About CRERPA

Chapter 127 of the Connecticut General Statutes (CGS Section 8-31a et sec)authorizes the establishment of Regional Planning Agencies in Connecticut. The 1955 Connecticut Development Commission identified fifteen planning regions for Connecticut, based on a detailed study of physical, social and economic characteristics. In this region, many of the nine towns were part of the original Old Saybrook Colony. Unlike other regions with a central city surrounded by suburban towns, the Connecticut River Estuary Region is unified by its focus on the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound. Only Killingworth is not a coastal town. The authority to define or redefine planning regions now resides with the Secretary of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. Regional planning agencies are formed when 60% of the possible member towns within a region have voted by ordinance of their legislative bodies to join, and have appointed representatives to serve on the regional board.

Statutory responsibilities of regional planning agencies include preparation of a regional plan of conservation and development, assistance to member municipalities, recommendations for regional or intermunicipal agreements, feasibility studies for municipalities, establishment of interagency committees and staff sharing.

Connecticut Statutes also require member towns to send certain development applications to the regional agency for comment on intermunicipal impact. Subdivision of land located adjacent to a town boundary as well as local zoning regulations and map changes affecting land within 500 feet of a municipal boundary must be sent to the regional planning agency for review.

CRERPA convened in December, 1967 with six of the nine eligible towns officially represented. The three remaining towns – Clinton, Westbrook and Killingworth – subsequently voted to join the Agency so that there has been full geographic representation since 1968. The first Regional Plan of Development for the area was adopted in 1975 and updated in 1995.

Since its founding, CRERPA has been dedicated to furthering intertown cooperation among its members and addressing functional and environmental problems which do not lend themselves easily to town-by-town solutions. Operating in a conservative governmental setting which cherishes local autonomy, the Agency has become an accepted part of the local planning and implementation process.