Shelton staff outline accelerated timeline, growth alternatives for comprehensive plan update

Economic development director Jay Hill told the City Council on April 8 that Shelton’s comprehensive plan update is on an expedited path after the state granted a six-month extension and that the work must include an environmental impact statement analyzing traffic, water, wastewater, school capacity and economic effects.

Hill said consultants working on the plan are stretched thin statewide and that Commerce is willing to accept a “principal draft’’ (a near-complete draft) so the city can receive grant reimbursement. The schedule Hill laid out calls for a principal draft in early June, committee-delivered drafts by July, two joint council-steering-committee work sessions in August and an intended adoption by Nov. 18, with Commerce review to follow if the council issues the notice of intent to adopt in mid-September.

The update will cover mandatory changes from recent state laws, including “middle housing’’ requirements and other streamlining measures, Hill said. He said the city must also perform an environmental impact statement (EIS) to…