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Orange Zoning Recodification

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The Town of Orange received a Community Compact Grant to rewrite their zoning bylaws for clarity and consistency to help facilitate future economic growth and development. Barrett Planning Group teamed up with Bob Mitchell, FAICP, to create a zoning diagnostic document to analyze the bylaw’s weaknesses,
inconsistencies, and missing topics.

Working with Town staff and the Planning Board, our team then made significant edits to the bylaw’s structure, organization, and language, including rearranging sections, redoing the document-wide numbering system, renaming all of the Town’s zoning districts, writing purpose statements for each district, and producing an updated zoning map.

Ahead of the recodification appearing on a Special Town Meeting warrant, our team assisted the Planning Board with stakeholder outreach to inform the public about the proposed changes. The recodified bylaw was subsequently adopted by Town Meeting.

Taunton Consolidated Plan and One-Year Action Plan

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The City of Taunton hired Barrett Planning Group to develop it’s HUD-mandated 2024-2029 Consolidated Plan and One-Year Action Plan. These documents will guide the allocation of the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, as well as HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds received on behalf of the Greater Attleboro-Taunton HOME Consortium (GATHC). Together these federal block grant programs support community development activities within Taunton and affordable housing projects within the GATHC, which includes Taunton and fourteen neighboring communities.

In collaboration with City staff, the in-depth planning process involved outreach to community stakeholders, consultations with representatives of target groups and human services agencies, and an assessment of the community development activities, housing needs, and market conditions. This comprehensive approach allowed us to create a well-researched plan to prioritize funding over the next five years.

The final document delivers an Executive Summary, a Housing and Homeless Needs Assessment, a Housing and Market Analysis, a Five-Year Strategic Plan to address and identify housing and community development needs, an Anti-Poverty Strategy to reduce affordable housing barriers, an update to the current Analysis to Impediments to Fair Housing, and a One-Year Action Plan for the
CDBG and HOME funds to implement the prepared overall strategic plan.

Town of Carlisle Master Plan

Posted on by djensen

In April 2021, the Town of Carlisle hired Barrett Planning Group to help the Master Plan Steering Committee (MPSC) finish the Carlisle Master Plan. The planning process had launched in 2019 with another consultant, but COVID-19 put the entire project on hold. Eventually the MPSC charted a course for reviving the Master Plan and brought us on to help them reach the finish line. For a year, we worked closely with the MPSC to:

  • Update the existing conditions reports that had been prepared pre- COVID-19
  • Work closely with a subcommittee to develop and refine a GIS database with existing land uses and a buildout analysis
  • Finish a vision statement and overarching goals based on five community- identified values
  • Conduct two community forums and a community survey
  • Develop implementation strategies to achieve the plan’s goals
  • Conduct focus groups with key community partners to verify the feasibility and appropriateness of the draft strategies
  • Develop case studies of master plan implementation in similar towns
  • Draft the plan around Carlisle’s five community values, linking them to the master plan elements required by state law (G.L. c. 41, § 81D)
  • Develop an implementation framework for the Town

After publishing the draft Master Plan, the MPSC sponsored a one-month public comment period. We worked with the MPSC to address comments and revise the draft. The Carlisle Planning Board unanimously adopted the final Master Plan in May 2022.

Citizen Planner Training Collaborative Comprehensive Curriculum Revision & Update

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Barrett Planning Group was delighted when the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) hired us to lead a comprehensive update of their curriculum and training materials. With assistance from Horsley Witten Group and Freeman Law Group, we updated, revised, and reformatted the technical assistance bulletins, PowerPoint presentations, and instructor notes for eleven CPTC courses.

  • Roles & Responsibilities of Planning Boards and Zoning Boards of Appeal
  • Introduction to the Zoning Act
  • Special Permits & Variances
  • Introduction to Subdivision Control and ANR
  • Reading a Subdivision Plan
  • Site Plan Review
  • Vested Rights & Nonconforming Uses and Structures
  • Zoning Exemptions
  • Fair, Defensible Land Use Decisions
  • Creating a Master Plan (a course Judi Barrett piloted in 2007) Planning with Community Support

Plymouth Housing and Zoning

Posted on by djensen

In 2023, the Town of Plymouth, NH, hired Barrett to analyze its housing needs and assist with zoning reform to encourage housing development. Funding for the project came from New Hampshire’s Housing Opportunity Grant (HOP) Program, which provides grants to communities interested in updating their land use regulations to increase opportunities for housing production.

