Commission debates PRD rules, affordable-unit requirements and phasing for developments

Terry Smith, chairman, and Town Planner Hiram Pezk spent significant time on Planned Residential Development (PRD) language and related affordable-housing obligations.

Pezk proposed blending Section 12 a–d back into Article Four and clarifying PRD mapping and minimum-acreage rules; commissioners discussed overlay options for Lake Quassapaug and Tyler's Cove and noted examples of 40‑ and 80‑acre holdings around the lake.

The commission reviewed PRD timing and completion clauses. Members removed a proposed 90‑day recording/effective-date requirement for a Preliminary Development Plan and discussed phasing mechanisms that would protect the town if developers delay infrastructure or form homeowners associations before roads and covenants are complete. "Phase the project," the chairman said, endorsing staged completion and road-phasing language rather than automatic revocation in every circumstance.

Commissioners also examined affordable-unit provisions: the draft required resale restrictions and covenants running with the land to preserve affordability; members discussed having developers provide third‑party certification that resale and rent limits are met rather than placing ongoing enforcement solely on the town. The chair suggested requiring 15% of lots be affordable on subdivisions of more than ten lots as a way to move toward a townwide 10% affordability target.

Pezk and the Town Attorney were directed to produce redlined language that: specifies minimum parcel sizes for PRD overlays, refines project‑completion/phasing triggers, details the form of resale covenants (time limits to be specified) and describes the developer’s certification obligations. No motion was taken at the workshop.