The Pittsfield Master Plan Committee meets at the
Pittsfield Town Hall at intermittent meeting dates
throughout the year on an as-needed basis. Notices of
meeting dates are posted at the Town Hall prior to each
meeting.
Vision of the Future
The overall goal of the town, it's "vision of the
future," is balanced, moderate growth to strengthen the
downtown and increase the economic base, while
maintaining the rural character of the town. Critical to
the implementation of this vision is both commitment and
sufficient funding to enact the recommendations of the
plan. Sufficient funding is necessary to meeting this
vision, and wherever possible outside grants should be
pursued to supplement the town's budget.
What is a Master Plan?
A Master Plan is a document that provides a sense of
direction for the future by translating a community's
wishes with regard to growth, development and land use
into specific objectives, standards and recommendations
for action. The recommendations contained in a master
plan are applied to public as well as private endeavors.
A master plan assesses current and future needs of the
town by examining all those factors that are impacted by
growth and development (transportation, housing,
schools, community services and facilities, recreation,
natural and historic resources, land use and economic
development) and making specific recommendations for
each.
Master Plan Committee lnteractive Process
(Click for Document)
Planning History in Pittsfield
In the 1960's
the Pittsfield Board of Selectmen and the town's Planning Board,
conscious of the fact that the future of Pittsfield depended on
bringing about a positive change in direction of the existing
situation, determined that a plan should be established to guide
Pittsfield's growth. As a result, the town obtained a federal
planning grant (commonly referred to as a 701 grant available
through section of the Housing Act of 1954), and with assistance
from Hans Klunder Associates, Planning Consultants of Hanover, New
Hampshire, a two-year study of the town was completed and adopted by
the Planning Board in 1964.
The 1964
Master Plan was a twenty-year plan with recommendations dealing with
land use and zoning, economic activity, community facilities,
streets and traffic, and schools. The possibility of change and
expansion was pointed out with the notation that the degree of
improvement would depend on how well the town was prepared for the
anticipated growth, whatever form that development would take. The
plan referred to Pittsfield as primarily a residential community
with relatively few manufacturing opportunities. It observed, also,
an ebb in the retail business. The plan indicated a hope that
the then-pending improvement of the route 28 access combined with a
recommendation future expansion of Pittsfield's retail center, among
other factors, would revitalize Pittsfield's sagging economic base.
In the late
seventies, the town again took a look at it's future and began a
revision of the Master Plan in preparation for an effort to enact a
zoning ordinance. The revision was not a comprehensive one, focusing
only on land use and zoning district categories. It was not until
1988 that the voters of Pittsfield successfully enacted a zoning
ordinance.
Again in 1994,
the Planning Board recognized the need to revise it's planning
documents and it began a revision of the Master Plan. Goals and
objectives were prepared and adopted in 1994 by the Board as the
first step in this process. However, because of the Board's
increasing workload, it was not able to continue the process. As a
result in early 1997, the Board formed a Master Plan Committee
composed of Board members and interested citizens who began the
process anew.
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