The Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z Commission) appreciates all those who took the time to review Draft #1 of the 2026 POCD and submit comments. More than 20 sets of comments were received. The P&Z Commission will be discussing the comments at their next meeting on June 23. The comments will be organized and posted to the website on Monday. The following is the schedule for the remainder of this work:

• June 23: P&Z Commission Meeting – Discuss Public Comments Received & Potential Revisions to POCD
• June 30: Submit Draft #2 of the 2026 POCD for Referral and Public Hearing
• July 9: Referrals to Board of Selectmen, WestCOG (at least 65 days prior to hearing); Public Comment Period #2 Begins
• September 15: Public Hearing; Public Comment Period #2 Ends
• September 22 or October 10: Final Vote by P&Z Commission on POCD Adoption; Prepare & Post Final 2026 POCD.

The Planning & Zoning Commission is pleased to unveil Draft #1 of Darien’s 2026 Plan of Conservation & Development (POCD).

Whether you live in Darien, own a business here, develop real estate, lead a local institution, work for the Town, or serve on a Town committee, you are experts at many or all of the topics explored in the 2026 POCD. Please submit comments by e-mail at mycomments@darienpocd.com (with the subject “Darien POCD Comments”) or through the Contact Us page. Note that all comments will be compiled and posted to this website (your contact information will not be included). The following are several suggestions for providing comments:

1. Based on your time and interest, we welcome constructive feedback on a single chapter, several chapters, or the entire document.
2. We welcome corrections and updates to the content and suggestions for additional content.
3. We would like to know if the topical chapters (6-9) and the recommendations contained in them are responsive to the results of the community engagement process that are presented in Chapter 3 of the Draft 2026 POCD.
4. We would like to know your level of support for the recommendations presented in the topical chapters (6-9) of the Draft 2026 POCD, any potential challenges and/or disagreements with the recommendations, and suggestions for additional recommendations.

You will have two opportunities to provide comments on drafts of the 2026 POCD:

1. Public Comment Period for Draft #1 of the 2026 POCD is from June 1 to June 16. Prior to the start of the next public comment period, a second draft, Draft #2 of the 2026 POCD, will be released.
2. Public Comment Period for Draft #2 of the 2026 POCD will be from July 9 to September 15.

Therefore, you can either comment on Draft #1, wait until Draft #2 is posted to provide comments, or comment on both drafts. Draft #2 will incorporate those public comments received during the Public Comment Period for Draft #1 that are supported by the P&Z Commission.

The following is a more detailed schedule up to the final vote on POCD adoption:

• June 1: Draft #1 of the 2026 POCD Posted to Website; Public Comment Period for Draft #1 Begins
• June 16: Public Comment Period for Draft #1 Ends
• June 23: P&Z Commission Meeting – Discuss Public Comments Received & Potential Revisions to POCD
• June 30: Submit Draft #2 of the 2026 POCD for Referral and Public Hearing
• July 9: Referrals to Board of Selectmen, WestCOG (at least 65 days prior to hearing); Public Comment Period #2 Begins
• September 15: Public Hearing; Public Comment Period #2 Ends
• September 22 or October 10: Final Vote by P&Z Commission on POCD Adoption; Prepare & Post Final 2026 POCD.

At the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on May 5, members shared comments on the drafts of Chapters 6-9 of the 2026 POCD and decided another meeting was needed to further discuss the recommendations within these chapters. The following is the revised schedule. Note that there are two public comment periods: May 29 to June 17 and July 9 to September 15.

• May 26: P&Z Commission Meeting – Discussion of Draft POCD Recommendations
• May 29: Completed Draft v1 of 2026 POCD Posted to Website; Public Comment Period 1 Begins
• Jun 17: Public Comment Period 1 Ends
• Jun 23: P&Z Commission Meeting – Discuss Public Comments Received & Revisions to POCD.
• Jun 30: Submit Completed Draft v2 of 2026 POCD for Referral and Public Hearing
• Jul 9: Referrals to Board of Selectmen, WestCOG (at least 65 days prior to hearing); Public Comment Period 2 Begins
• Aug 10: Post Final 2026 POCD to website (at least 35 days to public hearing)
• Sep 15: Public Hearing; Public Comment Period 2 Ends
• Sep 22 or Oct 10: Final Vote by P&Z Commission on POCD Adoption