Groton — After an 18-month-long effort to update the town's zoning regulations and zoning map, the town Zoning Commission will host a public hearing Wednesday to seek input from residents on drafts of the updated regulations and map.

The project represents the first major update to the regulations in about three decades.

The zoning rewrite is intended "to guide the type of high-quality, vibrant, and sustainable development prescribed by the Town's 2016 Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), and to make the regulations themselves clear, precise and easy to read and understand," according to a news release from the town.

Planning & Development Director Jon Reiner said the project was prompted after a regulatory audit, completed with a market analysis in 2016, specified that the zoning regulations hadn't been updated in 30 years and were behind best practices. The update will reflect changes in state law and both state and national legal precedent.

The 441-page regulations are designed to be more user friendly, Reiner said. For example, a specific definition of every use is outlined in a use table, whereas currently, the zoning official or town attorney may have to be consulted at times for an interpretation because there isn't a clear definition.

The proposed regulations also provide a clear definition and intent of each zoning district in town and offer a "road map" for people to navigate the regulations in each zone, he said.

The Horsley Witten Group served as the consultant on the project.

Through the process of drafting the update, staff and the commission did a lot of outreach and tried to get as much input from people through the workshop process, Reiner said. Now they want to see if other people in town have any comments or concerns.

"The feedback we received has been very helpful and beneficial, and I hope that even more residents will weigh in now that a full draft is available," Zoning Commission Chair Sue Sutherland said in a statement. "That's really the time in a zoning update process when the residents can see how the regulations relate to their homes, their businesses, or their neighborhoods."

Deb Jones, assistant director of the town’s Office of Planning & Development Services, said in a statement that staff "welcome one-on-one conversations" from people who have questions about how the changes may affect them.

Reiner said any member of the public is welcome to contact him or the Planning and Development staff.

"We’re here to help guide people through the zoning and regulatory processes through the town," he added. "We’re always here to assist."

Drafts of the updated regulations and zoning map are available at the Groton Town Planning & Development Department, 134 Groton Long Point Road; Groton Town Clerk, 45 Fort Hill Road; Groton Public Library, 52 Newtown Road; and at the project's website, where there are also reading and map guides to the update: www.grotonctzoning.com/draft-zoning-regulations.

k.drelich@theday.com

IF YOU GO:

What: Public hearing on update to Groton's zoning regulations

When: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Community Room 1, Town Hall Annex, 134 Groton Long Point Road