Master Plan Committee

Millbury’s 2019 Master Plan update is complete! 

During the summer of 2019, the Millbury Planning Board adopted the 2019 Town of Millbury Comprehensive Master Plan and its reader-friendly companion document, the Executive Summary.  

What is a Master Plan and why does Millbury need one?

The Master Plan sets forth a vision for Millbury’s future physical development and includes a road map for achieving that vision.  Through the creation of a community profile, the Master Plan yields a comprehensive understanding of present conditions, needs, long-term challenges and opportunities, and changes that may occur over time.  If used appropriately, it will guide future decisions and remind local leaders of the Town’s priorities.   Since municipalities with a current Master Plan have an edge in securing a variety of state and federal grants, it is likely that Millbury’s Master Plan will pay for itself within a couple of years.

Phase I:  Listening to the People

Key to the success of any planning endeavor is public participation.   It was essential that the Master Plan Committee understood exactly what you, the residents and business community, wanted for Millbury.   To that end, the Master Plan Committee launched Phase I of the Master Planning process by hiring a consultant, Community Circle, to facilitate a series of workshops aimed at gathering your thoughts, impressions and hopes for Millbury.    

A variety of forums and two written surveys provided a vehicle for residents and business owners to provide their input.  In the winter of 2016, residents were invited to a town-wide public forum to discuss their concerns and desires for the future of Millbury.  Smaller visioning sessions were held with senior citizens and high school students. Downtown business owners were asked to participate in an on-line survey.   In March 2018, a comprehensive Master Plan survey was distributed to 5,082 Millbury households.   Consisting of 25 questions, the survey included a variety of questions asking what respondents think about our community, what should be preserved, what needs improvement, and what might be missing.   The Committee was thrilled with the 19% response rate.   

Input from the community forums, business survey, comprehensive resident survey, and Master Plan Committee combined to create a vision and goals aimed at achieving the vision.  The vision and goals constituted the foundation upon which the Master Plan’s recommendations were built. 

Phase 2:  The Plan

A consultant team led by BSC Group, Inc. was hired to guide us through Phase 2 of the Master Planning process.   Phase 2 focused on what the community “has” in the form of an inventory and assessment of existing conditions.   These were examined in terms of: housing, economic development, natural, cultural and historic resources, open space and recreation, traffic and circulation, land use, demographics, public facilities and services.  Finally, an implementation plan was developed that outlines the steps necessary to take us from where we are in terms of existing resources (as described in the inventory) to where we want to go (as described in the vision and set of goals developed in Phase I).  The implementation plan is comprised of recommendations/strategies, key responsible parties, possible partners, needed policy changes, and potential funding sources for implementation. 

Phase 3:  Implementation

The final and most crucial phase of this planning process is implementation.  Over the next ten years, the Department of Planning & Development will continue to work with municipal departments, boards, commissions, and committees as together we strive to turn vision into reality. 

For more information contact Laurie Connors, Director of Planning & Development at 508-865-4754 or lconnors@townofmillbury.net.