The Barrett team was engaged to focus on three core initiatives for Plymouth:

  • Housing needs assessment to review Plymouth’s housing stock, community demographics, economic trends, and other relevant data  
  • Regulatory audit of land use regulations related to housing (zoning, site planning review, subdivision regulations)
  • Zoning amendments consistent with identified community values, housing needs, and regulatory barriers 

Barrett’s research and audit revealed a complex set of issues, particularly in relation to zoning. Land use ordinances that had been modified over time were now inconsistent and unclear. In addition, the long-standing conservative approach to development led to stricter dimensional regulations, substantially limiting opportunities for housing diversity and choice. These gradual changes rendered many properties nonconforming, making even simple building projects (a deck addition, for example) a challenge for many residents.

Led by Judi Barrett, our team proposed significant tactical changes to the Town’s land use regulations – all within the context of a participatory community planning effort co-led by the Town’s Housing Committee. Through interactive public forums, smaller focus groups, surveys, and educational materials, we gained public input and educated the community about the purpose and intent of proposed regulatory amendments.  

The town demonstrated a remarkable show of support for zoning reform. In March 2024, the Planning Board presented a substantial slate of regulatory amendments to the community, and Town Meeting voted to adopt all articles with broad support.

Among the accomplishments achieved, this package of zoning amendments:

  • Reduced the minimum lot size for single family homes, bringing many properties back into conformity with zoning and enabling greater density in future development
  • Created additional categories of housing within the zoning ordinance and reduced barriers to developing smaller multi-unit dwellings in select districts
  • Overhauled the open space residential development ordinance 
  • Provided for the ability to place multiple dwellings on a single lot
  • Reduced permitting barriers for accessory dwelling units
  • Majorly reformed off-street parking requirements

This outstanding feat was made possible by the efforts of the Town’s Housing Committee and Planning Board, Planning Department staff, community, and all involved.

2021 Social Advocacy Project of the Year Award for the City of Quincy

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We are pleased to share that the Needs Assessment and Action Plan for LEP and Disability Communications Access for the City of Quincy received the American Planning Association Massachusetts Chapter’s 2021 Social Advocacy Project of the Year Award.

This award honors a program, project, group, or individual that advanced social justice, inclusion, and fairness for marginalized populations.

From the awards presentation:

The Social Advocacy Award goes to Quincy Needs Assessment and Action Plan. The City of Quincy Needs Assessment and Action Plan: LEP and Disability Communications Access project advanced social justice, inclusion, and fairness for persons with limited English proficiency, and persons with disabilities, in one of the fastest growing and most diverse cities in the greater Boston area.

The City has attempted on more than one occasion to develop a language and communications access plan, but without political support, national dialogue on the topic, and resources, efforts fell flat.

In January 2020, Council President Nina Liang, the City’s first Asian-American to hold that position, the political will and support for a comprehensive approach to communications access for all residents became prioritized. Through the creation of the plan, City staff are now equipped with an all-encompassing strategy to reach those most in need, who have gone previously under-served.

Through extensive outreach and engagement, and data analysis at the neighborhood level, including a verification process to ensure engagement of the most at-risk populations, the City of Quincy and Barrett Planning Group distinguished where resources were lacking, inconsistencies in information, and where resources need to be promoted.

The plan is designed to instill confidence in those with disabilities and non-English speakers, as those who are confident and comfortable have higher participation rates in their local government. The plan is also designed to forward inclusion and fairness, by guiding departments, non-profits, schools, and other stakeholders to create clearer avenues for access, ensuring a clear feedback loop, and strengthening overall compliance.

The City hopes this plan will assist in forming and solidifying relationships with constituents, neighborhoods, schools, libraries, and community groups already championing this work on the ground, collaborating on an ongoing basis to advance service delivery, and undermine barriers to equitable inclusionary communication.

In response to the planning document, The City Council allocated a $150,000 new budget line item to the Planning Department to implement the plan.

For all these reasons, we are delighted to award the 2021 Social Advocacy Award to the City of Quincy for its Needs Assessment and Action Plan: LEP and Disability Communications Access.

Watch the full awards ceremony, held virtually on December 3, here.

Learn more about the project here: Quincy LEP and Disabilities Communications Needs Assessment and Access Plan

Carlisle Master Plan Steering Committee Forum

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On September 29, 2021, Alexis Lanzillotta and the Carlisle Master Plan Steering Committee (MPSC) held a hybrid forum for the Master Plan to discuss proposed plan recommendations. Barrett Planning Group group began working with the Town of Carlisle’s MPSC in May 2021 to help facilitate the completion of their master plan. A previous forum held in June 2021 allowed residents to review and discuss the plan’s draft vision statement, values, and goals, and the September forum showcased the MPSC’s subsequent work on developing draft recommendations.

Residents were able to share feedback on these recommendations, providing Barrett Planning Group and the Carlisle MPSC with helpful guidance to fine-tune the plan in its final phases of development.

Thank you to the nonprofit newspaper, Carlisle Mosquito, for its coverage of this forum.

“Master Plan Forum gathers community input on draft recommendations.”, by Sarah Hart for Carlisle Mosquito, Oct. 6, 2021.