near wetlands and watercourses. A historic district commission reviews development proposals within Washington's historic districts, and issues certificates of appropriateness 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, Tax Collector, 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. 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% 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. 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, 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. 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 Consequently, even large tracts of land may not qualify for subdivision. Washington's inland wetlands regulations are similarly rigorous 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. Economy Washington's economy