By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The city will hold a public workshop focusing on the future of Allingtown and how it can reach the goals of the recently adopted Plan of Conservation and Development.
The workshop is set for 6 p.m. Monday in the Notre Dame High School auditorium, 1 Notre Dame Way. It is sponsored by the city Planning and Zoning Commission and the Allingtown Steering Committee, an ad hoc committee formed by the commission to help develop a plan for the Allingtown neighborhood.
P&Z Chairwoman Kathleen Hendricks said the commission hopes to attract a wide range of participants for the workshop, including neighborhood residents, area businesses, University of New Haven students, community leaders, church groups and representatives of school organizations.
The commission also hopes that Allingtown’s young people will attend to provide fresh ideas for the plan, Hendricks said.
According to Assistant City Planner David W. Killeen, the workshop will include a presentation highlighting items of the POCD vision as well as general areas the committee plans to address, such as making Allingtown more pedestrian- and bike-friendly; promoting the redevelopment of underutilized and vacant commercial properties; improving community facilities, parks and open space; enhancing connections between UNH and the neighborhood; and improving housing and property maintenance.
The workshop will include opportunities for participants to share ideas in small group sessions. The information gathered will help the committee identify issues for consideration in the Allingtown plan, Killeen said.
“There is strength in groupthink,” Hendricks said. “This was a very effective approach when we updated the Plan of Conservation and Development in 2017, and it gave the commission the confidence that we were making decisions based on direct input from the community.”
Killeen said the commission will schedule an additional workshop to cover the draft recommendations under consideration for the plan.
The concept for the Allingtown plan was first envisioned in the POCD, which was adopted by the commission in June 2017.
See the POCD at https://www.cityofwesthaven.com/DocumentCenter/View/827/Plan-of-Conservation-and-Development-Final-PDF.
For more information, call the Department of Planning and Development at 203-937-3580.