OVERLAY PLANNING - PLAN FORWARD
I was recently approached by a resident as I was helping a farmer friend with Christmas trees. He began by remarking on my performance as a selectman and went on to ask me about the overlay planning. This person was still confused about the overlay and much to my surprise, remarked that if I was comfortable with it, he would be, too. That was a nice compliment, but I would prefer that he reached a conclusion on his own. I want people to form an educated opinion on this. It’s not any one person’s overlay plan, it’s ours. My job is to help facilitate the planning so that the Town can vote on it. As the conversation continued, I tried to summarize why I think it is a good idea.
Growth is inevitable, but we have to plan for it. We have seen the Common grow in a bit of a haphazard way and most people are not satisfied with what has happened. We have seen pressure to rezone other areas in order to singularly meet the needs of a landowner. That’s not community planning. We’ve seen underutilization of some properties and that stagnates our local economy and consequently the tax base that we need to fuel our community. We’ve heard from some about “sure cure” high cost remedies like starting with a multi-million dollar sewer system. But wait! What is it we want to sewer? Who does that serve? Is there a “net” gain? Yes there are still issues to be worked out.
Economic development is not a goal which is instantly achieved. We have seen some fast-track action in other communities which demoralize the community character. It doesn’t have to be that way and that is why I support overlay planning. To date, our dialog has produced many common visions and goals and while they may not be the type of thing that developers dream of, I believe they will ultimately reflect a balance; the proverbial win/win.
I think it is safe to say that doing nothing, hoping things stay the same, is neither possible or desirable. We have had a few surprises that way, which is the point. Who thought we would end up with a large car dealership? Instead of reeling back in shock when something like that happens, let’s commit to “forward” planning. To me, overlay planning is doing just that.
So, from that conversation, one thing remains clear. We have yet to produce a level of understanding of this planning process that will pass muster with the townspeople. So, those involved in the planning must persevere and continue, planning as openly as possible. I urge citizens to take an interest, be involved. The net product will not be that of the Planning Board, Selectmen or developer visions, it will be yours, it will be ours, it will be Littleton’s. Let’s plan forward, then when we look back we might like what we see.
Growth is inevitable, but we have to plan for it. We have seen the Common grow in a bit of a haphazard way and most people are not satisfied with what has happened. We have seen pressure to rezone other areas in order to singularly meet the needs of a landowner. That’s not community planning. We’ve seen underutilization of some properties and that stagnates our local economy and consequently the tax base that we need to fuel our community. We’ve heard from some about “sure cure” high cost remedies like starting with a multi-million dollar sewer system. But wait! What is it we want to sewer? Who does that serve? Is there a “net” gain? Yes there are still issues to be worked out.
Economic development is not a goal which is instantly achieved. We have seen some fast-track action in other communities which demoralize the community character. It doesn’t have to be that way and that is why I support overlay planning. To date, our dialog has produced many common visions and goals and while they may not be the type of thing that developers dream of, I believe they will ultimately reflect a balance; the proverbial win/win.
I think it is safe to say that doing nothing, hoping things stay the same, is neither possible or desirable. We have had a few surprises that way, which is the point. Who thought we would end up with a large car dealership? Instead of reeling back in shock when something like that happens, let’s commit to “forward” planning. To me, overlay planning is doing just that.
So, from that conversation, one thing remains clear. We have yet to produce a level of understanding of this planning process that will pass muster with the townspeople. So, those involved in the planning must persevere and continue, planning as openly as possible. I urge citizens to take an interest, be involved. The net product will not be that of the Planning Board, Selectmen or developer visions, it will be yours, it will be ours, it will be Littleton’s. Let’s plan forward, then when we look back we might like what we see.
posted by Alex McCurdy at
6:53 AM
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