Editing Washington, Connecticut (section)

==Government==
Washington has a traditional [[New England town]] meeting form of government, which operates under the [[Connecticut General Statutes]]. Town meetings serve as Washington's chief legislative body,<ref name="auto1"/> and several specialized boards and commissions, run by volunteer residents, tend to municipal business.

An elected [[board of selectmen]] manages day-to-day town affairs, and an elected board of finance tends to municipal financial matters. A planning commission, consisting of members appointed by the board of selectmen, engages in long-range town planning—particularly with respect to land-use—and decennially prepares a Plan of Conservation and Development.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/act/Pa/2005PA-00205-R00HB-06570-PA.htm|title=AN ACT CONCERNING PLANS OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT.|website=www.cga.ct.gov|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref> The planning commission also establishes regulations concerning the [[Subdivision (land)|subdivision]] of land, and reviews and acts upon subdivision proposals. An elected zoning commission promulgates and applies [[zoning regulations]], and an inland wetlands commission, appointed by the board of selectmen, regulates activities in or near wetlands and watercourses. A historic district commission reviews development proposals within Washington's [[historic districts]], and issues certificates of appropriateness<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/pub/Chap097a.htm |title=CHAPTER 97a* HISTORIC DISTRICTS AND HISTORIC PROPERTIES |access-date=June 19, 2010 |archive-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531113825/http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/pub/Chap097a.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> for proposals it approves. A conservation commission, also appointed by the board of selectmen, establishes advisory conservation policies, advocates for the conservation of Washington's natural and cultural resources, and acquires and manages municipal open space, consisting of land owned by the town and [[conservation easements]] held on private property.

Washington's volunteer boards and commissions are supplemented by a small paid staff, which includes the full-time elected positions of First Selectman, Town Clerk,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonct.org/townclerk.html |title=Town Clerk - Washington, Connecticut |access-date=June 19, 2010 |archive-date=February 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223221829/http://www.washingtonct.org/townclerk.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Tax Collector,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonct.org/taxcollector.html |title=Tax Collector - Washington, Connecticut |access-date=June 19, 2010 |archive-date=February 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223221824/http://www.washingtonct.org/taxcollector.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Judge of Probate. The town also has a paid land-use coordinator, zoning enforcement officer, inland wetlands enforcement officer, assessor, building inspector, and administrative staff, as well as a road crew and building maintenance person.

===Civic life===

Washington has a culture of volunteerism and active civic engagement. Many residents give freely of their time and resources to operate town government, provide emergency services, and support local community organizations.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Jack |last=Coraggio |title=Firefighters in Washington Praised for a Long Ordeal |date=May 14, 2010 |url=http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2010/05/14/news/doc4bec0bd2dd107057468231.txt |work=The Litchfield County Times |access-date=October 1, 2010}}</ref> The town has unusually high voter turnout rates, and, in several elections, has had the highest level of voter participation of any municipality in Connecticut. For example, Washington's voter turnout rate in the 2004 presidential election was as high as 93.08%<ref>{{Cite news|first=Jack |last=Coraggio |title=Washington Wins Democracy Cup...Again |date=February 4, 2005 |url=http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Washington-wins-Democracy-Cup-again-244103.php
 |work=The Danbury News-Times |access-date=October 1, 2010}}</ref>

===Conservation focus===
Successive generations of Washington residents have actively supported land conservation efforts, and their gifts of property and conservation easements to local land trusts have yielded large tracts of permanent open space.<ref name="auto"/>

The town's strong conservation ethic is also evident in its land-use policies, which strictly limit new development. Washington was one of the first Connecticut municipalities to establish zoning regulations, which were enacted in 1939,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonct.org/zoning.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=June 20, 2010 |archive-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124123549/http://www.washingtonct.org/zoning.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The town's contemporary land-use policies are substantially natural resource-based, and they have been expressly conceived to maintain the community's rural character.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonct.org/pocd1.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=June 20, 2010 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719174715/http://www.washingtonct.org/pocd1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Washington is one of only two municipalities in Connecticut to base permissible residential density on the soils composition of land parcels, and it was one of the first Connecticut towns to adopt net-density subdivision regulations, which render [[wetlands]], [[flood plains]], and steep slopes ineligible for satisfying the minimum acreage requirements for creating new building lots<ref name="auto2"/> Consequently, even large tracts of land may not qualify for subdivision. Washington's inland wetlands regulations are similarly rigorous<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonct.org/iwcregs.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=June 23, 2010 |archive-date=April 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410181550/http://www.washingtonct.org/iwcregs.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Development proposals seen as posing a threat to the town's natural resources or rural character typically elicit controversy and often result in litigation, which is quietly underwritten by Washington's deep-pocketed and well-connected residents.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Lisa |last=Prevost |title=Anti-Inn? How About 33 Homes? |date=February 13, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/realestate/15wczo.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 1, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonct.org/notices.html |title=Public & Legal Notices - Washington, Connecticut |access-date=June 20, 2010 |archive-date=January 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126001940/http://www.washingtonct.org/notices.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>