Four years into the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (PoCD), Chester is continuing its mission of fulfilling a vision for greater developmental and conservation accomplishments for the community.

The town released its PoCD on April 1, 2019, with multiple interested stakeholders involved in improving conditions in Chester for greater economic development, supporting and maintaining its natural resources and assets, and providing more expanded housing options for new residents.

The PoCD provides a vision of Chester by the year 2029, which reads that the town “builds an environment that supports the wellbeing of its residents and visitors by preserving natural resources, providing residential options, facilitating the establishment and growth of forward-looking business and industry as well as creating innovative opportunities for education and recreation.”

The plan lays out six goals to achieve that vision by the end of the decade, including strengthening the town’s economy through “creative economic development” while increasing pedestrian, bicycle, and transit connectivity. Additionally, the plan seeks to diversify the town’s housing stock, preserve Chester’s “rural character,” provide high-quality services and facilities to support quality of life, and support sustainability and resiliency.

The PoCD was most recently brought up at the last Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) on July 13, primarily as a reminder to its members, some of whom were involved in the crafting of the plan, to keep attentive to a multitude of actions that can be taken for town-wide improvements in multiple departments.

“There was sort of a sense that the Planning and Zoning Commission was really just in kind of a react-and-respond mode…and wasn’t really doing any planning following the adoption of their Plan of Conservation and Development,” said Zoning Enforcement Officer John Guszkowski. “The PoCD has a lot of stuff that they would like to see done — some regulatory regulation changes, some different policies, some initiatives in terms of public improvements — and there was a recognition that not too much had been getting done. So they wanted to sort of have more of a focus on implementation.”

Guszkowski said there now “remains the question of which of these tasks are you going to take on first,” of which several major ones are outlined in the PoCD.

Chief among those tasks is economic development, as is supported by data gathered in a 2017 survey corresponding to the first of the plan’s goals. Survey results found 70% of respondents “agreed or strongly agreed with the need to attract new businesses while promoting commercial and industrial development was rated the second most important objective.”

The plan finds that most of this development would occur in and around the village district, recognized in the PoCD as “the economic, social and cultural hub of the community.” Development may take the form of promoting affordable multi-family housing developments along Route 154 in low-density neighborhoods “while protecting existing neighborhood and community character,” ensuring adequate available parking in the area, and pursuing new technological infrastructure that can more greatly support local business and digital-based activities. The latter kind of development would see the town make the village district an “open Wi-Fi hotspot” as opposed to an area with often unreliable internet connection.

“A lot of Chester is not great cell reception, generally. It’s a little bit of a dead zone,” said Guszkowski.

More reliable telecommunications in the area is not just for general communications but can also play a part in encouraging commerce and businesses to set up shop in the village area, Guszkowski said.

Another major project that is being developed is increasing pedestrian, bicycle, and transit connectivity in town.

According to Guszskowski, improvements in this area become a priority partly due to the coronavirus pandemic with the “recognition that people have the opportunity to and want to get out more.” Enhanced walkable and bikeable paths in the core commercial area of the village district would allow for connections also to recreational areas and environmental assets and add more travel routes in a compact, rural town like Chester. The PoCD says preliminary plans for such improvements are supported by the community.

“There has been sort of a real significant increase in interest in getting out of your house, getting out of your car, and getting around town,” said Guszkowski.

There is also a consideration to expand parking in the village area, according to the PoCD. Guszkowski said the part of the challenge that can come from providing expanded and navigable parking and signage in the village district is also the sensitivity of maintaining the surrounding natural resources such as Chester Creek.

Mike Sanders, the chair of the PZC, recognized the efforts that have been made so far in the outlined goals of the plan, some of which by members of the community.

“We have had a couple of activist groups in town who have taken off with some of our key community-friendly goals. Walkable/bikeable/sustainable communities, roadway, and pedestrian safety, improved environment for businesses that better Internet service will facilitate, bathrooms/charging stations at the town parking lot on Water Street that make the town more attractive to visitors and residents, and other tasks have grown out of the plan,” said Sanders. “We have been fortunate that there have been active members on those other commissions and community groups to help lead that effort.”