City of Meriden Plan of Conservation and Development February 12, 2020 MERIDEN PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT 2 Prepared on behalf of: City of Meriden 142 East Main Street Meriden, CT 06450 Prepared by: BFJ Planning 115 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10003 With assistance from: Urbanomics 115 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10003 Adopted on February 12, 2020 Effective date February 27, 2020 MERIDEN PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mayor: Kevin Scarpati Steering Committee: Planning Commission: Enrico Buccilli Leonard Rich Rosario Gulino Laura Uhrig Kevin Curry David Cooley Steven Iovanna Donald F. Cariati, Jr Economic Development Housing and Zoning Committee (EDHZ): David Lowell Daniel Brunet Michael Cardona Bruce Fontanella Sonya Jelks City Staff: Renata Bertotti, Planning Director Paul Dickson, Assistant Planning Director Planning Consultants: Buckhurst Fish & Jacquemart Inc. Frank Fish, FAICP Noah Levine, AICP Ariana Branchini, AICP Angie Witkowski Urbanomics Tina Lund, AICP Peter Furst, AICP MERIDEN PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT 4 CONTENTS Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................13 1.1. The Plan of Conservation and Development ......................................................................................... 13 1.2. Meriden’s Planning Process .................................................................................................................. 15 1.3. Plan Goals and Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 19 1.4. History of Meriden ................................................................................................................................. 22 Chapter 2. Demographics ..........................................................................................................................24 Chapter 3. Land Use and Zoning ................................................................................................................35 3.1. Land Use ................................................................................................................................................ 36 3.2. Neighborhoods ...................................................................................................................................... 41 3.3. Zoning .................................................................................................................................................... 45 3.4. Land Use and Zoning Issues and Opportunities .................................................................................... 51 Chapter 4. Housing ...................................................................................................................................54 4.1. Existing Housing Characteristics and Development Trends .................................................................. 55 4.2. Housing Issues, Trends, and Implications ............................................................................................ 67 4.3. Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 69 Chapter 5. Economic Development ............................................................................................................71 5.1. Connecticut, New Haven Labor Market Area, and Meriden Economies ............................................... 72 5.2. Employment Base .................................................................................................................................. 76 5.3. Recent Economic Development Trends, Analyses, and Plans in Meriden ............................................ 78 5.4. Economic Development Opportunities in Meriden .............................................................................. 84 5.5. Issues, Goals, and Objectives ................................................................................................................. 87 Chapter 6. Transportation and Circulation ................................................................................................92 6.1. Existing Conditions................................................................................................................................. 93 6.2. Issues and Opportunities ..................................................................................................................... 105 6.3. Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 108 Chapter 7. Parks, Recreation, and Open Space ........................................................................................ 110 7.1. Existing Parks and Open Space ........................................................................................................... 111 7.2. Policy, Goals, and Strategies ............................................................................................................... 121 Chapter 8. Environment and Sustainability ............................................................................................. 123 8.1. Natural Resources ................................................................................................................................ 124 8.2. Sustainability ....................................................................................................................................... 133 8.3. Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 134 Chapter 9. Community Facilities and Infrastructure ..................................................................................... 136 9.1. Infrastructure ....................................................................................................................................... 137 9.2. Community Facilities and Services ...................................................................................................... 140 9.3. Historic Resources ............................................................................................................................... 146 9.4. Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 147 Chapter 10. Future Land Use Plan and Action Agenda ............................................................................... 149 10.1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 149 10.2. Meriden’s Generalized Future Land Use Plan ..................................................................................... 149 10.3. Major Plan Goals ................................................................................................................................. 152 10.4. Future Land Use Descriptions .............................................................................................................. 153 10.5. Action Agenda ..................................................................................................................................... 161 MERIDEN PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT 5 FIGURES Figure 1. 2018‐2023 Locational Guide Map .......................................................................................................... 16 Figure 2. South Central Region Future Development Intensity ............................................................................ 18 Figure 3. Comparison of Population Change: Meriden and Surrounding Communities ...................................... 25 Figure 4. Population Estimate 2017 ...................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 5. Population Change (2010‐2017) ............................................................................................................ 26 Figure 6. Median Household Size in Meriden and Surrounding Communities, 2017 ........................................... 27 Figure 7: Family Households in Meriden 2000 – 2017 .......................................................................................... 28 Figure 8. Meriden Households 2000‐2017 ............................................................................................................ 28 Figure 9. Non‐Family Households in Meriden 2000 ‐ 2017 ................................................................................... 29 Figure 10. Household Income Distribution Meriden and New Haven County, 2017 ........................................... 30 Figure 11. Median Household Income by Census Tract ........................................................................................ 30 Figure 12: Poverty – Meriden and Surrounding Communities ............................................................................. 30 Figure 13. Meriden Age Distribution ‐ 2017 .......................................................................................................... 32 Figure 14: Change in Age of Population 2010‐2017 .............................................................................................