housing supplements to the POCD.

Simpson added, “I fully support aggressive efforts for affordable housing, low-income housing, and worker housing, but I want to see these as Newtown efforts, not state-imposed, one-size-fits-all solutions.”

Later on in the meeting, the commissioners all agreed that an annual review would be paramount to the continued success of Newtown.

Rosen shared, “We need to keep this a live document.”

P&Z Commissioner Connie Widmann added that the commission should “dedicate time to review once a year where we’re at.”

Randy Walker, resident and president of Pootatuck Watershed Association, was the last member of the public to speak at the meeting. He shared concerns about the Pootatuck River not being listed as a recreational area. “It’s, to me, one of those things that not every town has.”

Walker also noted that the river is a self-sustaining trout stream that does not need to be stocked by the state, highlighting the importance of the river and the thriving ecosystem within it.

The commissioners then each discussed smaller issues within the POCD. Some grammatical errors and errors within maps and numbers. Rob Sibley, Land Use director, explained to the commission that the POCD would be voted on, and the changes and suggestions made by the public would be added to the draft that is sent to the state.

The commission put it to a vote, and the motion passed unanimously.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.