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
Developmentupdate in process
Zoning Regulationslast rewrite in
1986
Subdivision Regulationsadopted 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 Towns
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 Towns economic
development objectives

Stakeholder Interviews
Regulations are cumbersome, outdated and lack
consistency;
hinder the Towns 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 Towns goal for
attracting economic development
Can do attitude of current planning and ED staff

Implications for
Zoning

Trends
Aging population

Decreased setbacks
Smaller lot sizes
Mix of housing types/models
Adapting existingGranny
flats
Options for aging in place
Connectivity to services
and entertainment

Trends
Millennials

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
Desire for
live/work/play
opportunities

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

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
Developmentblending
land use and zoning with
economic and market

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

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 occupationstrends, projections,
concentrations, wages
Market trendsregional, global, national

Can also include analysis of

Supplies chains, trade
Output and impactsales, 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
Competitivenesssupply, demand, comparison to
market competition
Needsinfrastructure, 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!

Dont bite off more than you can chew

break large projects into smaller
digestible components based on your
organizations
and partners capacity to implement

Understand what you can have impact

over

At local levelland 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
jreiner@groton-ct.gov | www.groton-ct.gov

Ken Schwartz, AICP, NCICS | Senior Vice President

of Planning/Urban Design
kschwartz@vhb.com | www.vhb.com

Jim Damicis | Senior Vice President, Camoin

Associates
jim@camoinassociates.com |