UNOFFICIAL LAND USE MAP, 1999, TOWN OF WESTON, CT;  2010 UPDATE NEWS!


2010 UNOFFICIAL PLAN MAP COMING!
The 1999 map above (left) shows land uses in traditional colors, and aqua encircled parcels are those the Town Meeting recently voted "yes" to purchase.  At the right an enlargement of map showing open space parcels in Weston.

Weston P&Z: Survey says...
Weston FORUM
Written by Patricia Gay
Tuesday, 29 December 2009 11:53

The results of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s townwide survey are in, and more than 740 Westonites responded to topics ranging from commercial development to the creation of a town cemetery.

“The number of responses was amazing and far exceeded our expectations,” said Stephan Grozinger, P&Z chairman.

In November, P&Z distributed bright yellow surveys in The Weston Forum asking Westonites their opinions on a variety of land use topics.  The results of the survey will be used to guide P&Z as it prepares the Plan of Conservation and Development in 2010.

P&Z also distributed the survey results to other town boards and commissions for their use.

Surprises

Some of the survey answers came as a surprise to the commission.

Westonites have expressed interest in having a concert stage or community center in town at various planning meetings and workshops, but the survey showed much more opposition to those projects than support.

By a vote of 528 to 140, respondents were strongly opposed to using taxpayer dollars to build a concert stage or pavilion on town property.

They opposed using taxpayer dollars to build a community center by a vote of 426 to 238.

They also opposed town sponsored affordable housing by a vote of 462 to 199, and senior housing in a vote of 359 to 298.

“In terms of general concepts, there was clear opposition to questions that involved spending money, and it may be representative of the economic times,” said Mr. Grozinger.

“People see these things as a burden on the town,” said Commissioner Don Saltzman.

On the other hand, respondents overwhelmingly favored the use of taxpayer dollars to purchase land for conservation, with a vote of 441 in favor to 243 opposed.

“I give people credit for not being gullible. I think they thought about these issues as they answered them,” Mr. Grozinger said.

Mr. Grozinger was most surprised by the response to a question about enacting regulations to restrict tree removal on private properties. While 199 said they were in favor of regulating tree removal, 471 said they were opposed, a huge margin of difference.

“I did not expect the tree removal question to go as dramatically as it did. Time and again people at P&Z meetings have expressed annoyance about clear cutting trees. What I take from this response is that people do not want P&Z telling them what to do on their property,” he said.

That same sentiment was expressed in a question that asked if Weston’s residential lots were overdeveloped. Only 134 respondents said yes, compared to 473 who said no, residential lots were not overdeveloped.

“For the whole time I have been on the commission, people have told me they thought houses were too big and there were too many tennis courts, so this result was shocking to me,” he said.

Mr. Grozinger was also surprised that 117 people who responded to the survey said they conduct a business in their home. “That number is about quadruple what I thought it would be. There appears to be a vast number of houses that are occupied in Weston during the day,” he said.

On the flip side, some answers were not as surprising to the commission.

There has been an ongoing debate at P&Z meetings about whether there should be more commercial development in town.

Each time the commission has taken a vote of the public, a majority has said they favor more development.

The survey bears the commission out. While 200 respondents said there should be no more commercial development in Weston or limited new amount in the existing Town Center, 373 respondents favored new commercial development in the existing Town Center and areas surrounding it.

“This was a dramatic response and similar to what we have been hearing at meetings,” Mr. Grozinger said. “It is definitely something the commission will discuss further,” he added.

A large number of respondents also said they would favor additional resources and services at the Weston Public Library, with a vote of 309 in favor, and 182 opposed.

The votes were close on some issues. While 343 respondents favored providing daily bus service between Weston and the Westport train station, 287 were opposed to the idea.

In another close vote, 330 respondents favored the idea of dedicating town land for a cemetery or memorial garden, while 282 were opposed.

“These were reasonably favorable responses,” Mr. Grozinger said.

The results of the survey will be published in the 2010 Plan of Conservation and Development.

Planning survey results
FORUM
Written by Patricia Gay
Tuesday, 29 December 2009 11:49

Planning survey results

There were 14 questions on a townwide survey for the 2010 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

For the first nine questions, respondents were asked to check whether they favored, opposed, or had no opinion about the statement.

1. Use of taxpayer dollars to purchase land for conservation: Favor, 441. Oppose, 243. No opinion, 55.

2. Use of taxpayer dollars to build a concert stage or pavilion on town property: Favor, 140. Oppose, 528. No opinion, 89.

3. Use of taxpayer dollars to build a community center: Favor, 238. Oppose, 426. No opinion, 69.

4. Providing daily bus service between Weston and the Westport train station: Favor, 343. Oppose, 287. No opinion, 101.

5. Dedicating town land for a cemetery or memorial garden: Favor, 330. Oppose, 282. No opinion, 117.

6. Development of town sponsored affordable housing for qualified persons: Favor, 199. Oppose, 462. No opinion, 80.

7. Development of town sponsored senior housing: Favor, 298. Oppose, 359. No opinion, 84.

8. Enacting regulations restricting tree removal from private properties: Favor, 199. Oppose, 471. No opinion, 75.

9. Permitting a stand alone building to be used as an apartment or guest house: Favor, 331. Oppose, 310. No opinion, 93.

10. In your opinion, are Weston’s residential lots overdeveloped (i.e., excessively invested with pools, recreational courts, pool houses, sheds, etc?) Yes, 134. No, 473. No opinion, 104.

11. Turning to the question of further commercial development in Weston, which one of the following statements best reflects your opinion:

• There should be no more commercial development in Weston. 146 agreed.

• New commercial development should only take place within the existing Town Center. 54 agreed.

• New commercial development should only take place within the existing Town Center and the property behind it. 141 agreed.

• New commercial development should only take place within the existing Town Center and the property adjoining it and across the road from it. 190 agreed.

• New commercial development should be allowed anywhere in Weston. 42 agreed.

12. Do you favor additional resources and services at the Weston Public Library? Yes, 309. No, 182. No opinion, 107. Don’t use, 76.

13. Please check which, if any, of the following equipment or facilities you would like to see put in place at Bisceglie, Morehouse and/or Keene parks:

In-ground outdoor pool (189), picnic tables (262), barbecue pits (152), picnic areas (226), walking trails (347), children’s biking trails (248), dog run/park (204), additional play equipment (i.e. swings, slides, climbing apparatus, etc.) (122), no additional equipment or facilities (146). No opinion, 73.

14. Do you conduct a business in your home? Yes, 117. No, 603.

Generalized Land Use Category Legend 1999

Residential - yellow
Open Space - greens:  note that all other lots are colored white on the map at the right to make it easier to pick out specific open space (permanent) properties...

Commercial - red
Public/Semi-Public - blue
Vacant - white (for map at the left only)
Roads and lot lines - black (on maps above)
Other infrastructure - no sewers, no water mains;  five full (5) traffic signals and one blinking light.

This enlargement of the "About Town" land use map for 1999 is not official by any means--but it gives the Internet visitor a general idea about development in the Town of Weston, Connecticut, U.S.A.  Please link HERE to other discussion of Weston land use planning...and to the South Western Regional Planning Agency.

Formal responsibility (from the Connecticut General Statutes) for producing the Town Plan of Conservation and Development belongs to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Planning for schools is has been completed (more than once), and to learn about this very important subject, from different perspectives...

For a look at status (unofficial) of implementation of Town Plan of Conservation and Development 2000, click HERE.