A recommendation made in the 1994 Plan of Development included the creation of a Design Review Advisory Committee to review and make design recommendations on commercial development along the 202 corridor. The GLPT funded $30,000 for the hiring of a consultant to evaluate the visual qualities of the business along Route 202 and to produce design guidelines to be implemented when commercial properties were altered or developed. The firm of Johnson Land Design, Hartford, CT was hired by a Steering Committee made up of two members of the GLPT and a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Design Guidelines were adopted by the Planning and Zoning Commission in early 1996. A design review advisory committee of the Planning and Zoning Commission was created made up of members of the community with design expertise, including a landscape architect and architect.
The requirement for design review is now Article VI – Section 11 of the Planning and Zoning Regulations and has been broadened to include properties in zones: RMF-160, B800, PB, MO, PO, I, Pl, and in residential zones with nonconforming commercial properties.