About the Project

The Town of Westborough has embarked on an approximately year-long planning process to update its town-wide Master Plan (the Plan). The Town is planning for an engaging process where residents, businesses owners, and local stakeholders will help shape the ideas and recommendations in the Plan. This process will be carried out in three phases:

A Master Plan:

• Documents and illustrates what a community looks like today and what direction it has decided it wants to go in the future; it includes assessments of existing resources and issues, projections of future conditions and needs, and consideration of collective goals and desires.
• Provides vision, direction, and a defined achievable future by establishing specific goals and strategies for land use; community appearance and design, housing and neighborhoods, jobs and economic vitality, transportation, public services and facilities, natural resource protection; open space and recreation; history, arts and culture, sustainability, public health and regional coordination.
• Covers an approximate time frame of 10 to 15 years; it is assumed that shorter-term reviews will keep it current with the changing needs of the community.
• Is closely integrated with other municipal documents and initiatives.

The Master Plan is NOT a zoning ordinance, a subdivision regulation, a budget, a capital improvement program or other regulatory document. It is meant to provide the framework for the development of these implementation tools.

What is involved in preparing a Master Plan?

• The Advisory Committee will be overseeing the Master Planning process
• Public outreach and meetings
• Data collection and analysis that will ultimately be rolled into the Master Plan document
• Preparation of the chapters of the plan (sometimes called Plan Elements)
• An implementation plan

Information and data are gathered from the prior planning studies, while current views and opinions are being collected through community events where residents are invited to provide their input. Other sources include data provided from government-level resources (for example, the U.S. Census Bureau) and mapping data provided by one of the consulting teams.

What are the focuses of the Westborough Master Plan?

• Land Use and Development Patterns
• Housing
• Economic Development
• Natural, Cultural, and Historic Resources
• Open Space and Recreation
• Public Facilities and Services
• Transportation and Circulation
• Sustainability and Climate Change
• Public Health