Wednesday, January 4, 2017

FORUMS ON NEW DRAFT GENERAL PLAN BEGIN JANUARY 25

The Sherborn Planning Board invites all residents to the first of a series of public forums on the new draft General Plan for the Town. This forum will focus on the Natural Resource and Open Space goals of the General Plan. As these goals are also part of the draft Open Space and Recreation Plan, this forum is co-sponsored by the Open Space Committee.
The forum is a step in the Planning Board's process of producing a new General Plan for the Town, the first since 2001. State law requires that the Planning Board of each town must adopt a comprehensive Plan to provide a basis for decision-making regarding the long-term development of the town. The current Sherborn Planning Board is committed to producing a General Plan that provides a shared vision of Sherborn's future, including preservation of the Town's most valued assets as well as needed improvements.  The Plan seeks to define broad goals for the coming years and decades and to provide clear recommendations, practical strategies and specific actions to fulfill those goals. 
From the start, the Planning Board has sought to make the process as inclusive and transparent as possible. It began in 2014 with a town-wide survey, followed by formation of volunteer citizen "working groups" who worked for many months to produce draft sections of the Plan. Over the past several months these drafts have been reviewed and revised by the Planning Board with input from many Town Boards and Committees.  So far, dozens of Town residents have taken an active role in the General Plan process.

While the writing and editing process is ongoing, sections of the draft General Plan are being presented to all interested residents in a series of public forums. The first will be held on Wednesday, January 25th at 7:00 PM at the Sherborn Town Hall.  It will be focused on Goals concerning Sherborn's Natural Resources and Open Space. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. 

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