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Williamstown Board Sets Talk on DevelopmentStaff reports
iBerkshires
11:11AM / Monday, July 07, 2008
WILLIAMSTOWN — The newly elected Planning Board will offer a presentation on development prospect in town at its Tuesday meeting.
Patrick Dunlavey, who was appointed to the board last year and who ran unopposed for the one-year seat in May, will give a illustrated talk on the town's Build Out Analysis.
The Planning Board, long an appointed board, became an elected one beginning this year. The change was approved at last year's town meeting. The board has recently moved from one meeting a month to two to allow more time for developing planning strategies.
The build-out report was done by the University of Massachusetts in 1998. It was frequently referred to during the election campaign. Dunlavey, a geographer and cartographer, said in a press release that the report has frequently been quoted in discussions about growth in Williamstown, yet little attempt has been made to understand the data and methods behind its conclusions, or to place them in context.
In "How scarce is developable land? — an Imperative for Smart Growth," Dunlavey said he will explore in depth parts of the report and will use maps to illustrate constraints against growth and its effects. He said the maps reveal some significant flaws in the 1998 report.
Dunlavey said that despite the considerable amount of theoretically developable land, the amount that is likely to actually be developed in the future is not large.
The reasons, he said, are more complicated, and more interesting, than most people think.
The talk will conclude with a discussion about the relationship of limited prospects for expansive growth on the tax base. Dunlavey said growth within the existing developed footprint of town is where the priorities should be headed.
The talk will be presented on Tuesday, July 8, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, immediately following regular business. It will be able to be viewed live on WilliNet, Channel 17 as well. A copy of the slideshow and paper will be available for download after July 8 by going to www.williamstown.net and clicking on the Planning Board link. |
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| And the Adams planning board has set a similar meeting for when? Do we still have a planning board? | | from: Amused | on: 07-07-2008 12:00AM
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