The Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) is proposing a number of changes to the town’s residential and commercial zoning codes. Town officials said at a public meeting last week that the changes were a necessary move to streamline regulations and to coordinate the town codes with state mandates, as well as making regulations easier to understand and comply with.

These changes have not as yet been voted on and at this stage are merely proposals from the PZC. The town is still seeking public input on this matter having held a forum last week, and stress the need for community involvement in the process.

Town Planner George Kral, who will be retiring in the coming weeks after a 37-year career with the town, said the changes will not only streamline many applications making projects easier to initiate and complete, but stressed the necessity for resident feedback in their planning decisions.

“What we’re trying to do is to let residents know that there is this project we are working on and, if they are interested in this, to try to digest it in some form,” said Kral. “We want to let people know it’s out there and how they can get it and look at it. We want them to communicate with us should they have questions or concerns.

“People shouldn’t feel shy about raising questions about the zoning codes and how they were affected by it,” he added. “And they especially shouldn’t be shy thinking they are asking a dumb question, because one of the key points of this new zoning code is to make it easy for people to understand and use.”

Kral said that the town codes both online and off have been updated with pictures and graphics that will allow for more clarity for both homeowners and even seasoned contractors. Several of the proposed changes to the codes will affect both home owners and developers. Kral stressed that any proposed changes are still in the discussion phase and have not been formally adopted.

The proposed changes include the following:

Drive-through restaurants: According to Kral, the town wants to ease some current restrictions and clarify this code across Guilford.

“We are trying to create a more consistent approach to drive-throughs. Even the more upscale restaurants want to have a drive-through, especially in light of pandemic impacts,” said Kral. “So how do we address drive-throughs and where do we allow them? This is one of the main things we want to talk about with residents.”

Accessory apartments: A new state law now allows “accessory apartments” as a matter of right, which according to Kral, means if you create an apartment in your home, you do not have to seek approval from PZC.

“We are adapting our regulations to be consistent with [the state statute] and allow for more accessory apartments and liberalizing the rules for accessory apartments. So, it will be easier to create an accessory apartment,” Kral said.

Coastal management: Many of these types of regulations are dense and difficult to understand for residents and contractors, according to Kral. Consolidation and uniformity are factors the town wants to adopt concerning these codes.

“Some of these regulations have become very cumbersome and the new proposed regulation simplifies the rules and allows for a more expedited process to get coastal plans approved.” Kral said.

Affordability incentives and multi-family housing: The town is also seeking to encourage more affordable housing development. The reorganization and easing of some regulations is also a topic that the PZC wants input from residents on. Adopting further incentives that mesh with the 8-30g State Statute is a proposal that could promote affordable housing along with incentives for developers to provide more open space in proposed projects and to ease multi-family approvals, according to Kral.

“We want to provide these opportunities for affordable housing and multi-family housing. So, we want to liberalize the rules for these types of development,” Kral said. “We want to make it more workable and the process smoother.”

Special permit zoning: According to Kral, the town wants to provide a mechanism in which residents can apply for special permitting for certain projects that would be specific to an individual site. So rather than have a process where an entire area or zone would have to be re-zoned in order to accommodate a project, the process would allow for special exemptions and proposals that would only seek to accommodate one specific site or request.

“As opposed to getting the zoning changed to allow a wide variety of things, this will allow a resident to propose a specific type of development and be re-zoned just for that particular site plan. That could be a business use or for a multi-family use,” said Kral.

There are other proposals in the current plan, including a consolidation of business zones that would reduce the current number of districts from 20-plus down to 11, clarifying some of the confusion and redundancy of the codes.

The PZC undertook these changes, according to Kral, for multiple reasons, but easing the complexity of the process and easing certain restrictions are the major impetus for these proposals.

The town has also recently hired a consultant to manage town planner duties until a replacement for Kral is found. This process is expected to take at least several weeks before a candidate is selected.

For more information and to view the actual plan, which includes a four-page summary of the major proposals, visit the town website www.ci.guilford.ct.us and the PZC page. You can also reach the PZC via email at planning.zoning@ci.guilford.ct.us, to ask questions and to submit feedback.

The PZC will schedule a public forum and also public hearings on the changes in the near future. The Courier will provide updates as they become available.