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Learning Objectives
Connection between land use policy and
economic development
Benefits of doing a regulatory audit
and market analysis at the same time
How to talk your elected body into giving you
money for planning!
Snapshot of Groton
Population:40,115
Jobs:26,000+
Major Employers:US Navy Base
Electric Boat
Pfizer
Points of Interest:Fort Griswold
Branford House
US Navy Submarine Museum
Notable People:Matt Harvey (NY Mets pitcher)
Lydia Longley (first Nun)
Brian Anderson (professional skateboarder)
Fran Mainella (former National Park Service
Director)
What Are Our Problems?
What Can We Do?
Fat and happy, until…
recent HUGE tax revenue loss
Word on the street
Not an easy place to do business
Confusing process
Town Council initiative with $$$
Economic development/
understand the market
Regulatory reform
Customer service
Opportunities
New leadership in OPDS (AD/ECD)
Community is ready for change
Developable/Underutilized land
and grayfields
Transit and multimodal options
POCD/Zoning
Sewer/Roadway infrastructure
Water availability
Others
Constraints
Lacking a “development community”
Town/City/Village(s)
Looking for instant results
No town center
Resistance to change
(internal i.e. town hall)
Everyone has ideas, lack of bodies
to implement
What Are Our Goals?
Easier process and more diverse
economy!
Plan and create an economically
diverse economy
Identify areas where smart growth and
development should be encouraged
and supported (growth centers)
Encourage mixed-use development that
creates great communities
Address infrastructure needs for the future
Protect open space, critical resources
and community character
Develop buy-in and engage the
community in the process
What Should Groton Do?
Most municipalities are dealing with the
same problems as Groton
How have other municipalities handled
these same issues?
Regulatory audit
Market analysis
Targeted industry assessments
Market the town and its resources
Getting It Done
RFQ
– Town Council plan and $$
– Selection committee and process
Community support is key
Focus group
– Develop buy-in and political support for
future changes
– Include boards, commissions, TC, RTM,
and others
Make this their project, not just another
planning study
Market Analysis
What this will do for us?
– Give us direction for solutions and an
awareness of the market
What is the market?
– Retail
– Office
– Housing
– Hospitality
– Infrastructure
– Smart growth vs. conventional development
“Add on” projects
– Pro forma analysis
– Marketing material
– Industry specific analysis
Regulatory Reform is the Equivalent
of Setting the Table
Plan of Conservation and Development—
update in process
Zoning Regulations—last rewrite in 1986
Subdivision Regulations—adopted in 1980
Economic Development Incentives
Customer Service
Why is this important?
– Does the public like what we are selling?
– We are a service provider
Change of attitude
Change of focus
Development and Redevelopment
Equation
Regulatory Review
Zoning and Subdivision Regulation Audit
Goals
“Less is more”
Be user friendly: clear and concise
Simplify the approval process
Provide predictability
Provide incentives to meet economic
development objectives
Recognize “best practices”
Ensure consistency with Town’s
Plan of Conservation and Development
Recognize demographic trends that relate
to development patterns
Purpose
Identify areas of concern
Suggest changes
Provide a “roadmap” to assist the Town in
implementing recommendations
Focus Areas
Inconsistencies
Organization
Confusing/Vague language
Out-of-date provisions
Barriers to efficient permitting
– Staff review vs. commission approvals
– Consolidation of boards/commissions
User friendliness
Best practices
Consistency with state statutes
Consistency with Town’s economic
development objectives
Stakeholder Interviews
Regulations are cumbersome, outdated and lack consistency;
hinder the Town’s ability to attract development
Town is losing out to coastal communities in attracting development
Capitalize on Town assets
– Waterfront location
– Regional access (highway, ferry, rail, airport)
– Schools, parks, museums, and destinations
Complacency due to past success (Pfizer and Electric Boat)
Multiple Committees and Commissions create complexities
Confusion created by Town/City of Groton jurisdiction;
redundancy of functions and operations
Land use regulations should support Town’s goal for attracting
economic development
“Can do” attitude of current planning and ED staff
Implications for Zoning
Decreased setbacks
Smaller lot sizes
Mix of housing types/models
Adapting existing—“Granny flats”
Options for aging in place
Connectivity to services
and entertainment
Trends
Aging population
Implications for Zoning
Increased demand for rental housing
Increased density
– Live, work, play proximity
Reduced parking
Increased demand for biking, walking,
and public transportation
Trends
Millennials
Implications for Zoning
Demand for mixed-use
and proximity to services
Support opportunities for Traditional
Neighborhood Development patterns
Locate development near
transportation nodes
