The Windsor Town Council held a public hearing and regular meeting on January 20, 2026, starting at 7:00 PM. The meeting included two public hearings: the first on the proposed update to the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) Windsor 2035, and the second on a $400,000 bond ordinance for the stormwater management program. The regular meeting featured presentations, public comment, reports, and votes on multiple items. Key concerns included police department staffing, the need for more actionable language in the POCD, and the adoption of a resolution supporting inclusion in the federal Highlands Conservation Act grant program.
Good evening. The time is now 7 p.m. And welcome to the public hearing of January 20th, 2026. And before I open it, I would like to read the public notice. Notice is hereby given that the town council of the town of Windsor will hold a virtual and in-person public hearing in the council chamber at the Windsor Town Hall, 275 Broad Street on Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 at 7 p.m. prevailing time to hear public comment on the following items. To hear public comment on an ordinance entitled Proposed Update to the Plan of Conservation and Development. Windsor 2035. Dated at Windsor, Connecticut this ninth day of January, 2026. A copy of the full text is on file at the office of the town clerk and is available for public inspection. Information on how to attend the Zoom meeting via phone or computer will be included in the town council agenda. Please go to our town website, click on the virtual meeting info button found on the front page and select town council meeting for January 20th, 2026. Windsor Town Council by Peter Souza, town manager. With the notice being read, the public hearing is now open. I will now turn this over to our moderator, Scott Cobe, assisted town manager, who will provide the instructions. That would be wonderful. Great. Thank you. With that, I'd like to ask our town planner, Todd Seely to join us. And Todd's going to give a brief overview of this um 12-month plus effort. And with that Todd, all yours. Okay. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Council members. For the record, my name is Todd Seely, Town Planner. Every municipality in Connecticut is required to update its plan of conservation and development, or POCD, every 10 years. To assist with Windsor's POCD update and the community engagement process, the town retained IMEG, formerly FHI studio. Over the past year, the town and our consultant implemented implemented a robust public engagement campaign. This included two public workshops, five topic-based group focused group meetings, interviews with key departments and stakeholders, and an online community survey that received more than 800 responses. The POCD serves as a snapshot of the community at a point in time. And so the goal and the strategies and actions for housing are kind of developed that framework of the guiding principle in mind. With that context, I'll briefly outline the key topic areas it addresses and how the plan is organized. So the topic areas addressed in the POCD include housing, transportation, land use, economic development, quality of life, environment, open space and natural resources, and cultural and historic resources. Each topic chapter follows a similar structure, beginning with a baseline conditions and background information, followed by an analysis of existing condition, such as the zoning infrastructure or facilities, and then identifying the key issues and trends for each topic. Each topic area includes a summary of what we've heard from the community with direct quotes that were drawn from public feedback. As part of the adoption process, the planning and zoning commission is required to forward a final draft of the POCD to town council and the Capital Regional Council of Governments for a mandatory 65-day review period. That draft was submitted on December 15th. And just last week we've set a date for the planning and zoning commission to hold a public hearing on the POCD at a special meeting on February 24th. Thank you so much, Ms. Seeley. All right. So at this time, Mr. Colby. Thank you, Madam Mayor. If there's anyone from the public who's virtual this evening and would like to address the council for the public hearing, you may do so by raising your hand on your computer by selecting the participants icon in the zoom menu bar and then clicking raised hand or uh by dialing star nine on your phone. Please state your name and address when you were called on. You'd be prompted that you are now unmuted for those dialing in by phone. Once prompted, you will then press star six to unmute for clear communication. We ask that you do not place the call on speakerphone. And once again, this is for the first public hearing on the POCD. At this time, Madam Mayor, we have no virtual attendees with your hand raised.