Kate (Calkin) Beal was born and raised in Simsbury and grew up as an active member of the community. While attending college in Vermont and earning her Master of Architecture degree, she met her husband and they eventually started their family. While living in Vermont Kate served on the Northfield Joint Planning and Zoning commission, during which time they updated the town plan and redefined the town zones to examine and eliminate spot zoning that had been in place for decades. Since returning to Simsbury, Kate has served on the Public Buildings committee, and currently serves on the Design Review Board.
Having spent the majority of her life in Simsbury, Kate values the character of our community – our connection to nature, and our history – and firmly believes that thoughtful and inclusive growth is critical to Simsbury’s future.
“Experience has taught me that it’s a bit of a balancing act – there’s an expectation for a certain amount of autonomy in how people use the land they own, its their investment – and at the same time individual developments have an impact on neighbors and the whole community. For better or worse, we are all in this together, which is why we have to be considerate, planful, and consistent in our approach to development.” Kate says.
In her free time Kate can be found taking her daughters to hockey at one of our local skating rinks, or playing herself, on the Mother Ducks hockey team.