djensen, Author at Barrett Planning Group LLC

Town of Longmeadow Climate Resilient Long-Range Plan

Posted on March 31, 2025April 15, 2025 by djensen

Barrett Planning Group led the planning process for the Town of Longmeadow’s Climate Resilient Long-Range Plan (LRP). This 15-month project culminated in a visionary blueprint for Longmeadow’s development over the next ten to fifteen years.

Working with Longmeadow’s planning staff and the Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC), with assistance from BETA Group and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, our team built on existing initiatives and studies while integrating new and innovative ideas for managing growth and change. The project involved extensive engagement with people from all walks of life in the community. Public participation was critical in developing this plan. We led numerous stakeholder interviews, designed and led community meetings, supported the Long-Range Plan Committee, and conducted a public survey, all of which promoted community dialogue and captured many perspectives.

We began with a qualitative analysis phase of the core components of a master plan—land use, transportation, natural resources, open space, housing, economic development, and community services. Longmeadow, however, took its Long-Range Plan beyond these core factors. The Town’s innovative approach identified sustainability, equity, and age-friendliness as key community planning themes. We incorporated them throughout the plan.

Sustainability – The Long-Range Plan focused on creating a community ready to withstand and adapt to climate conditions. It includes formal and informal measures that Town government, businesses, and residents can take to reduce the community’s carbon footprint. Together with our team members from BETA Group, we produced a long-range plan that analyzes Longmeadow’s capital improvements planning process and promotes a new approach with investments in climate change mitigation and resilience in mind.

Equity – We researched and discovered “hidden communities” in Longmeadow – populations not widely recognized, living or working outside mainstream Longmeadow with special needs for outreach and engagement. This involved working with the town’s public safety and school officials to identify and reach non-residents working in Longmeadow or otherwise having ties to the town, including those experiencing homelessness, people with Limited English Proficiency, and others, in order to plan for effective communications with them in the event of a natural hazard. The Hidden Communities Analysis points to ways the Town can proactively invest in welcoming, engaging, and supporting people of all ages, incomes, and abilities.

Age-Friendliness—We helped Longmeadow’s Age-Friendly Task Force integrate an Age-Friendly action plan into the Long-Range Plan. Pioneer Valley Planning Commission also worked with us on this component.

The final plan includes policies and priorities for climate resilience, social equity, development and land use, municipal services, public health, education, housing, and other quality-of-life issues. It provides a detailed look at equity barriers in Longmeadow’s zoning and other bylaws and regulations. The Longmeadow Planning Board unanimously adopted the Climate Resilient Long-Range Plan in June 2024.

In December 2024, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-MA) honored the town’s Climate Resilient Long-Range Plan with the 2024 Best Small-Town Planning Project Award. We’re excited to share that the recognition has now gone national! In March 2025, the plan took home the 2025 Vernon Deines Honor Award at the APA Small Town and Rural Planning (STaR) Division Awards Ceremony—celebrating it as an outstanding plan for a small town or rural community. We’re so proud to see this important work continuing to get the spotlight it deserves!

Laurel A. Mire: UEP Thesis Award Winner, 2024

Posted on February 3, 2025March 25, 2025 by djensen

Report: Vineyard zoning inadequate to meet housing demand

Posted on January 27, 2025March 25, 2025 by djensen

Community Development Partnership

Posted on January 14, 2025March 25, 2025 by djensen

The Cape and Islands region struggles to provide a range of housing options and a stable year-round housing supply. Market demand for seasonal/vacation homes and the proliferation of short-term rentals make it difficult for the Cape’s year-round workforce to find decent, affordable housing. Several towns in the region began to consider creating a program similar to one operating in Vail, Colorado, which buys year-round housing deed restrictions on existing housing to prevent them from becoming vacation homes in the future. To understand how year-round deed restriction programs work and whether they can benefit Cape Cod, Community Development Partnership (CDP), a non-profit community development corporation, asked Barrett Planning Group to evaluate the feasibility of implementing one in the eight towns that comprise Lower and Outer Cape Cod (Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, Brewster, Harwich, and Chatham.) We compiled our findings and the scenarios we considered into a comprehensive report for presentation to CDP’s Housing Committee.

Case Studies

We did extensive research into other year-round deed restriction programs, focusing on implementation, funding, and program administration. Our staff interviewed representatives from existing programs and scrutinized publicly available data to identify best practices, potential funding streams, legal implications, and program operating costs.

