Goshen Planning & Zoning Commission
07/07/26 Special Meeting
Present: Chairman Jonathan Carroll, Vice Chairperson Lu-Ann Zbinden, Shilo Garceau, alternate Christopher Hurlburt.
On Zoom: Patrick Lucas, Jared Denis, and alternate Jerry Abrahams joined at 7:45 p.m.
Members excused: Dustin Mosley.
Staff present: Spencer Musselman and Lori Clinton.
Discussion centered on changes to the wording of the Town of Goshen Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). The panel reviewed the document for more than an hour and made several language and formatting changes.
In the “Background” section, Vice Chairperson Lu-Ann Zbinden noted the language mentioned “waterfront properties on our many lakes.”
“Actually, we have a lot of properties on the lakes but they’re smaller lots,” Zbinden said. Board members agreed to change the word “small” and instead say “rural,” and change the word “waterfront” to “residential.”
In the “Issues” section, Enforcement Officer Spencer Musselman informed the PZC that the 2026 Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) Affordable Housing Appeals List is not complete. Members also corrected a couple of typo and formatting issues in that portion of the plan.
In the “Housing Growth Plan” section, PZC members altered wording in the first paragraph where the original language stated, “Goshen is required to adopt a Housing Growth Plan in accordance with the following options.” PZC Clerk Lori Clinton suggested modification so the words “in accordance” were removed and “one of” added. Commission members agreed, so the revised sentence reads: “Goshen is required to adopt a Housing Growth Plan with one of the following options.”
Then, the PZC changed the first sentence of Option 2 to, “Goshen can choose to develop and adopt its own Municipal Housing Growth Plan (MHGP) to meet the specific housing needs of our community.” Vice Chairperson Lu-Ann Zbinden suggested the revision from saying “adopts our” to “choose to develop and adopt its own …”.
Other alterations made by the PZC to the POCD language including the addition of a footnote with the definition of occupied units in the “Housing Growth Plan” section; and minor formatting and language changes under “Affordable Housing Mechanics,” “Current Housing Programs and Inventory,” “Population and Demographics,” and “Recommendations.”
The meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m. The commission also was set to meet July 28 for its regular monthly meeting.
