CHESTERFIELD — It’s time for residents to think about the future as the town contemplates changes to its 30-year-old master plan.
The Planning Board has organized three public input sessions in the coming months to discuss what the master plan might look like, and members are calling for ideas from residents.
Updates to the master plan were identified as a top priority in the Town’s 2025 Open Space and Recreation Plan, and according to Sarah Hamilton, acting chair of the Planning Board, the town needs to keep up with changing times.
“Chesterfield residents cherish (the town’s) extraordinary natural resources and rural character,” she said. “Yet like many small towns, Chesterfield faces pressures for housing development, funding for schools and town facilities, and continued tax pressures.”
Among evolutions in town is also a decrease in farming, according to Hamilton.
“Active farms have decreased significantly since the town’s last Master Plan in 2003,” she said.
With its partner, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Planning Board members will review results of a recent survey of residents’ priorities and facilitate small group discussions to begin to set land use priorities for housing, transportation, and economic development.
The first of these sessions will take place on Sep. 27 from 10 a.m., followed by a meeting on Oct. 23 is 6:30 p.m., and on Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
All sessions will be held in the Community Center at 400 Main Road and are anticipated to last two hours. Food and beverages will be provided at the forums, along with child care during the November and December meetings.
These meetings are supported by funding from the town and the commonwealth’s District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) program.
PVPC acquired $10,000 in DLTA grants, which offers personnel, expertise, and resources to move forward with the master plan process rather than a cash grant.
