2000-06-12 Managing Growth Development and Open Space Working Group.pdf

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think that appropriate development can lend itself to regional solutions to traffic and environmental quality, such as redevelopment conducive to transit use, which creates greater opportunity and incentive for the development of regional transit. Our vision and goals are characterized by qualified optimism that the town can prevent unwanted development and can promote desired development. This is not to say that our group's position should be characterized as "pro-development." There has been much concern expressed in our discussions about the kind of new development that has occurred in town over the last decade. Few examples exist of new development which is widely viewed to have a positive effect on the town. The particular phenomena of"tear-downs" and "mansionization" are generally viewed as having a negative impact on neighborhoods and being threatening to the town character. It is with only guarded optimism that our group embraces the idea of managed growth. Our group's support for new development is first of all imited: it must directly address community needs and priorities. New development projects should be for the following purposes: • Providing senior housing, subsidized affordable housing, or other specified alternative housing options; • Supporting and strengthening the economic viability and vitality of the town center and satellite centers; • Supporting the formation of one or more higher density neighborhoods along public transportation routes as part of a long-range effort to reduce automobile dependency. Secondly, our support for new development is conditional: it must be carried on within the constraints defined by our goals for open space preservation, limiting traffic congestion, improving environmental quality, and retaining town character (even though that character may be difficult to precisely define). Furthermore, given our strong desire to protect open space, we propose that most new development be redevelopment within the existing town build-out and infrastructure, and that new development on the town's remaining vacant land be limited according to the constraints and for the purposes outlined above. The means to manage new development successfully will be through town zoning by-laws. We urge the town to make changes necessary in current zoning and regulatory structures to prevent the kind of development that we don't want, and to encourage desired development. Reaching agreement that "managed growth" is preferable to "zero growth"was fairly easy, but the real choices that the town will face regarding what is appropriate development are full of potential conflict and complexity. Critical choices include the following: • Open space. How much of the town's remaining vacant land should be protected from development? Our group calls for the town to protect much of the town's vacant land, but Managing Growth-7