Envisioning West Haven’s Future: 2025 Planning Initiatives

This year, the City of West Haven is kicking off efforts to provide for West Haven’s future growth by hiring three teams to help formulate plans to guide that growth. Over the next several months, the city will update its Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), update its Zoning Regulations and create a Downtown Municipal Development Plan (MDP). Here is a brief overview on each of them:

Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD)

Per state law, every 10 years every municipality in Connecticut must update its Plan of Conservation and Development, a comprehensive plan that serves as a city’s guide for land use, conservation and development policies. This update will focus on enhancing West Haven’s vision of its future by:

• Reviewing the latest demographic, environmental and economic data.
• Evaluating evolving market and economic trends.
• Identifying critical economic, infrastructural and legal challenges.
• Assessing new opportunities and priorities for land use and development.

To learn more about the POCD and how you can help shape it, visit the official website.

Zoning Regulations

West Haven first adopted its Zoning Regulations in 1935 and has updated them periodically since then, although not since 2006. As a result, these regulations sometimes don’t reflect the city’s priorities as expressed in its POCD. This update will make the city’s zoning regulations more effective by:

• Addressing outdated, ineffective or inconsistent provisions.
• Advancing the city’s redevelopment goals, as described in the POCD.
• Ensuring that the city’s zoning regulations are user-friendly.

For more information on this initiative, contact Brian Miller at bmiller@millerplanninggroup.com.

Downtown Municipal Development Plan (MDP)

To help revitalize the downtown West Haven commercial corridor, the city has hired a consultant to prepare a Municipal Development Plan (MDP). This plan will provide the city with strategies for improving downtown and creating a revitalized, vibrant, destination-oriented city center with attractive amenities by:

• Analyzing downtown’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges.
• Identifying properties that could benefit from particular redevelopment.

To learn more about the MDP and how you can help shape it, visit the official website.