Meeting Thursday on Mansfield's Conservation and Development Plan

The first in a series of public meetings to discuss the draft Plan of Conservation and Development will held Thursday night by the Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission.

The draft Plan of Conservation and Development was designed by the Commission and planning staff built on Mansfield’s planning legacy and incorporated resident-crafted comments for our town’s future. The plan is intended to serve as a framework for decision-making, not only for land use, but for general town policies and goals. It documents Mansfield as it is today, what we value, and where, as a town, we would like to focus our efforts, resources, and policies in the future.

Here is the town’s official announcement:

This draft serves as the town’s fifth Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). By state statute (C.G.S. Sec. 8-23), municipalities are required to adopt a Plan of Conservation and Development every ten years. This draft plan consolidates and expands on the work done in the 2006 POCD and Mansfield 2020: A Unified Vision, to create a comprehensive framework of values, goals, strategies and actions to guide the town as it makes decisions about its physical, social and economic development over the next two decades.

The Commission and staff express their thanks to the hundreds of residents who assisted in the development of this plan through their participation in meetings, surveys and many other ways. A special thank you, as well, to those who served on the Mansfield Tomorrow Advisory and Focus Groups.

Community members are encouraged to review the draft plan and send questions or comments to the planning staff for delivery to the Commission. Residents are also urged to attend the Public Hearing before the Commission scheduled for March 2, 2015 to express comments personally.

For residents who wish to learn more about the plan and/or provide feedback, the planning staff will be hosting several information sessions in January and February and an open house on January 31, 2015.

Thursday, January 15, 2015
Community Information Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Council Chambers | Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building
4 South Eagleville Road
(This meeting will be broadcast on Charter Cable Channel 13 and streamed live on-line at www.mansfieldct.org)

Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Community Information Meeting
2:30 p.m.
Mansfield Senior Center
303 Maple Road

Saturday, January 31, 2015
Open House
10 am - 12:30 pm
Buchanan Center Auditorium | Mansfield Public Library
54 Warrenville Road, Mansfield

Thursday, February 5, 2015
Community Information Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Cafeteria | Mansfield Middle School
205 Spring Hill Road

Monday, March 2, 2015
Public Hearing
7:00 p.m.*
Council Chambers | Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building
4 South Eagleville Road
*The hearing may be continued to another date and time if there are more people present than can be heard prior to 11:00 p.m.

A copy of the plan is available on the project website, www.mansfieldtomorrow.com. Hard copies of the plan can be viewed in the Office of the Town Clerk, Mansfield Community Center and Mansfield Senior Center and additional copies are available for borrowing through the Mansfield Public Library. All written comments received will be provided to the Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council.

Mansfield Tomorrow is a town project funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Economic Resilience.