Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

We're all set to go. So, welcome to the regularly scheduled meeting of planning commission for August 14th, 2025. Uh on our agenda, we have first of all pledge of allegiance. And then we are going to the regular meeting where we're looking at a lot line modification and a discussion of proposed changes to the plan of conservation development that are to be implemented by 2030. Well, in your next PC, any PCDs that commence after 2027 will need to incorporate this language.

Anyway, let's begin with the pledge of allegiance, please. To the flag of the one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. All right. The first item is the lot line modification for 15-1 and 15-2 road map 27 and 32 lots 46 and two and so I know tonight is just for receipt and I just want to give a brief uh discussion and explanation. Um, so I didn't bring the whole easel and get up, but uh, you all have copies of this or at least three copies were submitted. Um, I do, for the record, Joe Ren, professional engineer of Indigo. I know most of you know who I am, but just for the record, um, I did bring with me a declaration of easement for driveway and utilities and declaration of water rights easements that weren't included in the original packet that we just got from the attorney today. Um, so what this is in a nutshell is 15-1 and 15-2 Tantomahek Road. There are presently uh two lots out there. Again, 15-1 and two. If you look in the little location map, you can see it's a large parcel with a little small island parcel inside of it. And just for estate planning purposes, they are kind of flip inverting that, if you will, flip-flopping that. So, the the small house, the small two-bedroom house will now be with the larger portion of the property, and the larger main house will be with the driveway and a um smaller nonwaterfront piece of property. Um so, we're not creating a lot. We're not really doing anything other than uh allowing the smaller home on the property to have the larger land piece and the larger main house to have the smaller land nonwater piece in the property. Again, it's just for estate planning purposes um coming right straight down from the accountant

through the attorneys. Uh for this, there was a proposed subdivision on this property of multiple lots at one point in time. And um that is not proposed now or in the future. This is just keeping the two lots, just reconfiguring them. So all of these little symbols here, these were all the former soil testing that was done, the per test and the deep test pits for the multiple lots. I can't remember how many lots, seven, eight, nine, something like that on this property at the time. Um, but because we had all that soil testing and it was all generally good results, it makes it easy for health approval. We did submit submit this to legite at the same time. Uh, I talked to Cheryl last week. She didn't have time to look at it last week because she was leaving on vacation for this. So, um, she didn't review it last week. She's well away this week. So, she hasn't reviewed this yet. So, if the commission feels that you would like to get legislate approval first, we are fine with keeping it open until the September meeting. I just wanted to give you the the brief summary of what's being proposed.

No, I appreciate that. And that was my intent um because it's not critical, I think, from time wise. So, like to hold it open until our next meeting. Sure. Yeah, we should definitely have lead. One of the documents you gave me had to do with the water because you have a well that is supplying both properties.

Correct. Which is the same condition today. Uh there's a well and a water line that comes actually uh from off the property right now. Those water lines are all shown on here. So they service uh one of the houses. There's a second house that's on the property, one bedroom uh with a barn and then the main house. and all those lines are going to remain as they are. Um, but since the properties are inverting, we have to make sure that this property has rights over this property for their water. Correct. There's a CLMP easement on there as well. There is a CLMP easement. That's not changing. They do have an electrical vault over here. They just need access from the driveway

and that's staying the same. That's not changing. All right. Uh just out of curiosity, um for the smaller lot, why didn't they go all the way to the shore? Uh so with the smaller house, no, the smaller lot. The smaller lot for estate planning purposes, they're removing this from being a waterfront lot. So this property has all the waterfrontage. The smaller house has all the water frontage. The larger house has no water. Oh, okay. All right. Um, it's questions. Howard? Yeah. Good.