Transportation impacts
– Interconnected streets
– Complete Streets
– Sidewalks/crosswalks/bikeways
Demand for on-site amenities
and outdoor space
Trends
Desire for live/work/play
opportunities
General Comments
Zoning is difficult to get through;
lacks streamlined review process
Few incentives to encourage development
– FAR bonuses, flexible standards
Not supportive of emerging trends
– Particularly mixed use and on-site employee amenities
Lack requirements
– Pedestrian and bike facilities, sustainability, alternative energy
Organizational improvements
– Structure
– Definitions
– Consistency
– Consolidation of districts
General Comments
Simplify table of permitted uses
– 12 pages long
Consider creating a “developers handbook”
Downtown Development District
– Create a new Overlay that reconciles existing strip commercial
land use pattern with desire to create a true town center
Recommendations
Improvements to the organizational
structure, definition and clarity in
key sections
Language to fill a void in the regulations
Sweeping changes (eliminating a district,
creating a new overlay, or substantially
re-writing the content of a special district)
Next Steps
Target areas for economic development
Create a new Downtown Development Overlay District along
Route 1 corridor
Initiate a master plan for the Route 1 corridor
Staff
– Conduct land use studies in representative cross-sampling of the
built industrial environment to better understand development
characteristics (establish baseline for making adjustments to
dimensional and density requirements)
– Simplify use tables
Address streamlining, including potential to hold
joint hearings
Create a developers handbook
Use technology (on-line permitting)
Market Analysis
Economic Development Tools
The Big Categories
Business attraction, retention,
and expansion
Real estate and site
development
Innovation, entrepreneurship,
incubation, and acceleration
Workforce development
Community development
Our core focus in Groton:
Real Estate and Site
Development—blending land
use and zoning with economic
and market analysis.
Economic Development & Planning Overlap
The Groton Experience
Land and site development
Redevelopment
Downtown development
Corridor and district
development
Infrastructure needs
and planning
Placemaking
All are impacted by planning,
zoning, permitting, land-use
regulations, and codes; and
all are driven by economic
and market trends!
Leading Industry Analysis
The Groton Experience
Industry sector and subsectors
– Manufacturing, life sciences, medical office, retail, tourism/visitation,
business and finance
Includes analysis of
– Employment and occupations—trends, projections, concentrations, wages
– Market trends—regional, global, national
Can also include analysis of
– Supplies chains, trade
– Output and impact—sales, GDP, multipliers
Not a guarantee of the future
Not meant to find “lightening in a bottle”
Real Estate Market Analysis
Includes land and new building development, expansions,
redevelopment, business parks, sites, districts, and corridors
Broken into categories of commercial, industrial, retail,
special (i.e. medical office lab, incubators), and mixed-use
Analysis of
– Competitiveness—supply, demand, comparison to
market competition
– Needs—infrastructure, incentives, amenities
Keys in Groton:
Corridors, refreshing retail, integrating tourism/visitation areas,
flex space for manufacturing, mixed-use, and design integration
Lessons Learned
Placemaking Matters!
Workforce is key to economic development
– Top issue for all sectors and all sizes
of business!
Workforce requires infrastructure
and amenities
– Housing, transportation, water, parks,
recreation, community, etc.
– Defines quality of place
Economic development must include
attention to quality of place and must be
integrated with community development
and planning
Lessons Learned
Less Is More!
Focus on “low hanging fruit”—Prioritize!
– Don’t bite off more than you can chew—
break large projects into smaller digestible
components based on your organization’s
and partners’ capacity to implement
Understand what you can have impact over
– At local level—land use, zoning, permitting,
customer service
Be regional
– Workforce, transportation, industry cluster,
and housing all require regional strategies
Be holistic and integrate
– Land use planning, community development,
workforce development, economic, and
business development
Next Steps
Focus on setting the table
Implement market analysis and marketing efforts
Foster community support
First steps in revising regulations
Celebrate small successes
Improve development and permitting process across
the board
Master planning key areas
Local assistance from partner organizations and the State
Promised the Town Council some progress in 3 years
(give or take a little….)
Questions
Jon Reiner, AICP | Director of Planning and Development
Services, Town of Groton, CT
[email protected] | www.groton-ct.gov
Ken Schwartz, AICP, NCICS | Senior Vice President of
Planning/Urban Design
[email protected] | www.vhb.com
Jim Damicis | Senior Vice President, Camoin Associates
[email protected] | www.camoinassociates.com