HomeMy WebLinkAboutLexington 2020 Vision Steering Committee charge Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
of the
Status Report of the Planning Process
Lexington 2020
January 2001
This Executive Summary presents a brief overviex of the more detailed information found in Volume I of
this report The Executive Summar} gives the reader a general sense of what the Lexington 2020 Planning
Process has accomplished to-date, the process by which the planning was conducted, and the upcoming
next steps The Lexington 2020 process is an ongoing, dynamic one, tins E.xecutne Summon. and
accompam ing I olume I reflect the state of the process as of January 2001
The Lexington 2020 Vision Steering Committee was created by the Lexington Board of
Selectmen. in consultation with the School Committee and the Planning Board to
undertake the Lexington 2020 visioning and strategic planning process Since Spring
1999, the Steering Committee has been guiding and managing the Lexington 2020
process on behalf of the community
This strategic planning effort builds on a long and important history, of past initiate\es
These initiatives - focus groups community conversations, and a survey - were crucial
building blocks for future planning efforts In 1998. an Initiating Committee de\eloped a
methodology and detailed step-by-step description of the strategic planning process that
made sense for Lexington The Initiating Committee evolved into the Steering
Committee with the charge to "make the process w ork
The Steering Committee envisioned a strategic planning process that on a sustained
basis would engage a wide spectrum of the community in an organized series of
discussions to create and implement a vision of the town's future The vision should
emphasize that what one does today affects the future The strategic plan should be \aell-
grounded in shared goals and clarity of purpose about the key issues affecting the town
The Steering Committee believes that the strategic plan should be helpful in creating a
framework that establishes strategic planning as a regular civic activity, to enhance
municipal decision-making now and in the future.
Overvie%% of the Process
To launch the process, the Steering Committee held a series of four public workshops in
June 1999 to explore the important issues of concern in Lexington. A Fall Forum was
then held in October 1999 to get feedback on specific, focused topics that came out of the
four workshops The most significant aspect of this strategic planning process \\as the
formation, in January 2000, of six Work Groups and a Core Participants Group
composed of Lexington residents who volunteered their time.
Lexington 2020 Vision Report, Volume I