Regional Plan of Conservation and Development

The Regional Plan of Conservation and Development is required by state statute to be prepared at least every ten years. The Plan serves as a blueprint for the Council of Governments and its member municipalities to follow in working together “to promote with the greatest efficiency and economy the coordinated development of its area of operation and the general welfare and prosperity of its people” (CGS 8-35a). The most recent Regional Plan of Conservation and Development was completed in 2017.

The Plan identifies shared goals for maintaining and expanding the region’s infrastructure, promoting economic growth, meeting the housing needs of the region’s residents, and protecting the health of the natural environment. A Future Land Use Map (pictured below) illustrates land use goals for the region, providing guidance to member municipalities and to SCCOG staff.

Some of the challenges that the southeastern Connecticut region faces are an aging population that will reduce the available workforce and require additional public services, a continued over-reliance on a few key industries, and a pattern of dispersed development that makes it difficult to expand public transportation options. The Plan identifies strategies that the Council of Governments, its member municipalities, and other partner organizations can implement to support regional goals, either working as individual municipalities or as part of collaborative initiatives coordinated by the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.