Cornwall Town Plan of Conservation and Development
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PROPOSED CORNWALL TOWN PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT CORNWALL PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION © Art Gingert / Wildlands Photography Title: “Boulders in Housatonic River at mouth of tributary stream and famous covered bridge at West Cornwall CT at foggy, early summer sunrise.” As required by the Connecticut General Statutes the preparation of the Town Plan of Conservation and Development is the responsibility of the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Commission Plan identified four key areas of town plan study based on the results of a town wide citizen forum on the preparation of the Town Plan. Town Plan Sub-committees were then created to address each of these subjects. Committees were composed of following citizen volunteers who for the past two years assisting the Commission in the work of preparing of this Town Plan. Cornwall Planning and Zoning Commission Members: Lynn Cheney, David Colbert, Pat Hare, Chris Hopkins, Anne Kosciusko (Chair), Heidi Kearns, Jim LaPorta, Rick Lynn, Emile Pryor Cornwall Town Plan of Conservation and Development Subcommittee Members and Chairs: Cultural and Community Resources Louise Dunn, Ledlie Laughlin, John Calhoun, Becky Hurlburt, Joyce Hart, with Planning and Zoning Commission member co-chairs: Lynn Cheney and Emile Pryor. Housing: Dave Cadwell, Tim Prentice, Denny Frost, Anne Baren, Will Calhoun, Don Bardot and Planning and Zoning Commission member co-chairs Pat Hare and Chris Hopkins. Economic Development: Todd Piker, K. C. Baird, Harriette Dorsen, Paul Baren, David Grossman, and Bianca Griggs and Planning and Zoning Commission co-chairs Jim LaPorta, Anne Kosciusko and Heidi Kearns. Natural Resources and Conservation: Jean Bouteiller, Nikolle Kuehnert, Jeff Lynch and Fred Scoville and Planning and Zoning Commission member co-chairs David Colbert and Rick Lynn. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 I. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – VILLAGE CENTERS 3 West Cornwall 3 Cornwall Bridge 6 West Cornwall and Cornwall Bridge Action Plan 9 II. NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION 11 Oversight, Planning and Implementation 11 Water, Wetlands, Wildlife and Habitat 13 Planning and Land Use Regulation 16 Farmers and Farmland 20 III. HOUSING 23 Affordable Housing 24 Inclusive Zoning Fee Ordinance 27 Improving Residential Zoning 28 IV. COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL RESOURCES 33 Volunteerism 34 Recreation 35 Social Services 37 Fire and Emergency Medical Services Volunteers 38 Communication and Socialization 38 Cornwall Cemeteries Historical Record 39 Pre-School Services 40 Roads 40 V. APPENDIX Statement of Consistency State Plan of Conservation and Development and Northwestern Connecticut Regional Plan of Conservation and Development 45 Cornwall Town Plan of Conservation and Development Background Information And Analysis 46 Cornwall In The Zeroes Decade 47 Town of Cornwall Natural Resource Inventory and Analysis 63 Report of The Cornwall Planning and Zoning Commission On The Results of The Town Plan Forum 77 BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS 1. “Cornwall in the Zeros Decade” Background Information and Analysis of Cornwall’s Population, Incomes, Economic Base, Property Values, Budgets and Taxes by David A. Grossman 2. “Town of Cornwall Natural Resources Inventory and Assessment” by the Kings Mark Environmental Review Team. Information and analysis of Cornwall’s natural resources prepared by the Town Plan subcommittee on Natural Resources and Conservation which includes extensive mapped information prepared with the assistance of the Housatonic Valley Association and the Northwest Conservation District. 3. Report of the Cornwall Planning and Zoning Commission on the Results of the June 23, 2007 Town Forum in preparation for the update of the Cornwall Town Plan of Conservation and Development. CORNWALL TOWN PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT INTRODUCTION Connecticut towns prepare and update a town plan for two fundamental reasons. First it’s the law. Connecticut requires that towns update their Town Plan of Conservation and Development (“town plan”) every 10 years. Section 8-23 of the Connecticut General Statutes requires a local Planning and Zoning Commission to prepare adopt and amend a plan of development for the community, with recommendations for the most desirable land use and density within the town. In the language of the statute, the plan should be a statement of policies, goals, and standards for the physical conservation and economic development of the municipality, and should be “designed to promote with greatest efficiency and economy the coordinated development of the municipality and the general welfare and prosperity of its people”. Also recently Connecticut statutes were revised to provide that towns that do not have up-to-date town plans can be penalized when seeking certain State grants. The second and more important reason is experience demonstrates successful communities have a sound plan; they use it and keep it up to date. Whether for a business or a community a good plan provides the agreed upon guidelines and recommendations needed to move forward toward common goals. Updating the Cornwall town plan has been a thorough and lengthy process designed to involve its citizens, local boards, commissions and organizations from the outset. It began with a town wide forum in June, 2007 where citizens gathered to offer their ideas and suggestions for the Town Plan. Using the results of this forum as a guideline the Planning and Zoning Commission appointed four citizen volunteer subcommittees to assist with the preparation of the plan. Over the past 27 months these citizens devoted a tremendous amount of though, time and energy to this work. Throughout they have had the support and cooperation of Town officials, citizens, local boards and volunteer organizations, who contributed information and constructive suggestions. In carrying out this process the Planning and Zoning Commission aimed to: • focus on the long term ‘big picture’, • identify core values and a vision for the future, • define objectives and specific strategies that will move the town toward its vision of the future. • assign responsibilities for various elements of the plan and coordinate town efforts to achieve its goals and to produce consistent results. Like all towns Cornwall is always in the process of evolving so it is very important to step back and “take stock” by revisiting the town plan every ten years. The Planning and Zoning Commission has worked to produce an updated Plan of Conservation and Development that reflects on past town plans, assesses current conditions and incorporates the wishes of its citizens for the future. 1 CORNWALL TOWN PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT –VILLAGE CENTERS The kick off town wide town plan forum held in June, 2007 rated economic development as one of the highest priorities for the town plan update. This led the Planning and Zoning Commission to form a special town plan committee on economic development. Citizens agreed the plan should focus on improving business activity in the town’s two commercial areas at Cornwall Bridge and West Cornwall in a manner that retains the town’s rural character. The Economic Development Committee lead by Planning and Zoning Commission Co-Chairs Jim LaPorta, Anne Kosciusko and Heidi Kearns worked very hard to assess existing conditions, listen to village center citizens and develop recommendations. Vibrant and attractive village centers will help strengthening the economic base and relieve residential property taxes, and more importantly will build on Cornwall’s already strong “sense of community”. Village centers with local services, on going community events and places for citizens to gather responds to the collective wish expressed at the 2007 forum that Cornwall in the future will have many more places and venues encouraging local social interaction and discourse. Based on the results of the 2007 forum and the extensive additional citizen outreach conducted by the Committee the following goals were set for Economic Development. Economic Development Goals: • To reinforce and improve business development in the town’s two business centers at Cornwall Bridge and in West Cornwall. • In these centers and town wide to encourage economic development that strengthens economic base, relieves residential property taxes, and keeps young families in Cornwall. • To support and encourage currently existing businesses in the center areas and permit expansion. • To accomplish these goals in a manner that maintains the attractive, small town character of the village centers. The two village centers are distinctly different and require an action plan for each that fits into the context of the overall town plan. WEST CORNWALL Brief History – Extracted From the Historic Society – “the Eight Cornwall’s” Where Mill Brook plunges into the rapids of the Housatonic River sits the village of West Cornwall on the western bank. Known today for its covered bridge, an icon of rural New England, West Cornwall is also an emblem of the early industrial revolution in Connecticut’s rural hinterland. The tiny riverbank settlement originally known as Hart’s Bridge received the name West Cornwall in 1841 when the Housatonic Railroad reached it. It rapidly became the business center of the town of Cornwall, acquiring a post office and a general store. These were followed by a feed store and mill; a drug store; a tin shop, a school, and a blacksmith shop; a millinery; a barbershop; and a hotel. To this day, West Cornwall’s architecture resembles more a 19th century mill