Author: Derek Caelin

The Town of Rocky Hill has released a draft Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). This document outlines the town’s development priorities, and will be a nonbinding but influential text shaping town decision-making for the next decade.

The 184 page document is wide-reaching, and Rocky Hill Democrats plan to provide feedback on the document in an upcoming post. I provide initial summaries below.

Survey Responses

Over 200 residents responded to the town survey asking for input on the POCD. A overview by the town begins on page 11:

Environment – things to protect and preserve – through many Plan Implementation Meetings and the online survey, sustainability is very important to the residents of Rocky Hill. Also, open space preservation and enjoyment was top on most lists

Economic Development – a majority of those surveyed agreed that there needs to be a good mix of business and residential development. They prefer High Tech, Manufacturing and Medical as businesses to come to or stay in town. Those surveyed also agree that Restaurants and Specialty Businesses should be supported in Rocky Hill

Transportation/Infrastructure – A high percentage strongly agreed that walkability and a bike friendly community was important to them. This included a public trail system. This surveyed also agree that transportation is key to attract new residents and businesses to town.

Development – over half surveyed believe that housing choice in town is important to them. Many saw these top points to have a mix of housing for current and future residents. A high percentage were Agreeable/Neutral on Mixed Uses on the Silas Deane.

Community – Many who were surveyed agreed that expanding public spaces for public uses and expanding the arts was important to them. The promotion of the history of the town was also well represented with most of those surveyed agreeing to embrace the past. There was more of a neutral response to community health programs.

Implementation – Many residents agreed that the POCD should be a living document and that it can be spoken about and changed at any time during the duration of the document

Town Center Details

The draft POCD expands upon a concept raised in the 2015 document: “a mixed‐use, pedestrian‐friendly Town Center in Rocky Hill with a “sense of place”. Notably, the document emphasizes that the plan will require shifts in zoning policy to realize.

While the predominant development approach over the past 50 years has been automobile‐oriented patterns with single‐use sites, there is growing interest and demand for more walkable development patterns with a diversity of uses within individual buildings and in small areas. With the current development of the Town Center along the Silas Deane Highway and with the residential neighborhoods nearby, the area to the North of the current Town Center has good potential to support the expansion of a mixed-use development approach. However, to turn this potential into reality will require a major shift in terms of how Rocky Hill has historically approached land use and zoning. (pg 41)

Non-car-based transit is a frequent topic of the POC as measured by the number of times terms  are mentioned: “Walk” (77), Bike”/”Bicycle” (42), “Pedestrian” (37), and “Bus” (9). The town references a website, newurbanism.org, as a guidance resource. The plan also references the Complete Streets policy, which was adopted by the Town Council in 2023, as an important mechanism to achieve these goals (pg 68).

Open Space Conservation

The POCD also places significant focus on Open Space Conservation (the term “Open Space” is refernced 95 times in the document). Methods of preserving open space discussed include:

• Creating an “Open Space System” to increase the accessibility of the entire pen space system to the town’s residents and greatly add to its potential recreation use.” (pg 21)
• Encourage Open Space Development Patterns: “to help ensure that important natural resources and features are protected, open spaces are preserved for public use and enjoyment, and community character is preserved.” (pg 24)

Next Steps

The published document is a draft document. It will be discussed in more detail in an upcoming planning and zoning meeting. The POCD must be approved by the Town Council by the third Monday in May.

A reminder: the POCD is an advisory document. The authors state that to achieve what is laid out, active steps must be taken by the town. (pg 1).

While a vision can be a powerful thing, it is important to note that a Plan of Conservation and Development is primarily an advisory document. It is intended to guide local residents, developers, businesses, suggest desirable future directions and outcomes, and provide a framework for consistent decision‐making with regard to conservation and development activities in Rocky Hill over the next decade or so. The Plan should also be a living document over its life span.

What do you think?

What are your reactions to the Plan of Conservation and Development? What elements within the plan are you happy about? In your opinion, what is missing? Please comment below to share your thoughts.