LINKS

The links below will take you to websites that offer additional information and resources on the following topics:

Town Websites
Affordable Housing
Planning
GIS/Data Resources
Natural Resource Management
Government

Below there is a brief description of some of the valuable resources that can be found on the following websites. If there is any topic you are interested in that you can’t find resources on below, please contact us!

Town Websites

Canaan (http://www.canaanfallsvillage.org/)
Cornwall (http://www.cornwallct.org)
Goshen (http://www.goshenct.gov/Pages/index)
Kent (http://www.kentct.org)
Norfolk (http://www.norfolkct.org)
North Canaan (http://www.northcanaan.org/index.html)
Salisbury (http://www.salisburyct.us)
Sharon (http://www.sharonct.org)
Roxbury (http://www.roxburyct.com)
Warren (http://www.warrenct.org)
Washington (http://www.washingtonct.org)

Affordable Housing

LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation)

• LISC provides resources to local groups in the following areas:
• Technical Assistance: the housing connections of Connecticut program provides technical assistance to location groups in Connecticut's small towns who are seeking to build affordable housing in their communities. Housing Connections provides free assistance in the areas of defining local need, organizing a local nonprofit, assessing site feasibility for a proposed project, understanding affordable housing financing, and linking groups to resources for developing a project.
• Financing: LISC in Connecticut can provide early-stage project planning grants and a variety of low-cost financing for affordable housing developments in small towns and rural areas.

HousingUS

• Accessory Apartment Program- find our guides which take you step by step through the process of creating and renting an accessory apartment.
• Links to Local & Regional Housing Organizations- find additional resources specific to your community.
• Stories about our emergency service volunteers, our children & grandparents who are struggling to find housing they can afford.
• Housing Facts & Figures for the region.
• Housing Action Steps- 5 actions you can take to help put the us back in housing.

Partnership for Strong Communities-

• Fact sheets from the Reaching Home and HOMEConnecticut campaigns
• Presentations and reports
• Current resources on homelessness and affordable housing
• CT Housing, Homelessness Facts in Easy-to-Use Spreadsheet

HOME Connecticut-

• Fact Sheets about the Connecticut Housing Program for Economic Growth.
• Information on planning grants
• News and resources on affordable housing
• Monthly home sales statistics from the Warren Group
  

Connecticut Housing Coalition-

• How to advocate for your communities housing needs to your legislators
• Links to state, national, and federal housing organizations
• Listing of housing related events and workshops
  

Enterprise Foundation-

• Resource database on a wide range of topics from Green Affordable Housing to Acquisition, Design & Development
• Tutorials with step by step instructions on fundraising and housing development
• Funding database which helps you find public and private funding resources to support your organization and its programs

American Planning Association-

• More than 100 documents and articles on every aspect of affordable housing
• Information on a wide variety of educational programs offered to planning commissioners and elected officials
• Calendar of events, training programs, and conferences
• APA Store with books on every planning topic you can think of

Connecticut Chapter of American Planning Association-

• Listing of upcoming planning events in the state
• Legislative news and action

Ct. Main Street Center-

• Workshops & trainings on downtown revitalization
• Technical assistance on downtown revitalization
• The “downtown toolkit”

Smart Growth Online-

• Smart growth resource library
• “This is Smart Growth” available on-line which illustrates and explains smart growth concepts and outcomes by featuring 40 places around the country, from cities to suburbs to small towns to rural communities, where good development has improved residents' quality of life
• Smart Growth in action- stories of how communities are making smart growth work

Planning Commissioners Journal-

• A quarterly journal designed for citizen planners, including members of local planning commissions and zoning boards.
• Publications such as “Welcome to the Commission! A Guide for New Members” and “Now that You’re on the Board, How to Survive and Thrive as a Planning Commissioner

Pedestrian and Bicycling Information Center-

• A listing of websites, programs and tools to help communities create safe places for walking and bicycling

Ct. Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions-

• Calendar of events and meetings of interest to conservation and IWCs
• A comprehensive listing of resources and tools for CCs and IWCs

NEMO (Non-point Education for Municipal Officials)-

• Information on workshops offered such as "Linking Land Use to Water Quality" and "Planning for Stormwater".
• An interactive mapping tool that allows you to create thematic maps of your town
• An inventory of town regulations dealing with stormwater management and low impact development (LID)

