By Brandon T. Bisceglia
The Milford Planning and Zoning Board held its final vote on Oct. 24 to adopt the city’s new Plan of Conservation and Development during a special meeting at which Milford residents also got a chance to sound off on the draft.
The 2032 Plan of Conservation and Development has been in the works for about three years within the Planning and Zoning Board and lays out an overall vision for how the city should grow and change. The Board of Aldermen already had a chance in September to approve the draft, and now it is awaiting a final decision by the Planning and Zoning Board.
Municipalities are required by state law to create a POCD every 10 years. The documents are not specific laws or regulations, but are meant to guide decisions on other zoning rules and specific projects.
Michele Kramer, who is involved with the Milford’s Historic Preservation Commission and president of the Milford Preservation Trust, said that the POCD should do more to secure the city’s historic heritage.
“I would like to see a little more substance, not just acknowledging the importance of historic preservation but also perhaps some guidelines,” she said.
In particular, she noted that the POCD refers to the existence of design standards, but doesn’t specify which standards those are.
“In the two historic districts, those should be the Secretary of the Interior’s design standards, so maybe there could be mention of that,” she said.
Kramer also noted some misleading language that seemed to suggest all historic property owners needed to file an application to make certain changes to the property, when in fact only those properties listed on the state Register of Historic Places fell under that requirement.
Milford Historian Richard Platt said he wanted to add a resounding “yes” to the multiple mentions of affordable housing mentioned in the draft plan. He cautioned, however, that some of the maps in the draft seemed to include certain historic properties in zoning districts that would allow for major development.
“Number 67 Prospect Street is probably the most historic area in town. That was the home lot of the man who led the founding of Milford, the Rev. Peter Pruden,” Platt said, noting that the property was supposed to be rehabilitated but was undergoing “demolition by neglect.”
Several residents from Shell Avenue, where a 20-unit apartment building development was also recently before the Planning and Zoning Board – though not on this night – turned their frustrations over that proposal into general critiques of the POCD. They suggested the plan include more provisions against “monstrous” buildings in certain neighborhoods and that it take into more account the effects of flooding and traffic on the construction of new structures.
Resident Sarah Bromley said that she wanted more direction on affordable housing in the plan so that residents such as her daughter or herself could afford to live – and stay – in the city. She suggested the city even consider fully public housing.
“It doesn’t have to change neighborhoods. There are ways to create gentle density,” she said.
City Planner David Sulkis pointed out during the hearing that the plan had been reviewed by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, “and they very much liked it.” He added that it had also met with approval by the South Central Regional Council of Governments, which coordinates planning between area municipalities.
Before the board voted unanimously to adopt the POCD, Chair Jim Quish said the approval was being done with the expectation of “scrivener’s changes” in accordance with some of the feedback the board had received.