Pretty cut and dry. Yep. Rob. All right. Um, with that, I'd like to make a motion that we continue this for the September meeting. Do I have a second? Second. Any further discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. I. Motion's carried. Thank you so much. So, um, everything that we submitted, is there any any comments you have or anything in addition to what we've already submitted that you would like us to add to the application prior to the next meeting? Just so we're fully ready, 100% for the next September meeting. Um, we'll check with staff. And

yeah, at this point, you're good. However, I will say, Joe, I have not been able to find an attorney to actually review this yet. Okay. So, I'm going to take this and I'm going to take what we already have. And when I get an attorney, I'll get it all to them. If I get comments back, I'll let you know. As I think I mentioned to you, Matt Willis is in Poland at the moment, so he can't take a look. The town attorney did not have staff to review it. When I find an attorney who can actually look at this thing, I will get it to them and I'll get back to you with any comments they have. Sure. Um, it's only about midnight in Poland right now. Yes, son. Not dying anytime soon. So, just

No, that that's great. September uh would be fine. Uh they probably want to try to get, you know, for the next October one brand list. Okay. Would like to try to make that change. So, I think if it was the second week Yeah. I mean, as soon as they Yeah. they come back and they get all the ducks enrollment, it's not a big deal. Yes. Okay. Well, thank you and we will see you in I think it's September 11th. Yes. Take a look. But yes, thanks. Thank you. Have a good day. Take care. You too. What's your name? Finley. Finley.

It came with Finley. And I My best raceh horse I ever had was Finley. F I N D L E Y. So we push D in it. So it's Finley. Okay. After the horse. All right. Next item on the agenda is the discussion of the proposed changes for the PC. And with that, I'll let Eric go through this. First of all, we all got this. Anyone want to take a look at it? Yeah, I did. Now kind of erased it. So I I have more copies if you want. Yes, please. But I did read over your highlighted section. Please hit it up. Thanks. Okay. Anyways, if not, don't worry about it. I have it on my computer.

Yeah. I can share. First year law student get go have fun. I started. Does anyone want to print off more copies of this? We can print off more copies or I have one.

Okay. Um I mean briefly uh public act 2533 has a bunch of dual requirements. They are largely tied to hazard mitigation and resiliency and climate change. Um these are for all PCDs that are coming out in 2027 or beyond. Um obviously that would incorporate your next version. Um the data in here is probably data that we're going to have either through Dave Rober on the hazard mitigation stuff or through rivercog which has been doing a lot of work on the resiliency front. Um that said it may be that we're going to need to get some additional data um to put into the PC when we go around and do this. Um, as I mentioned to Harold before the meeting, um, it is entirely possible that once towns take a look at this because most towns are unaware it was coming, um, that the deadline on this may get pushed back and it may not be something you have to do. However, um, I felt obligated to say, okay, this just came out. It's, you know, and you guys should be aware of it. Um, because it may involve additional funds that you will need to have budget for to go out and get some of the data that's in here. Um, again, it's largely tied to, you know, resiliency, hazard mitigation, figuring out if there are critical traffic points or other infrastructure that's going to need to be upgraded and what grants might be required to do that. Um, it's asking a lot of things that are really hard to know five years in advance. Um, but certainly, uh, it's knowing it's out there worth thinking about between now and then. Um, and I will work with again your first select woman and uh your emergency manager to try and figure out if we can in advance start putting together a lot of this data she'll have it in time for the 20 2030 POC.

Um, not a lot more to say on it. Um, but I just wanted you guys to have it out there first and if you had any questions, I'll be happy to talk to you about. Okay. Is it no questions? Are you still reading? So far, no. I just glanced over the other day. It wants you to know exactly what all what all things going to happen and what all the possibilities are and all the options you have for dealing with it. And oh by the way, how much is that going to cost?

So it's it's sort of nebulous. um identify infrastructure including not limited to facilities, public utilities, roadways that is critical for evacuation purposes and sustaining the quality of life during a national natural disaster. I'm not really sure what what that means as far as how we got a plan for thaties. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. We need to evaluate how to sustain the quality of life during a natural disaster. Um, and again, how exactly the PCD is supposed to do that, I I'm not sure yet, but you have to buy a whole bunch of out portable ports.

No doubt that the town crew is going to be dropping everybody off of plastic out so and raise the land so that the water doesn't come in there.

