www.WoodburyBusiness.org • Woodbury, Connecticut

Economic Development in Woodbury

The WBA was founded on the need for the businesses and the community in general to learn more about the issues in our town. Today our community, like many in the state, still struggles to recover from the new economy forming in the wake of the Great Recession.

The very real changes to the visitor and retail traffic in our town affect everyone – our seniors, children, and families; our parks, schools and library; retail stores, restaurants and construction

The recovery and our long term prosperity of Woodbury will be directly related to the decisions we make in the coming months – not years, but months – on attracting businesses, commercial development and residents into our town.

There has recently been a lot of discussion of “economic development” as residents in general begin to understand that the topic of “economic development” is more far-reaching than a new restaurant coming to town or a business closing in town.

A planned approach to economic development is fundamental to maintaining the town as a wonderful place to live - to raise a family, retire or start a business.

The following three documents start to give a picture of the region, the town and its major commercial district. We encourage our members and interested residents to read this material. Get involved with the Association as well as the town boards and commissions which affect the future of our community.

        • 2013 Economic Profile Central Naugatuck Valley, published by the CNV Council of Governments

          (2014).  COGCNV is a forum for chief elected officials - from Woodbury, Southbury, Middlebury,

          Bethlehem, Oxford, Beacon Falls, Cheshire, Prospect, Naugatuck, Thomaston, Waterbury, and Wolcott -

          to discuss issues of common concern and to develop programs to address them on a regional level.

          COGCNV is fundamentally a planning organization, concerned with transportation, land use,

          environmental and emergency planning for the Central Naugatuck Valley Region (CNVR). It sets regional

          priorities for a variety of federal and state funding programs, oversees regional programs for member

          municipalities, and provides technical assistance to municipalities, local organizations, and the general

          public.

This report presents an analysis of the local region as well as statistical information identifying strengths and weaknesses of the economics of the area. To view the report, click the following link -

http://www.cogcnv.org/PDF/Digital_Economic_Profile_2013.pdf

• 2013 Middle Quarter District Market Feasibility Study, conducted by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. (CERC). CERC is a nonprofit corporation and public-private partnership that provides economic development services consistent with state strategies, leveraging Connecticut’s unique advantages as a premier business location. CERC is a research resource for towns and its website www.cerc.com is a resource for statistical information on the communities in Connecticut.

• The Woodbury Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), published in 2010. Plans of Conservation and Development are the responsibility of the Municipal Planning Commissions under Connecticut Statutes (Sec. 8-23. Preparation, amendment or adoption of plan of conservation and development. (a)(1) At least once every ten years, the commission shall prepare or amend and shall adopt a plan of conservation and development for the municipality. Following adoption, the commission shall regularly review and maintain such plan. The commission may adopt such geographical, functional or other amendments to the plan or parts of the plan, in accordance with the provisions of this section, as it deems necessary. The commission may, at any time, prepare, amend and adopt plans for the redevelopment and improvement of districts or neighborhoods which, in its judgment, contain special problems or opportunities or show a trend toward lower land values.)

Woodbury’s latest Plan, developed six years ago during 2009 and published in March of 2010 documents over 100 action items to be addressed by the town even before the impact of the Great Recession was fully understood. The Woodbury 2010 POCD documents the perspectives and objectives identified in the preparation of the document by the Planning Commission. This document provides the legal framework for virtually all land use decisions of the town boards, commissions, and officials. It is a must-read for anyone concerned with the vitality and future of Woodbury. To view the plan, click on the following link -

http://woodburyct.org/Woodbury POCD Final_March 20 2010.pdf