SAUGUS — The town of Saugus is about to adopt a master plan that Town Manager Scott Crabtree hopes will help manage future growth and development.
“An updated town-wide master plan will study and analyze local development and how it has (impacted) and will continue to impact the community,” Crabtree said Friday. “It will certainly benefit the town and its residents and businesses to have and build off of that information, and serve as a guide to the town on how best to move forward with current and future growth and development.”
When it’s finished, Crabtree said the plan will also help Saugus protect environmental resources, settle priorities for developing and maintaining infrastructure and public facilities. It will create a framework for any policy decisions in the future, promote open democratic planning, and give land-owners, developers and permitting authorities guidance, he said.
Helping the town in its establishment of a master plan is the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
The plan will include a statement of goals and policies for land use, housing, economic development, natural and cultural resources, open space and recreation, services and facilities, transportation, and implementation. As part of the process of coming up with the plan, the town will seek input from residents and stakeholders.
Crabtree estimates the compilation process for the plan could take between a year and a half and two years.
The current plan is decades old, Crabtree said. Earlier this year, Town Meeting members supported a $150,000 investment to update the master plan. Members also supported and approved a two-year moratorium on the construction of multi-family dwellings of three or more units to allow the Town to analyze the impact on the town. This, too, will be addressed through the master plan.
The two-year temporary moratorium will give the town time to analyze and study the impact of construction on police, fire, and emergency public safety, the school district, the water, sewer, and roadway infrastructure and the safety of the general public.
The plan’s development and the two-year temporary housing moratorium were both supported and approved by the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, and Town
“I would like to thank the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, Town Meeting, and residents of Saugus for their continued support of important community initiatives such as this,” Crabtree said.
