By K.B. Sherman, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Representatives of the Shrewsbury Master Plan Steering Committee met with the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen Feb. 23.
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 41 section 81D, the town planning board “shall make a master plan of such city or town or such part or parts thereof as said board may deem advisable and from time to time may extend or perfect such plan. “ The plan provides goals and a policies statement on land use; housing goals; economic development goals; natural and cultural resources; open space and recreation elements; services and facilities for the public; transportation needs; and an implementation program for desired actions.” The plan can be added to or changed from time to time.
At the Feb. 23 meeting the steering committee sought the selectmen’s approval of their work so far on the plan.
To date the plan involves a consultant selection process, town-wide site visits, and two town workshops. The steering committee noted that the master plan is useful in gaining state and federal funding as well as improved management of the town. Shrewsbury’s previous master plan was completed in 2001 and needs to be updated for the increased population, changing demographics, and local, national, and international development trends. Cross-cutting these themes, said the committee representatives, are future growth; public services, and utilities; transportation’s impact on land use; civic engagement and volunteerism; changing demographics; and sustaining the quality of life. For example, they said, the biggest demographic change in Shrewsbury in the past five years has been the increase in ethnic Asians as a percent of the total population.
The committee members also emphasized the importance of placing goals within the bounds of three categories: short-term, mid-term, and long-term frameworks. It seems, the members said, that the town has traditionally had trouble with placing goals within a framework only to later see that time span as inappropriate. This has been the case, they noted, of the town’s economic development goals when placed against sustaining the quality of the environment. Looking ahead, said the committee, is having the plan adopted by the planning board, performing ongoing outreach to other town boards and to the voters, presenting the plan to voters at town meeting, and implementing the plan.
Selectman Henry Fitzgerald noted that the committee had been light on advocating elements of the plan that the committee thought most important but thanked them for their work. Selectman James Kane then said that a past problem with the plan was its use primarily by people who wanted certain portions of it “crushed”, although he also praised this plan’s apparent high quality, especially its emphasis on the importance of economic development and use of land. All these issues, he continued, are dependent upon economic growth.
| The presentation ended with the committee representatives encouraging people to volunteer for boards and committees that will help implement the plan and noting the importance of people being able to refer to the plan as the town moves forward. |
