As Harvard approaches the deadline for an updated Master Plan, people may wonder what it’s all about. Here, we answer some basic questions about the plan and the process.
Q: Why do we need a Master Plan, and why update it every 10 years?
A: Master plans are required by a decades-old state law, which specifies “time to time” revisions to “extend and perfect” a plan. The 10-year update is a regulatory requirement, meant to encourage the best practices of professional planning. Harvard’s current Master Plan—first written in 1969 and revised twice since then—is a useful planning tool, according to each town official who was asked about it. The plan appears to keeps the town “on task” to some degree, with nearly half the action items achieved, including the acquisition of more than 100 acres of conservation land.
Pending legislation seeks to promote the importance of Master Plans statewide by turning the 10-year requirement into law and reforming zoning practices—such as excessive grandfathering rights and the antiquated Approval Not Required— that can prevent towns from achieving their goals. “The vision a town has for itself in the Master Plan must be mirrored in zoning bylaw,” said the bill’s sponsor, Senator Jamie Eldridge.
“The Master Plan is a repository of people’s dreams, of what their community can be,” said Planning Board Chairman Kara Minar, who favors a comprehensive update now. “People should be allowed to have their say every 10 years.”
Board of Selectman member Ron Ricci, at a candidate’s debate on March 21, endorsed an update to the Master Plan, but declined to comment on a dollar amount for it this week.
Q: Has Harvard acted on any of the action items in the 10-year plan?
A: Of 32 items considered by the Press, 14 were achieved, and 18 were not, or were only partially achieved. For a summary of accomplishments, see “Status of Master Plan Action Items” below.
Q: Has the Master Plan helped Harvard get grant money?
A: None of the several grants received by Harvard and examined by the Press weighed the existence of a Master Plan in its award decision. For instance, the Targeted Watershed program brought Harvard just under $780,000 in federal funds to fight weeds and prevent phosphorous from running into the pond. (Additional money came from community preservation funds).
“The main requirement was an ‘endangered’ status,” said Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Ed Colletta this week. The existence of Harvard’s planning documents did not factor into the award, he said. However, last week, the chairman of the Bare Hill Pond Watershed Committee, Bruce Leicher, said his committee relied on the town’s Open Space and Recreation Plan as it worked to clean up the phosphorous-polluted pond.
Two other grants awarded to Harvard, a Green Community grant and a block grant to rehabilitate the homes of seven low-income residents, did not weigh planning documents in its awards.
On the other hand, one funding source not yet tapped by Harvard, the Commonwealth Fund, significantly favors towns with current Master and associated plans, including Open Space, Affordable Housing, and Economic Development.
Q: What is the cost of a Master Plan update?
A: Professional planner Eric Smith of the Montachusett Regional Planning Council says a comprehensive update costs around $100,000. The 2002 Harvard Master Plan (based on the 1988 plan) cost $116,000, including a $30,000 state grant that is no longer available.
Q: Would money spent on updating the plan be better spent on a town planner?
A: Whether hiring a town planner could offset the cost of a new Master Plan is not clear, since a cost-benefit analysis cannot easily be applied to a salaried employee working on numerous tasks. The need for a planner, though, has been noted before.
The 2002 Master Plan recommends that Harvard hire a planner to cope with Devens, the de-commissioned military base occupying land in Ayer, Shirley, and Harvard. The three towns are supposed to decide, by 2033, whether to absorb the land within their natural boundaries or cede it to the state, as Lancaster has done.
“Many of the concerns that Harvard residents express about development at Devens call for intervention, representation, and advocacy by a professional planner,” the plan says.
Just how many duties a planner can take on “depends on the type of person, [his] experience, and the town’s expectations,” said Boxborough planner Elizabeth Hughes. She writes grants and manages nearly all planning duties, including marshaling town boards and collecting data for future updates. Hiring a planner, however, is “not a magic bullet,” she said.
The town of Carlisle employs a part-time planning administrator. Its Master Plan dates from 1995; a draft 2003 plan was rejected by Town Meeting, said the planner, George Mansfield. Parts of the plan are updated piecemeal, he said. Most recently it was the Affordable Housing Plan: the town is building 26 units of affordable housing on town-owned land, and needed it, Mansfield said.
In Bolton, planner Jennifer Burney says she helps to unify the actions of numerous town boards, alerting them to grants and writing the applications. When the 2006 plan is redone, it will be “contracted out,” she said. “It’s a specialized, huge task, and I will be a big part of the process.” Meanwhile, she is mobilizing efforts to create a village overlay district on Bolton’s Main Street.
Q: What are some areas of concern that most likely require careful planning in the future?
A: Town officials most often cite Devens as an area of concern.
“The Master Plan includes planning scenarios for a Harvard disconnected from Harvard. It is only sensible to include in the mix a plan that integrates Devens,” said former selectwoman Lucy Wallace last week. Wallace, who sat on the 2002 Master Plan Committee, added that the 2002 plan was criticized for “leaving out” significant discussion of Devens. Current Selectman Tim Clark, also on that committee, said last week that Devens planning was a definite “‘Did Not Achieve'” when asked to evaluate the town’s performance on action items.
The recommendations of the Economic Development Committee (EDC)—to be presented at the 2012 Town Meeting—are a point of concern for others, who want the Master Plan to be fully updated as a complement to EDC suggestions. “We played out a variety of scenarios, including assisted living [conceptual plans from a developer were presented to the Planning Board several years ago], a grocery store, office space,” said EDC Chairman Rick Maiore this week. “We’ve met with folks at Devens regarding water and sewer capacity,” he said, adding that the EDC’s work, as charged by last year’s Town Meeting, was to “explore possibilites and then report to the town.”
