October 2024 Update - The town of Groton has begun the process of updating the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). The update to the plan is a state requirement that occurs every 10 years. This is a significant document that currently defines the Mystic Oral School and area as rural as discussed below. A change to a category that allows for more densely settled or commercial development will put the same kind of development fought off in the past back in play. Here is a link to the web site the town has provided for the development of the new POCD.

December 2024 Update - The Town Council is at it again. Under the guise of saying it's time for new people on the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC), they have decided to replace Jeff Pritchard, the current chairman of the PZC. It may sound plausible to replace members periodically on boards/councils/commissions, especially when it is claimed that 'the people want change', but why would you replace one of the most experienced people on the PZC at a time when you'll need that experience to shepard through the state-mandated 10 year Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) in 2025? There has been a lot of razzle-dazzle about how Mr. Pritchard's name was not actually considered, explanations from the Town Council that hide behind Roberts Rules mechanisms. Please read this letter to the Town Council from Catherine Pratt. The truth is that his fairness and adhering to the rules has angered the politicians 'in charge' of the town and they want him out. The changes that the 'leadership' want to bake into the POCD will not happen if Pritchard is the PZC chairman, apparently. Read this letter to the editor from the Day.

See below for an explanation of the POCD and its impact on the town's development. Please pay attention to the upcoming Town Council meeting schedule and agendas. It's been a quiet few months, but 2025 will be crucial to protecting the neighborhoods throughout the town, including the area around the Mystic Oral School. Check the Greater Groton website for upcoming outreach events by the town Planning Department related to the 2025 POCD. Time for MOSA to get back to work.

Welcome to 2024. Although it may seem very quiet in comparison to previous years concerning the fate of the Mystic Oral School property, one significant series of events is happening in town that anyone concerned with overdevelopment of the school property should pay keen attention to. During the effort to fight the Respler proposal for development of the school, a key component of the effort was the 2016 Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). (You can find the Plan on the Documents page of this website.) The 2016 POCD, in the Future Land Use map, identifies the Mystic Oral School as Government Facilities and the land surrounding the government property as Rural Residential. Rural Residential is defined in the 2016 POCD as densities of one unit per acre or less, definitely NOT what the town hall planners and the Town Council had in mind for the Oral School property back in 2017.

Why this is important is that the Plan of Conservation and Development is required by the State to be updated every 10 years, so by 2026 the Town needs the updated plan in place. The town is starting this year to develop the 2026 plan. According to a 29 November 2023 New London Day article by Kimberly Drelich, the "town plans to take a new public outreach approach in an effort to hear from more people across the community". The article identified that the town planners were considering the possibility of a "deeper dive" into the Mystic Education Center (Mystic Oral School) to get more feedback "from the neighborhood and the town" on the best use of the property. A website was identified where the meeting dates for the solicitation of public input would be posted. The website link is below. Currently, there are three dates listed on the site as shown below. It will be important to participate in these meetings to ensure that the MOSA voices are still heard by the town.





25 April -