On May 17, citizens are invited to give their input on potential updates to the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) to the Planning Commission at a public comment session scheduled for 7 p.m.

In short, the POCD helps guide the development future of a town both in a commercial sense and in residential matters.

“The POCD is the 10-year plan of conservation and development for the Town. It is used as a guiding plan to boards and commissions when they are adopting regulations, reviewing developments, making municipal improvements, acquiring and stewarding open space, and more,” said Old Saybrook Zoning Enforcement Officer and Town Planner Chris Costa.

Per the Connecticut General Statutes, every municipality has to amend its POCD every 10 years. According to the state’s Office of Policy and Management, failing to adopt a POCD could make towns ineligible for discretionary state funding, such as the Small Town Assistance or Brownfield Remediation programs.

Residents who have thoughts on what they’d like to see in the plan should make their way to Town Hall or log in virtually to the meeting on Wednesday, May 17. However, the meeting will not be the last time the public will have the chance to weigh in on the POCD.

“After receiving comments on the draft document on May 17, the text will be finalized, and a public hearing will be advertised. The first night of the public hearing will be scheduled for June 21,” Costa said.

Costa said that the last time the plan had a comprehensive update was in 2000. Over the last couple of years, Costa said the commission has been going chapter by chapter through the plan and making changes.

“The last updated section was the Economic Development section which was adopted in July of 2020. The planning commission has been working on a comprehensive update to all sections of the POCD for over a year. The plan will be reformatted and repackaged into a new document. The electronic version will provide links to reference documents, and it is our hope that the new format will make the plan more user-friendly,” Costa explained.

To help inform the commission about what the public is looking for, the commission conducted a survey between January and March asking people their thoughts on items affected by the POCD that received over 400 responses.