Clarification: POCD not yet complete

WINSTED — Although a draft of the town’s revised plan of conservation and development has been posted online, it is not yet the final, completed version, according to the chairman of the subcommittee charged with updating it.

The Journal reported last week that the final draft of the town’s revised plan of conservation and development was completed and now online for residents to review at the Economic Development Committee’s Web site (winchesterctdevelopment.org).

The Plan of Conservation and Development Subcommittee, under the Planning & Zoning Commission, has been working for several months to update the current plan, which was completed in 1994.

But George Closson, the subcommittee’s chairman and a Winsted selectmen, told The Journal on Tuesday that the draft posted to the town committee’s Web site was not the completed version of the document, but instead a draft that contained the comments of Planning & Zoning Chairman James Roberts.

Closson said the subcommittee was still working on its final version of the revised plan.

“That should not have been posted online,†he said of Roberts’ draft, adding that he has requested the document be removed from the commission’s Web site.

A Dec. 11 cover letter that accompanied Roberts’ document — which was distributed to Planning & Zoning members for their review — reports that the draft posted online is the “completed draft.†The letter is also posted on the Web site.

“It’s very confusing,†Closson said.

Connecticut law requires that each municipality update and file a plan with the state every 10 years. The plan serves as a guide for town officials and developers for Winsted’s future economic growth.

Before town planners adopt an official version of the revised document, the final draft will be passed along to the Board of Selectmen and the Litchfield Hills Council of Elected Officials for their review.

Residents will have an opportunity to make comments and voice their opinion on the draft at a public hearing sometime early next year.

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