Groton - If the town has property to market, it should act now and streamline its planning and zoning regulations in the meantime, the principal of an East Hartford development consulting firm told the Town Council Tuesday.

R. Michael Goman, of Goman + York Property Advisors, LLC, said simply posting a sign on available land likely means it will sit for years. He added that the town's planning and zoning process should be "swift," "simple" and "certain," and that Groton should re-evaluate whether its regulations encourage or dissuade development.

"They're either hindering your ability to attract investment capital or they're helping it," he said. "There is no neutral."

Goman spoke after councilors Rich Moravsik, Bob Frink and Joe de la Cruz asked the company to give a presentation on how it might help Groton boost development and commercial growth. The councilors sought out the company after a joint meeting with the Representative Town Meeting.

Groton has lost 4,000 jobs from its top five employers in the last decade, and now has a visible sign of that loss in the demolition of Pfizer Inc.'s former research headquarters known as Building 118. Business owners in downtown Mystic also recently complained to the Economic Development Commission that the planning and zoning process is cumbersome, expensive and frustrating.

The town owns seven school properties that could be sold and marketed, including William Seely School, adjacent to a commercial property.

Goman said the market for industry and multi-family housing is strong, but he's not seeing much commercial development.

In terms of retail, he likes to tell people: "We're not over-built in retail. We're under-demolished."

Regardless of the builder, Goman said the town's planning and zoning regulations should be "certain," meaning that if a developer invests time and money into a project and meets regulations, it will be approved.

Language that gives land use boards discretion about subjective issues like whether a project affects the character of a community scares off investors, he said.

The attitude of the planning staff is also relevant, Fisher said. Some towns negotiate complex problems well by pointing them out and saying, "Let us help you solve them," Fisher said. "There are other towns where they say, 'There are the problems, let us know when you've solved them.'"

d.straszheim@theday.com