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PROJECT ABSTRACT
Lead Agency/Consortium Member: Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), Franklin County, Massachusetts; 425 Main Street, Greenfield, MA; 413-774-1194 x105; 413-774-1195 (fax).
Consortium Members/ Subrecipients: Community Action, Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), North Quabbin Community Coalition (NQCC), Franklin County Community Development Corporation (FCCDC), Greenfield, Montague, Orange and Deerfield.
Project Partners: Franklin County towns, Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA), Greenfield Community College, Franklin-Hampshire Regional Employment Board, RiverCulture, Communities Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), Franklin County Home Care, Franklin Regional Planning Board, and Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.
Grant Funding: $425,000 Category 1 Funding for Smaller Regions.
Match: $171,863 provided by Consortium Members.
The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), in collaboration with its Consortium Members and Project Partners (the "Steering Committee") will conduct a comprehensive planning process to create a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development. This multi-year project has the following objectives which will identify short and long term policies and projects that will support sustainable development and redevelopment.
- Assess the needs of the region, particularly disadvantaged populations, with respect to housing, transportation, economic development, energy conservation, infrastructure (water, sewer, telecommunications), and natural and cultural resources utilizing a broad based public participation process.
- Identify impediments to fair housing and strategies to increase jobs with living wages.
- Identify suitable locations for new development and redevelopment and critical resources requiring protection such as water recharge areas for drinking water supplies and prime farmland for food production.
- Identify and prioritize infrastructure improvements needed to support sustainable development patterns.
- Identify strategies to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Create a vision, goals and strategies that will be incorporated into a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development (RPSD) for Franklin County based on a participatory planning process and the synthesis of existing regional plans for housing, transportation, clean energy, watershed/open space, and economic development.
- Create and install a public art display to illustrate the principles of sustainability as they apply to Franklin County and build public awareness about the vision and goals of the RPSD.
- Demonstrate how the RPSD can guide sustainable planning and implementation activities at the local level where land use regulations govern growth by conducting projects in each of the employment centers.
- Build capacity at the regional and local level and identify specific projects which Consortium Members can collaborate on.
Franklin County is the most rural area in Massachusetts and one of the poorest regions of the state. The total population of the region is 71,778 (according to 2009 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau) and includes 26 communities, only three of which have populations over 5,000. This project includes the region’s largest towns which are employment centers: Greenfield (17,537 pop.), Montague (8,175 pop.), Orange (7,699 pop.), and Deerfield (4,692 pop.). The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), using 2000 U.S. Census data updated by HUD in 2007, reported that eight towns in Franklin County had low and moderate income populations that exceeded 50% of their total populations. The county as a whole had a low and moderate income population of 47.2%. The region, although
economically distressed, possesses a rich abundance of natural and cultural resources and has historic town centers with compact mixed use development patterns that could be revitalized to support sustainable development. The region also has a very limited amount of residential sprawl and commercial strip development. This provides Franklin County with the opportunity to demonstrate how strategic investments in infrastructure based on the RPSD and adoption of smart growth land use regulations at the local level can result in sustainable development patterns.
The region is a leader in addressing energy use and climate change and has created a regional plan for clean energy for Franklin County in collaboration with our neighboring Regional Planning Agency. As a result, many communities in Franklin County are actively working to increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase renewable energy generation and grow the green business sector of their economy. The region is also a leader in addressing Brownfields, which has resulted in the assessment or clean-up of 42 sites in 15 towns over the last ten years under a regional program sponsored by the EPA. This program prioritizes work in low income and distressed neighborhoods to eliminate blight, protect public health, and reuse buildings and sites to create jobs and housing.
Local Master Plan for Sustainable Development – Town of Greenfield
Using the goals and recommendations of the Regional Plan for Sustainable Development as a
framework, the Town of Greenfield will develop a Master Plan for Sustainable Development
addressing housing, transportation, energy, economic development, natural and cultural resources, and
land use and infrastructure. The Town of Greenfield is one of the first communities in the
Commonwealth to become a designated “Green Community” by the State of Massachusetts because of its commitment to increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase the
supply of renewable energy across all sectors. The Town will create a Master Plan for Sustainable
Development to guide growth and infrastructure investments. This will provide an excellent
opportunity to demonstrate how the regional plan can be applied at the local level to guide municipal
land use regulations and investment decisions in infrastructure. The Town will utilize the RPSD for
benchmarks and timelines to coordinate with the region when possible. The major activities are as
follows:
- Create a Master Planning Committee with broad participation to oversee the process of creating a Local Master Plan for Sustainable Development. The Planning Board and Director of Planning & Development will lead the process.
- Prepare a Scope of Work, issue a Request for Proposals, and hire a Planning Consultant in accordance with State and Federal procurement laws. The Request for Proposals will require that the Planning Consultant place a strong emphasis on public participation throughout the development of the Local Master Plan for Sustainable Development, particularly with respect to disadvantaged populations that may not typically participate in planning activities undertaken by the Town.
- Develop and distribute a Community-wide survey to identify key issues to address in the Master Plan.
- Hold eight (8) meetings of the Master Planning Committee to provide input and oversee the development of a Local Master Plan for Sustainable Development.
- Hold two (2) community-wide meetings during the Master Planning process to receive input on the plan and its recommendations.
- Complete a Master Plan for Sustainable Development.
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