2040 Master Plan Available for Download
June 11, 2018… Our community Master Plan is complete! After a year of hard work, public meetings and input, multiple drafts and final revisions, the Town of Fairhaven Master Plan “FAIRHAVEN 2040” is ready for printing and distribution.
The Master Plan is a policy document used by Town staff, the Planning Board, and other local boards and committees to make decisions about:
• What new development looks like and where it happens • How to protect environmentally sensitive and historically significant areas • Priorities for future public investments in community services, including recreational facilities, public safety, and utilities
Its most important goal is to protect and enhance the things in Fairhaven that make it a great place to live, both for today’s residents and for future generations.
“Fairhaven is unique in that our rich history is also our rich future,” said Wayne Hayward, Chair of the Planning Board. Over the course of 2017, the Town of Fairhaven worked to update the Master Plan under the guidance of the Planning Board. With the help of former Planning Director Bill Roth, other municipal staff, and project consultant VHB, the Planning Board launched an ambitious public engagement effort that included events that were attended by groups of very knowledgeable residents and motivated stakeholders.
The product of this community engagement was used to create a document that articulates the values shared by Fairhaven residents and business owners. People talked about what they feel are the most treasured places in the community, the most pressing challenges, and hundreds of ideas of how to keep the Town such a special community. “The culmination of the plan,” according to Gloria McPherson, current Planning Director, “is the implementation actions section, which will be used over the next 20 years to guide investment, make public improvements, and protect natural and cultural resources.”
Hard copies of Fairhaven 2040 will be distributed to all Town Departments and Boards that are integral to the implementation of the plan. Copies of the plan will also be available for public review at the Millicent Library and in the Planning & Economic Development office in Town Hall. The Master Plan is also posted on the Town’s website at www.fairhaven-ma.gov, where residents can view the document and download it electronically.
For more information, contact Gloria McPherson, Director of Planning & Economic Development, at gmcpherson@fairhaven-ma.gov or 979-4082. The 2040 Fairhaven Master Plan is available for download. Please click here.