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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-2017 ATM Article 7: Appropriate for Updating the Town's Comprehensive Plan Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $302,000 GF Approve (9-0) The Lexington Comprehensive Plan is a master planning document that provides a broad statement of collec- tive intent about the kind of town that residents desire with respect to transportation, utilities, land use, recrea- tion, and housing. Comprehensive plans typically cover a time horizon of 10 to 20 years. Under Massachu- setts General Law, the Comprehensive Plan becomes official Town policy upon adoption by the municipal Planning Board. The last Comprehensive Plan for Lexington was completed in 2002 and addressed Land Use,Natural and Cul- tural Resources, Housing, and Economic Development. The transportation element was completed in 2003. Each element begins with a discussion of background information that is followed by goals and objectives, and an agenda of actions to be taken or explored. The 2002-2003 comprehensive plan cost the Town approx- imately $140,000. In the past 15 years, since the publication of the 2002-2003 Comprehensive Plan, the Town of Lexington has changed substantially in terms of population, housing, transportation, etc. In recent years, certain elements have been individually updated through the 2014 Housing Production Plan and the Open Space and Recrea- tion Plan 2015 Update, but there has not been a broad discussion and comprehensive approach for a shared or unified vision of how the Town should be developed physically or where the community is heading. As resources tighten, the community needs to achieve town-wide consensus while optimizing fiscal spending through good coordination and timely government action. A new Comprehensive Plan will enable our com- munity to exercise discipline as it wisely and constructively embraces change. The Planning Department and the Planning Board have requested $302,000 to fund an update to the Compre- hensive Plan. This is expected to take up to 3 years to complete. The planned horizon for the Comprehensive Plan is the year 2030. A Comprehensive Plan update is typically guided by a volunteer advisory committee, including representa- tives from a cross-section of neighborhoods, ages, and demographic groups. The process will involve con- sultants with professional expertise in the various elements and experience in public engagement, outreach, and input. The Comprehensive Plan update project will be done in 2 phases/parts: • Part 1 (estimated at $117,000, and expected to take 12 to 18 months) includes a Community Educa- tion and Engagement Plan,Project Meetings, and Initial Data Gathering and Analysis. • Part 2 (estimated at $160,000, and expected to take 12 to 18 months) includes the drafting and finali- zation of vision, goals, and implementation plans for Land Use, Housing, Economic Development, Natural, Cultural & Historic Resources & Open Space, Public Service and Facilities, and Transporta- tion. There is also a contingency budget of approximately 10% of the estimated total costs for Parts 1 and 2, which brings the total request to $302,000. In Parts 1 and 2, project work that requires consulting services will be separately bid, so that the most appro- priate private-sector expertise in separate subject areas can be procured. The Planning Office will serve as the primary Town contact to any consultants throughout the master planning process. The Committee recommends approval of this article (9-0). 23