Ashford to hold public hearing to codify reconciled zoning map after staff finds discrepancies

Town land-use staff told the Planning & Zoning Commission on June 8 that longstanding inconsistencies between the zoning map embedded in the adopted regulations and older maps and assessor records create confusion for property owners and staff.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Mike Damato showed commissioners an older black-and-white map that contained numerous parcel-level legend entries and a later color "draft" that was never formally adopted. After cross-checking assessor records, staff identified parcels that had been treated as commercial for years but were absent from the newer map and others the newer map listed differently. The discrepancies can create uncertainty for property owners who were told a parcel was commercial in prior years but see a different designation in current online records.

Mike proposed a reconciled combined map that includes the general commercial area around Route 44 and Route 74, the Industrial Inland District (IID), the technology zone, and the Lake District recently adopted in separate regulations. He recommended the commission schedule a public hearing to codify a single official zoning map as part of the regulations and to allow for any targeted amendments the commission chooses to pursue after public comment.

Commissioners agreed this is primarily a recordkeeping correction rather than an expansion of zoning, and they directed staff to schedule the public hearing and conduct the required notices and notifications to affected towns and property owners. No parcel-level changes were adopted at the June 8 meeting; staff will bring a public-draft map forward for hearing and potential amendment.