Milton's Comprehensive Plan Committee will meet at the Town Offices on Tuesday, October 1st at 6:30 pm. The public is invited to observe and strongly encouraged to attend. The October meeting is expected to focus on infrastructure and community services. Participation must be in person as there is no Zoom link and the meetings are not recorded.
At last month's meeting, several guests with economic development expertise presented to the committee. It was a very enlightening conversation, particularly in that it pointed to more room for common ground than is often perceived when attending Town Board or Planning Board meetings.
The conversation included discussion of tax credits available to builders to support development of affordable housing, potential financing to support small business, and creative ways to drive Milton's economy. It was surprising to learn that the current zoning regulations in the R2 district may not do what most of us believe they do, which is to protect the agricultural character of these parts of our town. There were words of caution from the experts to the committee -- get the comprehensive plan in order and zoning regulations updated before opening the door wide to new business and do all of this with community involvement.
Tim Bantham and Michele Juda spoke at the September 25th Town Board meeting on their take-aways from last month's Comprehensive Plan Committee meeting. Their comments begin at the 50 minute 20 second mark in the following recording of the meeting: