A special meeting centers on the issue of conservation

By Veronica Burns

Remember those “prouds” and “sorrys” categories at last month’s town plan meeting? On the issue of conservation, the response was very clear: 312 proud points signified that people in Norfolk take the issue very seriously. So conservation was the topic at the first of several special workshops in the ongoing process of compiling a new town plan for Norfolk.

The meeting, led by consultant Glenn Chalder of Planimetrics, included members of the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z). Also invited were individuals from specific organizations, who, it was hoped, would have useful input into what promises to be a lengthy, but interesting, process.

These included Bill Brodnitzki, president of the Norfolk Land Trust (NLT), Cay Fields, town historian and also a NLT member, Sue Frisch and Shelley Harms, representing the Natural Resources Inventory Committee, John Anderson from Aton Forest, Inc., Julie Scharnberg, a member of the town’s Historic District Commission and Vint Lawrence, president of the Coalition for Sound Growth. Gil Roberts of the Torrington Area Health District also attended, as did Rick Lynn, a member of Cornwall’s P&Z who gave the audience a report on that town’s plan proceedings. Many interested residents were also in the audience.

Open space planning proved to be a difficult subject to wrangle, maybe because the perception in many minds is that land devoid of buildings is open space. Chalder urged the group to come up with a definition not only for open space, but also for protected open space. “If we allow Norfolk residents to think that open space is any land not built upon, then anything that happens to that land, such as building a house, is seen as a loss of open space and it is seen as a losing battle.” If, however, open space has been clearly defined, “then development can happen in places that does not harm our open space. The process becomes a strategy of success rather that a situation that people think we are losing.”

One possible area of public misunderstanding included conservation property and the tax rolls. NLT’s Bill Brodnitzki gave as an example a landowner who puts his property into a conservation easement. “That property does not come off the tax rolls.” He also said that there were considerable federal income tax incentives for landowners to opt for easements. “Sometimes a land trust can work something out where a five or eight-acre house lot is carved out of a parcel, then the town wins. That small piece will generate more in taxes.”  But it might also cost the town money in services, as P&Z member Betsy Little pointed out. “You have to be careful,” she said, “where you are trying to raise money.” P&Z member Michele Sloane said a conveyance tax could be a specific step towards raising funds for purchasing open space.

The commissioners were interested in the inventory being done by the Natural Resources Inventory Committee and hoped to see their recommendations soon. On the matter of scenic roads, Sue Frisch said they had listed Norfolk’s rural roads, “plus an inventory, road by road, of their scenic features and their historic significance.” Shelley Harms suggested that the town plan might include language about riparian buffer zones around lakes and streams, and limits on impermeable surfaces.

Chalder thought that the current town plan had some good information on conservation in it, but, he said, “it has nothing about historic resources for example, and I think we need to have something.” Julie Scharnberg addressed this issue by categorizing Norfolk’s “cultural landscape” as a historic preservation tool. “As opposed to a large farm that you might want to preserve as open space,” she said, “why not pull out things that are important to people in this town, such as monuments, landscape.”

Chalder concluded by encouraging everyone to stay involved and requested that any further thoughts or ideas be sent to West Lowe, chairman of the P&Z, or to town hall so they could be distributed.

Information from the first two meetings is available on the town Web site, norfolkct.org. The next workshop will center on development issues.