SWAMPSCOTT — Yesterday, community members were invited to participate in a public forum at the Senior Center to discuss the town Master Plan Committee’s goals and ambitions for 2035.
On April 3, 2024, the Select Board originally appointed the Master Plan Committee to work with both town staff and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to focus on communal growth and improvement throughout the next decade. The top priorities for the entities involved creating new policies to move towards a cleaner, greener environment.
The Master Plan Committee is an extensive team of 26 town staff members from different departments, such as the Climate Action Planning Committee, the Renewable Energy Committee, and the Board of Health, as a means of properly representing each corner of town.
“We aim to update all the town’s past work and carry forward some prior ideas the town had to increase community input,” said MAPC Project Manager Carlos J. Montanez. “The hope is that the master plan will work as a roadmap going forward.”
Montanez highlighted how the committee is exploring ways to create more affordable housing and a more stable sense of economic equality for town residents. “The master plan is also designed to create discussions around a variety of indoor and outdoor recreation spaces,” Montanez said.
One area of concern the committee highlighted during the forum was Swampscott’s declining population. It was reported by MAPC that the population had decreased 6 percent from 2000 to 2022.
The town recently passed a Community Preservation act earlier this month, which Montanez cited as a huge step for the committee’s goals toward protecting beaches and town land.
Throughout the next year, the town will take several steps to ensure that community members are given a fair chance to participate and collaborate on potential ideas going forward. This will include hosting three public forums to drum up attention, as well as an online survey to gauge communal interest on important matters.
According to their vision statement for the 2016-2025 recap, there are several key areas of interest that the town intends to focus on going forward. The first area is “quality of life,” where the town will strive to make the community more vibrant and welcoming with diverse housing options for all ages.
The next category was labeled “Community Hubs,” in which they envision Humphrey Street as a cultural social center. The MAPC intends to revitalize Vinnin Square as a regional shopping area, with the hope that it will boost foot-traffic and employment.
Another area of importance that the Master Plan Committee highlighted was “Sustainability and Connectivity.” With this, the ambition is to create green initiatives to promote “health, sustainability and more bike-friendly amenities in well-maintained parks and open spaces.”
The last category the committee called attention to was labeled “Collaborative.” Focusing on effective town management and the generation of more economic opportunities, the committee’s goal is to create a “prosperous and unified community for the future.”
“This is for you, the community members, to brainstorm over, and figure out where we go from here,” said Planning Board Chair Angela Ippolito.
Following the public forum, an eight-week survey will be open from Nov. 16, 2024, to Jan. 13, 2025, for all Swampscott stakeholders and community members to share their ideas and visions.
While these are the priorities the MAPC has laid out with the Master Plan Committee, the overall goal is to gain more specific and insightful input by community members via the online survey and future discussions.
This is not the first time new plans have been proposed for Swampscott. Last year, community members were asked to contribute to the town’s efforts for a better future with the 2025 Swampscott Master Plan. This was the town’s first step in the long journey of establishing a safe and clean environment.
