A revision two years in the making—and coming two decades after the last such effort—is coming to the town’s zoning regulations. On Wednesday, July 18, the Zoning Commission will unveil and discuss the proposed, comprehensive revision of the town’s rules for what can be built and where.

“The goal is to make it a more user-friendly set of regulations [and make it] easier for the average property owner to determine what they can and can’t do,” said Westbrook Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO) Eric Knapp.

Knapp, previously the Town of Clinton’s ZEO, started working full-time in Westbrook as the town’s new ZEO on July 2.

The Zoning Commission will hold a public information meeting on the amended zoning package on July 18 from 7 to 9 p.m.

at Westbrook’s Town Hall, 866 Boston Post Road. The meeting will begin with a brief overview of the possible changes to the zoning regulations followed by the public comment period.

The July meeting was planned to ensure that seasonal residents would have an opportunity to comment on the proposed zoning regulations.

This will be the first public meeting on the zoning package; a second may be held in September.

After weighing public input received at both meetings, the Zoning Commission will finalize the new set of regulations. The goal, according to Knapp, is for the commission to adopt the new document by the end of 2018.

“The regulations are an important document which will be used to guide future conservation and development activity,” said Zoning Commission Chair Anthony Marino.

The almost 300 pages that comprise the town’s zoning regulations is posted in pdf format on the Town of Westbrook’s homepage www.westbrookct.us for review.

The regulations describe in Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 the permitted uses and activities in each of the town’s four different types of zoning districts: residential, business, conservation, and special development districts. Sections 6 to 8 contain the standards sections of the regulations.

Some proposed uses and activities require a zoning permit or Zoning Commission approval to proceed. For residents and property owners, the application requirements are found in Section 9 of the new regulations.

And for a list of definitions of terms used in the town’s amended zoning regulations, go to Sections 10 and 11.

Also incorporated in the town’s zoning regulations is the zoning map, which sets the precise boundaries of each zoning district. A link to the town’s zoning map as posted online is printed in the introduction to the new zoning regulations.