November 10, 2009 - More than 50 planners, builders, business executives and policymakers heard a consistent message Nov. 10 at the Community Builders Institute sponsored by Northeast Utilities: housing creation and other development in a municipality must be thoughtfully analyzed but needn't be rejected out of hand because it might impact the town's budget.

Rob Camoin, a New York-based consultant on municipal fiscal impacts, and Holly Campo de la Vera of the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, told the group that commercial and industrial development can help a town add to its grand list with varying - but usually positive - impacts.

But it was agreed by a panel that included CT American Planning Association president Don Poland, economic Donald Klepper-Smith, Green Valley Institute educator Paul Stahl, The Nature Conservancy's David Sutherland, and David Fink of the Partnership for Strong Communities, that towns could create affordable homes for all the people they need without unwise land uses, and without a negative impact on municipal budgets.