Land Use Planning & Zoning
Open Space and Recreation Planning
According to recent land use data, Franklin County is 70% forested.
Project Overview
An Open Space and Recreation Plan identifies the most important ecological, historical, scenic, and recreational resources in town based on a strong public participation process. The plan also identifies the most appropriate actions for a town to take to protect or enhance these resources. The contents of an Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) are based on state requirements. Once approved by the state’s Division of Conservation Services, the plan enables a town to apply for competitive state grants for open space protection and recreational facility development as well as many other state programs. The plans must be updated every five years in order to maintain eligibility for state grant programs. The process of developing or updating a plan usually takes 12 to 18 months for a town Open Space and Recreation Planning committee. The planning process typically begins with a community survey that is used to find out what people care about in relation to open space, rural character, land use, and recreation. The survey results help the committee develop goals and objectives for the Open Space & Recreation Plan. The Open Space and Recreation Planning committee learns about the town’s resources and land use patterns as well as its needs and desires. This understanding is reflected in the chapters of the plan, the Geographic Information System maps, and in the action plan itself. Many communities take their completed plans to Town Meeting for approval and establish standing Open Space Committees to implement their plan.
Current Activities
Since 2000, FRCOG staff have worked closely with many Franklin County towns to assist them in the development of their Open Space and Recreation Plans with funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) and other sources. FRCOG staff have worked with the following towns to complete plans that have been approved by the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services: Orange, Wendell, Erving, Warwick, Montague, Leyden, Colrain, Charlemont, Shelburne, Buckland, Whatley, Gill, Deerfield, and Northfield. Equipped with their state-approved plan, several towns have been awarded grants through the Self Help (now LAND) and the Urban Self Help (now PARC) programs, which provide funds for open space acquisition and recreation facility maintenance and development. For example, as a result of this effort, the Town of Northfield received a Self Help grant to protect a parcel of wooded land within their “greenway corridor” and the Town of Orange received an Urban Self Help grant to create a Riverfront Park. In addition, the following towns established their own local Open Space Committee to implement their town’s plan: Wendell, Warwick, Leyden, Colrain, and Shelburne.
NEW! A draft of the Erving Open Space and Recreation Plan is available for review and public comment. The Draft chapters are listed below:
Section 4: Environmental Inventory & Analysis
Section 5: Inventory of Lands of Conservation & Recreation Interest
Section 9: Seven-Year Action Plan
For more information or to provide comments, please contact Megan Rhodes, Transportation and Land Use Planner, at (413) 774-1194 ext. 110 or at mrhodes@frcog.org.
Future Plans
For 2010, FRCOG staff plan are working with the towns of Wendell, Montague, and Leyden to update their Open Space and Recreation Plans. They are also finalizing plans for Erving and Warwick.
This page was last updated on 12/07/2009 .