Vernon Officials Want More Input For Development Plan

VERNON, CT — Vernon's Planning and Zoning Commission still wants to hear from residents, business people and property owners as it begins updating the town's Plan of Conservation and Development.

The POCD is a designed to be a guide for development and land use in Vernon for the next 10 years and beyond. The plan sets policy priorities and goals for the physical, economic, environmental, and social future of the community.

A virtual public workshop designed to gather comments is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday and will be conducted via Zoom.

The Town’s Planning Department and the Planning & Zoning Commission began work to update the Plan of Conservation & Development during the fall and is again seeking direct input from residents, business owners and others.

"As we work to develop a vision for Vernon, a key step is hearing from residents, business owners and property owners about their priorities, concerns and overall vision for Vernon," said George McGregor, Vernon’s town planner. "That information will be incorporated in the Plan of Conservation and Development and guide the Commission as it considers land use applications during the coming decade."

The workshop is the latest step in an ongoing effort to engage town residents in the process of updating the plan. Recently, the Town conducted an online survey of residents, business owners and property owners that generated 1,057 responses for the commission to consider.

The report can be found at http://www.vernon-ct.gov/conservation-development.

For example, under the housing header, responses showed the "has diverse housing options. Responses show that, in Vernon, 48 percent of the housing is owner-occupied, 44 percent is rental-occupied and 8 percent is vacant. In Tolland County, those percentages are 67, 28 and 7, respectively and in CT, the respective percentages are 60, 30 and 10.

The survey also shows that:

Vernon has limited vacant land to support additional single-family housing

According to the survey, 45 percent of the respondents see themselves living in their current homes a decade from now, but 19 percent plan to upsize while 11 percent plan to move into a smaller single-family home.

The document shows that, between 2015 and 2019, the town averaged 121 new housing units per year — mostly multi-family — including Loom City Lofts, Grand Lofts, Old Talcott Mill, and Trail Run.

A link to the public workshop can be found on the Town of Vernon’s website: www.vernon-ct.gov