About the Committee

Ad-Hoc Committee members are Tolland residents that have volunteered their time to aid the Planning and Zoning Commission in evaluating and exploring available options to address residential density and growth management issues. Follow this link to read the Ad-Hoc Mission Statement.

As the fastest growing town in the Capitol Region, Tolland is under enormous pressure to preserve the town's character, as well as our historic and natural resources within the legal framework allowed by state statutes. We should ask ourselves if we are using all the tools available to us to guide residential growth in a way that furthers the goals stated in the Plan of Conservation and Development and in the Open Space and Conservation Plan.

The first step will be to identify what it is that concerns us about current residential development. Such issues may include:

• The rate of development
• The type of development
• The pattern of development
• The amount of development

Concurrently, we should evaluate the type of land uses we would like to emphasize and/or preserve and how any zoning revisions affect such uses. Specific goals in the Plan of Conservation and Development should also be reviewed and will be used as a guide throughout the process. Linda Farmer, Planning Director, and a subcommittee of the Conservation Commission are currently writing an Open Space and conservation Plan, which will provide guidance for Open Space set asides and other specific preservation goals. Ultimately, this plan will be included in the Plan of Conservation and Development after a Public Hearing and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission.