Kent won't go it alone on Town Plan

KENT — After several weeks of debate at budget workshops, the Board of Selectmen approved funding for a new Town Plan of Conservation and Development during a budget workshop on Monday, March 16, at Town Hall. The budget workshop was the last in a series to study the proposed town budget for fiscal 2009-10.

At a budget workshop meeting in February, the selectmen debated the line item for the Planning and Zoning Commission, which includes funds allocated for work on the Town Plan.

The state requires all towns to update their Town Plan every 10 years. It functions as a blueprint or wish list for town residents and officials as they move forward, and it forms the basis of all zoning regulations.

Towns that do not revise their plans are denied state grants until they come into compliance.

Kent’s revised plan is due by June 14, 2011.

At the meeting in February, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman John Johnson said work on the plan would cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000.

The selectmen seemed reluctant at the meeting to fund work on the Town Plan due to the current economic woes facing both the state and the nation.

The board asked Johnson about other options, including asking the Northwestern Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative to help with the work or hiring a planner as an unofficial consultant.

Both options were shot down by Johnson, who insisted that funds need to be allocated to get work on the plan completed.

At March’s meeting, the selectmen  decided to fund work on the plan, with $15,000 allocated in the budget to begin work this year and an additional $15,000 for work next year.

“I think the funding is just right,� Johnson said in an interview after the meeting. “We talked with three different planners and we’ve gotten three different estimates. We could spend more [than what was allocated], but I think in this economy this is fair.�

Johnson said he expects work on the plan to begin sometime this summer.

“Maybe late summer, although part of it is determining summer vacation times in order to get public involvement,� Johnson said. “It’s possible we could start work on the plan sooner, but we still don’t have a planner selected yet. We also have many other things to go through.�

According to Johnson, the plan was last updated professionally more than 20 years ago. The previous update to the plan, conducted nine years ago, was done in house by the commission.

The complete total for the Planning and Zoning Commission budget line for fiscal 2009-10 is $58,525.

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