Feasibility and Findings:

Given market trends on Cape Cod and “lessons learned” from other programs, we developed five scenarios tailored to the conditions in the Lower and Outer Cape towns. Key considerations included residency requirements, resale caps, and incentives for developers. We also modeled alternative structures for a program that works with new residential development to illustrate other ways that deed restrictions can be used to create year-round housing stock. Each model considered the price and impact on the community alongside comparisons to available market options.

Town of Amherst receives public input for its Housing Production Plan

Posted on January 13, 2025January 13, 2025 by djensen

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Chelsea, MA

Posted on January 10, 2025March 28, 2025 by djensen

We work with clients to gain a deep understanding of their challenges, needs, and opportunities and help them be strong, just, and sustainable communities. When a client engages us for additional projects, it signifies a successful partnership and indicates mutual respect. We are proud of our work with the City of Chelsea on three recent projects, all of which exemplify our commitment to them and our ability to deliver tailored solutions.

MBTA Community Zoning
Chelsea is one of 177 communities that must comply with the MBTA Communities Law, which was enacted in 2021 and implemented gradually under guidelines issued by a state agency. The law requires these communities to adopt permissive zoning for multi-family housing near train stations, city centers, or other appropriate locations. The point is to create more housing close to public transit and in walkable neighborhoods.

Working with Chelsea city staff, our team wrote the zoning ordinance to comply with MBTA Communities guidelines. We used Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping work and parcel-by-parcel analysis to ensure the new zoning would meet density and feasibility requirements. Chelsea’s city council adopted the zoning in December 2023, thereby meeting the deadline for “rapid transit” communities. The state has approved the zoning and determined that Chelsea complies with the new law.

Urban Renewal Plan

Working under an agreement with the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP)’s Complete Neighborhoods Program, our firm is working with Chelsea to amend its decades-old Urban Renewal Plan (URP) for West Chelsea. The original plan, written in 1998, no longer reflects the City’s needs, particularly since the arrival of transit service from the Silver and Commuter Lines. We have worked closely with City leaders to craft an amended URP to support residential and mixed-use revitalization near transit while also aligning with the MBTA Communities Law.

Strategic Housing Plan

Located just across the Mystic River from Boston, Chelsea is easily accessible to Boston. It became even more accessible once Silver Line and Commuter Rail service opened in West Chelsea in the past few years. That accessibility has catapulted Chelsea’s appeal and opened the City to new market-rate housing development. Recognizing the risk of economic displacement for Chelsea’s low-income residents, City leaders asked us to update their strategic housing plan (which Judi Barrett led in 2016-2017 while employed at another firm). Among other priorities, the Housing & Community Development Department hopes to focus on ways to preserve “naturally occurring affordable housing” (NOAH) and opportunities to create new affordable housing as well.

We are proud of our ongoing partnership with the City of Chelsea to address their community planning needs and create a more resilient housing strategy for future decades.

Brewster, Massachusetts

Posted on January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by djensen

Spring Rock Village, Millstone Road

The Town of Brewster hired Barrett Planning Group to lead a visioning process for developing affordable housing on Town-owned land on Millstone Road. Through interviews with stakeholders, three interactive community meetings, and online surveys, we created multiple ways for the public to learn about the site and share ideas about creating affordable housing. Ultimately, the Town used our work and a feasibility study by Bohler Engineering to prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find a qualified developer.

The first two community meetings provided residents with background on the property’s history and existing conditions. We offered a variety of interactive tools, including question boards, a group mapping charette, and a visual preference survey. From these engagement efforts, Bohler Engineering prepared three site concepts and presented them at our third and final community meeting. Participants voted on a preferred design. The community’s input and our engagement report formed the basis for the Town’s 2021 RFP.

The winning proposal from Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) incorporated many of the community’s priorities, such as clustering buildings on the site to reduce land disturbance. After the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a comprehensive permit for the 45-unit Spring Rock Village rental development in June 2023, the developers secured the funding required to build the new homes.

Brewster has consistently taken a proactive approach to engaging residents in a variety of planning and public policy issues. As a result, the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) has recognized Brewster for numerous achievements in communications, community services, and public engagement. After the Millstone Road project, we continued to work with Brewster to update the Town’s Housing Production Plan in 2022 and a multifamily and mixed-use zoning study.