Anyway, as I said, I suspect as more towns try and wrap their head around this, it may get revised or postponed. We'll see. Um, but this is theoretically effective October 1st and takes starts with plans on 2027. So, you again, I felt obligated to at least get it out there. Um, more to be said about it, I'm sure, but um, since POCD is one of your major responsibilities, I thought, you know, you guys should know about it. On another note, what's the status of potential reconvening of Connecticut Congress for to discuss the housing issues? Um, Governor Lamont keeps saying he wants to hold a special session in the fall, but as of right now, no special session has been set, and it's all over the map as to what exactly will be included in this bill. Everybody is now frantically sending their stuff in and lobbying and doing whatever else. So, at the moment, I really don't have anything definitive to tell you other than something will likely be happening this fall. Um, and as soon as I hear more about it, you guys will hear more about it. Um, but again, right now it's sort of this frantic feeding frenzy of everyone throwing in their ideas and trying to push to get them on the agenda. um what will make the cut, what will not make the cut. Really hard to predict right now because again, most of what was in the bill that got vetoed, no one knew about until the week before the end of the session anyway. And literally that bill was two paragraphs long until the last week of the session when it suddenly was 85 pages long. So, um again, more to come, but exactly what more is, I really don't have a good sense at the moment. I have to be honest with you. Well, in one of the Rivercog meetings, I know that Mary Stone from up in line

said that she had gone through the regulations that were, you know, ultimately developed but were shot down and and she said that if that was implemented in lime, they would go bankrupt.

Yeah. And it also was so vague, I really I was struggling to understand how even to interpret it. And then it was asking us to locate in the town of old line what were our developable bull parcels. And I mean what does that even mean? Does that mean if someone owns 5 acres in a twoacre zone that they theoretically have a developable bull parcel? I guess. But I mean it's private property. I can't force them to develop it. All I can say is theoretically it could be developed. Um, but that also means, you know, I don't know where all the wetlands are. I don't know a lot of information that would be required to know how much of this land is really developable and how much of it's not. So again, there's there was a lot of language in there that just was impossible to interpret or enforce. So, I'm hoping as we move forward that some of this will get narrowed down so we have a better understanding of what it is we're trying to do because I again I read the the bill. I was a lawyer for 20 years doing this stuff. I didn't understand what the hell I was supposed to do with it. So again, the hope is that better language will be forthcoming. I I have to say given the legislaturator's history, I can't promise you better language will be forthcoming. Um, none of them really have a land use background. They tend to just put things out there and take their chances. Um, and the courts have not really been great at interpreting land land use rigs these days. So, yeah, it's hard hard to know for sure what we're going to get, but something is coming and as soon as I know, you will know.

Thank you. And you guys also got uh links to the draft regs by the way. So, those are out there. The com zoning commission is meeting next week to start kicking them around. When it's time to send them to you more formally, I'll happily do so, but I wanted you to just be in the loop on that where we are now as well.

All right. Thank you. Any questions from anyone hearing? None. Uh the next thing on the agenda is the receiving approval of minutes for the June meeting. I would like to make a motion that we accept the minutes as published on the town website as as submitted. Thank you. Do I have a second? The second. Any further discussion? All in favor signify by saying I. I.

Opposed? Unanimous. Um, one more thing. I think most of you know that Allan is leaving us at the end of the month. Uh, her last day is the 29th. She's going to Yukon Avery Point. Yes. And uh, it was it was position that she applied for even before she came to the town, you know. So, they had stopped funding that they called her back and said it's open and so it's a career move for her. So we wish you the very best. Thank you. Thank you for coming in and supporting. So wish you a lot of luck.

Thank you. Um anything else with that? I'll make a motion that we adjourn. Do I have a second? Second. Barbara beat you. He was at the same time. I want a replay. I think if you look at the room from different angles, you will find that my one I think you're right. All right. She did all even give it to her. Yeah. Okay. All right. I'll send you the headlines.

Motion is carry. Thank you very much. Thanks for attending.