Reports / Plans

The Town of Mansfield received CRCOG’s 2016 Regional Sustainability Award in early June for Mansfield Tomorrow: Plan of Conservation and Development. This comprehensive POCD has created a unified vision for the Town and its Planning and Zoning Commission, and establishes a framework for promoting sustainability and the incorporation of best practices. An extensive stakeholder engagement process helped lay the foundation for the significant, measurable progress that has already occurred in the eight months since the Plan’s adoption. Highlights of implementation work include: forming a bicycle advocacy group that will spearhead the development of the recommended Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan; drafting a Complete Streets policy; working on affordable housing updates to the Town’s zoning regulations; launching a new economic development section of the Town’s website; and establishing a climate change committee.

Click here to access the Plan

Produced as part of the Sustainable Knowledge Corridor project, each two-page brief focuses on an important issue (Housing, Transportation, Food Security, Environment, Land Use, Climate Action or Green Infrastructure) and its role towards creating more sustainable communities. The summary documents provide: an overview of the topic and why it is important; related issues and trends; how progress is measured; action steps to support change; and links to additional information.

Click here to access the Climate Action brief.

Click here to access the Environment brief.

With funding provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), CRCOG developed a Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan update for its thirty member municipalities. (The agency has since expanded its membership to include thirty-eight communities.) This plan builds on the existing Pre-Disaster Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan of 2008, and was intended to: identify natural hazards likely to affect the Capitol Region and its residents; assess vulnerabilities to these hazards; and set forth mitigation strategies that will reduce the loss of life and property, economic disruptions and the cost of post-disaster recovery for the region’s communities. Visit the CRCOG website to download the full plan update, appendices and individual municipal sections.

Click here to access the Executive Summary.

Produced by the American Farmland Trust and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, Planning for Agriculture is a “primer and introductory toolkit for planners and municipal officials” that will help inform efforts to preserve and protect local agriculture in Connecticut. The guide defines the fiscal, economic, environmental and recreational benefits of agriculture; prompts towns to reflect on how well they are planning a future for agriculture in their communities (it includes a checklist for gauging how supportive of agriculture a town is); provides tools for getting started; and highlights a handful of case studies and key resources.

Click here to access the full report.

As the culmination of a three-year HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant, the Sustainable Knowledge Corridor Consortium generated its action agenda, One Region, One Future for the Sustainable Knowledge Corridor bi-state region. The recommended actions listed in the document are hoped to move the region toward a connected, competitive, vibrant and green future. The Agenda outlines not only the actions that need to be taken, but also which partners are best suited to take up the charge.

Click here to access the full report.