Community Vision / Plan

Introduction 

What is a Plan of Conservation and Development?

A Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) is an advisory document which provides the blueprint for the future of a municipality, prescribes its goals and guides its future action for the next ten years and beyond. The POCD does not specifically mandate what any Town Commission, Department, or organization is required to do, but instead, provides goals, objectives, policies, and strategies to allow the Town and its various entities to implement a coordinated long-term vision and address multiple aspects of town wide planning including economic development, natural resource protection, transportation, infrastructure, housing development, sustainability, and resiliency. The execution of the POCD is carried out by the towns staff, its boards and commissions, community groups, and private development.

Statutory Basis for the Plan of Conservation and Development

Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 126, Section 8-23 mandates that Connecticut Municipal Planning Commissions periodically prepare or amend and adopt a Town Plan of Conservation and Development. In the Town of Madison, this responsibility falls on the combined Planning and Zoning Commission.  State law requires that the Town review its Plan, and make revisions, as needed, at least every ten years. 

In each Plan, The Town Planning Commission is required to consider: the need for housing, health, recreation, social services, utilities, safety, transportation, and communications; the need for affordable housing; protection of drinking water supplies; the use of clustered and other housing development patterns instead of conventional development patterns; the state and regional Plans of Conservation and Development; energy-efficiency and energy conservation; protection and preservation of agriculture; and physical, social, economic and governmental conditions and trends, in general.

History of the Madison POCD

The Town of Madison adopted its last Plan of Conservation and Development and 2013 and prior to that in 2000. 

Following the adoption of the 2000 Plan, Madison appointed a Town Plan Advisory Committee which established priorities and coordinated implementation.  Subsequent to the adoption of the 2013 Plan, Madison has undertaken several other planning studies including a Coastal Resiliency Plan in 2016 and an Affordable Housing Plan in 2022. The 2023 Plan of Conservation and Development is intended to take the pulse of Madison’s progress on the prior plan’s objectives, while also establishing new goals, policies, and implementation strategies for the next decade in Madison and beyond. 

Community Vision and Plan Goals 

2023 Plan of Conservation Draft Mission Statement: 

To guide the conservation and development of Madison to maintain and enhance quality of life in a resilient and sustainable community


Core Themes of the 2023 Plan of Conservation & Development:

  1. Vitality and Connectivity
  2. Resilience and Sustainability
  3. Opportunity and Growth
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