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Planning director reports POCD implementation progress; zoning changes aim to add by‑right ADUs and set a 10% affordable unit standard
Summary
Planning Director George updated the commission on the Plan of Conservation and Development implementation, the plan implementation committee’s monitoring framework, sustainability work, and recent zoning changes that adopt a 10% affordable‑unit requirement and make accessory dwelling units by right.
Planning Director George told the Simsbury Planning Commission the town has begun regular reporting on progress toward the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) goals and that the plan implementation committee will provide periodic updates to land‑use bodies.
George said staff is focusing on items in the POCD shown in red font in the implementation materials because those are measurable tasks; black‑font items represent ongoing, aspirational activities described with passive verbs such as “encourage” or “support.” “The red stuff is all stuff we can measure,” George said, describing a new approach that marks tasks as done, in progress or started.
The commission also heard updates on several governance and sustainability matters linked to implementation: the Conservation Commission’s work on invasive species outreach, an in‑progress lighting/dark‑sky standard that will be forwarded to zoning, and sustainability committee outreach (newsletter campaigns and community events) intended to advance waste‑diversion and energy‑use reporting goals.
On housing, George summarized recent zoning commission actions. The zoning commission adopted new rules requiring 10% of units in residential developments of more than 10 units to be affordable and set the affordability level at 80% of area median income (AMI). The commission discussed that earlier proposals had considered higher percentages and deeper affordability (for example combinations at 80% and 60% AMI), but the adopted standard is 10% at 80% AMI. George said the state’s 10% benchmark used in the 8‑30g statutory context is a policy threshold; he cautioned that reaching a townwide 10% affordable housing stock would require approvals of large numbers of units.
Other housing changes noted in the implementation materials: - Accessory dwelling units (attached and detached) have been made by‑right. - The former workforce/flexible overlay has been reworked into a “housing strategies overlay” and no longer carries a 20% affordable requirement; the floating overlay can be applied where utility and POCD consistency conditions are met. - The town submitted a Certificate of Affordable Housing Relief application (per Conn. Gen. Stat. §8‑30g) with information about previously approved and constructed affordable units to seek temporary relief from certain mandatory 8‑30g provisions; staff is preparing supplemental materials following state feedback.
George and commissioners discussed constraints on achieving statutory targets: limited available stock, utility and infrastructure needs for higher‑density sites, and the role of town‑owned properties (for example a 24‑acre Meadowood parcel that is unencumbered and has been discussed as a potential site for fields or other uses). Commissioners asked staff to consider where overlay placement would be consistent with the POCD and emphasized the planning commission’s role in reviewing consistency when higher‑density proposals come forward.
Commissioners also discussed procedural housekeeping: staff committed to more regular POCD status reporting and to brief the commission when zoning regulation rewrites move forward. George said the current zoning text contains formatting and content issues that prompt staff to recommend a comprehensive rewrite rather than piecemeal fixes.