Martha’s Vineyard Commission

Posted on January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by djensen

Martha’s Vineyard is home to six towns, each with locally created and adopted land development policies. However, each town’s decisions affect housing all over the island. The towns on Martha’s Vineyard also contend with housing problems unique to seasonal communities, such as demand for short-term rentals, timeshares, and seasonal homes, all of which help to drive housing costs out of reach for year-round residents. There is also not enough housing for seasonal workers. Simply put, there is not enough supply to accommodate the demands of all the markets vying for a place to live on Martha’s Vineyard.

Against this backdrop, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) hired Barrett Planning Group to analyze island-wide zoning barriers to affordable housing, prepare town-by-town recommendations, and offer advice for a series of model bylaws. The purpose of this project was to highlight ways that all six towns can work together to increase the supply of affordable and attainable housing on Martha’s Vineyard. Our charge consisted of the following key tasks:

Analyze existing zoning for regulations that affect housing development;
Identify island-wide trends in affordable housing policies and regulations;
Recommend zoning amendments; and
Advise the MVC about the content for model bylaws to increase the types and overall supply of housing on the island.

We reviewed and analyzed all six zoning bylaws and other development regulations and consulted with local and regional stakeholders. Through our own independent zoning reviews and insights gathered from interviews, we focused on thirteen topics, including removing barriers, creating specific incentives, and preserving existing housing. We also wanted to understand the housing-friendly policies that already work in these communities, policies that could be improved, technical problems in zoning (such as lack of clarity, inconsistency, or obsolete provisions), and conflicts with fair housing. We found that overall, the towns on Martha’s Vineyard lacked effective policies for creating and preserving affordable housing. In addition, we found significant differences from town to town in housing terms and definitions. These individual distinctions make it difficult to have larger, regional conversations about housing affordability and combat what has become a significant island-wide economic problem. To help MVC and the towns address these challenges, we made specific recommendations to institute common terminology and provide for a wider range of housing types with fewer permitting obstacles. MVC will continue to work toward coordinating island-wide regulatory updates.

Chapter 40B Technical Assistance

Posted on October 15, 2024October 15, 2024 by djensen

Barrett Planning Group has provided Chapter 40B training and technical assistance services, mainly for Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), since 2005. We help Zoning Boards of Appeal through the permitting process, coordinating peer review services, facilitating work session meetings with applicants and municipal staff, providing procedural advice, and drafting comprehensive permit decisions in conjunction with the city solicitor or town attorney. We have also coached developers on how to make the permitting process amicable and productive.

In 2017, Judi Barrett updated the Chapter 40B Handbook for MHP, and she has adapted that training for other municipal boards, commissions, and staff for the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC).

Technical Assistance & Training Engagements for Boards of Appeal and Other Local Officials (Representative Sample)

City of Haverhill
City of Medford
City of Newton
City of Waltham
Town of Abington
Town of Acton
Town of Andover
Town of Bellingham
Town of Belmont
Town of Brewster
Town of Brookline
Town of Carver
Town of Chelmsford
Town of Clinton
Town of Cohasset
Town of Dartmouth
Town of Dennis
Town of Dover
Town of Falmouth
Town of Foxborough
Town of Grafton
Town of Holden
Town of Hopkinton

Town of Medfield
Town of Merrimac
Town of Millbury
Town of Milton
Town of Natick
Town of Needham
Town of Norfolk
Town of Northborough
Town of North Reading
Town of Norton
Town of Pelham
Town of Rockland
Town of Salisbury
Town of Sandwich
Town of Shrewsbury
Town of Sturbridge
Town of Walpole
Town of Wellesley
Town of Wellfleet
Town of Wenham
Town of Wilmington
Town of Winchendon
Town of Wrentham

Hopedale Master Plan

Posted on October 15, 2024October 15, 2024 by djensen

In the quaint town of Hopedale, located in southern Worcester County, the community embarked on a significant project to shape its future by updating its Master Plan. To guide this effort, the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) enlisted the expertise of Barrett Planning Group, which collaborated closely with town officials and the Hopedale Master Plan Committee.

At the heart of this plan was the historic Draper Mill site, once a bustling industrial complex and now a key focus as it underwent demolition during the planning process. The conversation surrounding the mill’s transformation fueled much of the community’s vision for Hopedale’s future. After months of planning and collaboration, the Master Plan was successfully adopted by the Hopedale Planning Board, marking a pivotal moment for the town’s development.

Author: djensen