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10/06/2015 12:00 AMWhat should Deep River look like in the future? What needs will the community have and what development should be encouraged to meet those needs? Residents will find some answers to those questions in the Deep River draft Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), which is complete and ready for review by residents. It is available online or at the Town Hall. A public hearing to discuss the detailed, 40-page plan has been set for Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.
Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes, which require local planning commissions every 10 years to “prepare, adopt, and amend a plan of development” that includes recommendations for the most desirable land use and density within the town, Deep River has created this draft plan, which is a statement of policies, goals, and standards for the physical and economic development of the town moving forward into the future.
The 2015 POCD is an advisory, non-binding document intended as a guide for future land use decisions in Deep River. The hope is that through planning, future infrastructure needs will be minimized and sprawl will be contained. The plan states that through the adoption of a solid planning framework for future growth, careful scrutiny of specific development proposals can avoid creating problems requiring correction in the future.
This POCD organizes land use issues into four categories: Population and Housing, Commercial and Industrial, Municipal and Public Service, and Conservation and Land Use. There are detailed goals set forth in the plan as well as in-depth information about town demographic figures, detailed land use maps and more.
Deep River is influenced by many economic, regional, and societal forces beyond local control. These factors are discussed at length in the plan and one of the main purposes of the POCD is to be a guide for the shaping the prosperous future of the town.
One of the main goals outlined is a way for the town to retain and maintain its small town sense of community, a matter that was a high point of priority for town residents who responded to a survey.
In addition, the POCD includes several recommendations that require action by the Planning & Zoning Commission, as well as other private and governmental agencies. Those agencies with major responsibilities in implementing this plan include the Board of Selectmen, Boards of Education (local and regional), Board of Finance, Conservation & Inland Wetlands Commission, the Economic Development Commission, the Harbor Management Commission (once formed), the Housing Authority, the Park & Recreation Commission, and the Planning & Zoning Commission.
All town residents are urged to review the draft plan and bring any questions or concerns to the Oct. 15 meeting. The first plan of conservation and development was drafted in Deep River in 1972; the last one was written in 2007.