The Economic Development Commission (EDC) looked forward Thursday night to initiatives it might undertake to promote Norfolk’s economic vitality.
Among them are collaboration with the Planning & Zoning Commission to forward tasks outlined for it in the current Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), issued in 2019. The plan, which is renewed every 10 years, assigns tasks to different organizations in the town. The EDC has accomplished some of its goals but considers others and is working on others.
Chairman Cheryl Heller said the group should talk to the Planning & Zoning Commission about where it stands with the tasks assigned to it. Among the things it was expected to achieve are promoting additional retail, entertainment, hospitality and community uses of downtown Norfolk and encouraging business and economic development. Members noted that there are few spaces open for business use downtown, making the goals difficult to achieve.
Heller said she would like to engage in collaborative efforts with the Planning & Zoning Commission, which oversees the POCD, to determine how best to forward the remaining goals.
Turning to other issues, members discussed various options for a pre-Christmas event, such as one or more pop-up spaces where local artists and others could market their wares.
The group briefly discussed the possibility that Norfolk could become a “dark sky” community. Dark Sky communities dedicate themselves to reducing light pollution. Heller said the effort would require a three-year process that requires auditing the amount of light released at night, creating a town lighting ordinance and, finally, applying to DarkSky International for certification.
“It’s a lovely thing, it’s environmental,” she said, explaining that the effect of excessive night lighting is “devastating for animals.”
If the effort were to be undertaken, it would require collaboration with the Norfolk Nature Alliance, the Board of Selectmen and the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The commission is also contemplating a series of speakers on topics of interest to business people. The first in the proposed series will be by the Berkshire-Taconic Foundation on Thursday, October 22, from 5 :00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Hub.
The meeting ended with a discussion about the possibility of creating an EDC subcommittee for working on getting a cultural district designation for the town.