Green Valley Institute-

• Fact sheets on open space protection, innovative zoning techniques, and smart planning
• Basic information for municipal leaders, conservation commissions, landowners, land trusts, and planning commissions
• Information and assistance on creating a Community Resource Inventory, a list or atlas of the natural and cultural resources in your community

Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI)-

• Handbooks available on-line on topics such as “Getting the Most Out of Public Hearings: Ideas to Improve Public Involvement” and “Planning Public Forums: Questions to Guide Local Officials”
• Tools for Public Dialogue, Deliberation, and Dispute Resolution

Northwest Conservation District-

• Provides technical assistance and solutions to municipal land use commissions, land trusts, and individuals including environmental reviews, lower impact development, wetland soil identification, and open space and farmland preservation.
• Provides GIS mapping and analysis services such as Natural Resource Planning and Inventories, Open Space Plans, Land Use Planning & Analysis, Suitability Analysis, Soils Mapping & Analysis, Land Development Potential, Parcel Data Management, Zoning Districts, Scenic/ Significant Vistas, Special Projects, etc.
  
  

Ct. State Data Center-

• Find Census data for your community on housing, population projections, school enrollment, jobs, commute times, income, and much more.

CLEAR-

• Watershed maps for each town
• Downloadable GIS data including land cover, aerial photos
• Interactive online mapping services
• Connecticut’s Changing Landscape Website & Mapping Tool The University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) has just released the next version of its Connecticut’s Changing Landscape project, which now charts changes to the face of Connecticut over a 21-year period, from 1985 to 2006. CLEAR’s updated and enhanced Connecticut’s Changing Landscape website offers information from the study in a range of ways, from data tables to charts to maps to interactive web mapping -- all at the state, regional and town levels.   http://clear.uconn.edu/projects/landscape/index.htm

DataPlace-

• The DataPlace website offers demographic data compilations and presentations, including mapping such as this illustration of owner occupied housing unit values. The site provides an interactive, user-defined data analysis tool.

Natural Resources Management

Connecticut FarmLink Program

American Farmland Trust

• Information, resources, and analyses about agriculture and farmland issues in Connecticut and nationally

Land Trust Alliance

• Resources for Land Trusts such as grant opportunities, publications, and listing of events and conferences
• Searchable library containing Land Trust Alliance publications, sample documents, and other technical materials, “which land trust professionals need to keep current in their profession.”

• Conservation Options: A Landowner's Guide, Preserving Family Lands, Your Land is Your Legacy, and The Conservation Easement Handbook for purchase

IPANE (Invasive Plant Atlas of New England)

• a comprehensive web-accessible database and maps of invasive and potentially invasive plants in New England

Litchfield Hills Greenprint-

• An interactive map of conservation priority areas across the region

Trust for Public Land-

• List of conservation programs in Connecticut
• TPL works with communities to assist with land identification and acquisition

The Housatonic Valley Association-

• Information on HVA's land protection programs including RiverBelt Greenway and the Litchfield Hills Greenprint

Legislature's Webpage-

Find your local legislature.

OPM Webpage-

This Office provides information and analysis on state policy and runs a number of programs that work with municipalities.

The Connecticut Office of Policy and Management also has a new web page dedicated to information and resources to assist towns, agencies, and private organizations and individuals with developing and implementing responsible growth techniques. The Green and Growing website includes funding sources and technical assistance resources from all available state programs.

DEP Webpage-

DEP coordinates a variety of programs that work to protect the natural environment, including the Division of Forestry (within the Bureau of Natural Resources) and the Division of Land Acquisition and Management (within the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation).

CCM Webpage-

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities is Connecticut's statewide association of towns and cities. Its 140 member municipalities contain over 90 percent of the state's population. CCM represents municipalities at the General Assembly, before the State executive branch and regulatory agencies, and in the courts.

Council of Small Towns-

The purpose of the site is twofold: to give municipal leaders the information they need about legislative and other policy priorities affecting small towns; and, to provide 1st selectmen, mayors, managers and other town leaders with resources and contact information to help them with the job of managing and governing small towns.

Town Profiles-

Economic, demographic, and other town information on a town by town basis.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)-

A program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, NRCS provides technical and other resources to conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. State offices can be accessed through this federal site.