EAST HARTFORD — The planning and zoning commission on Wednesday adopted a 10-year plan calling for diverse housing and commercial options that reflect recent demographic shifts and development trends.
The town has more people than 10 years ago, Goodwin College has emerged as a major land user and employer and the waterfront, once overlooked, is now a driving force for the town’s future, officials say.
The town’s population increased by 3.4 percent, to 51,252, in 2010, after steadily decreasing over several decades, and is projected to grow to 53,384 by 2020, Town Planner Michael Dayton said. The number of residents had dropped from a peak of 57,583 in 1970 to 49,575 in 2000.
The median age of residents also increased slightly to 37.8, and the town has seen increases in the number of young adults between the ages of 20 and 34 and in the prime working ages between 35 and 64, according to the Plan of Conservation and Development.
The plan, revised every 10 years, recommends offering more owner-occupied housing, such as townhouses and condominiums, that might attract residents to the Rentschler Field and riverfront areas.
The town has a significant amount of affordable housing, especially rent-subsidized apartments, but could use additional market-rate housing, according to the plan.
The South Meadows area also was identified as potential site for new housing. At a meeting in May, the town council, in supporting many of the plan’s recommendations, said, “the South Meadows is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the growing investment along the Hartford side of the Connecticut River and create upscale, attractive housing and neighborhood qualities.”
Goodwin College, with campuses on Riverside Drive along the riverfront and on Main Street, has expanded over the past decade. The plan suggests establishing a campus zone along south Main Street to accommodate development of retail and other development associated with the college’s growth.
“What we did, we identified a campus focus area in recognition that Goodwin has been expanding in that area,” said Dayton.
The plan calls for encouraging development in the central business zone along Silver Lane, while maintaining residential neighborhoods on either side of the zone, and revitalizing the downtown area.
The plan also calls for preserving and enhancing the town’s open space and recreation areas and creating links among the open spaces, community facilities and residential neighborhoods.
