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Sustained public engagement helps to yield more effective and durable planning solutions. New planning tools would create continuity of participation and priorities through time (from planning to development) and across jurisdictions (from state to regional to local.) Local master plans, consistent with the regional plan, would be in place across the region, and local zoning would be consistent with those plans. Broad, positive, and informed public support for plans will encourage consistent decision-making and generate fewer appeals. Compact growth areas would have the zoning capacity to accommodate a large share of the region’s growth.

Currently, only 40% of MAPC’s municipalities have up-to-date comprehensive master plans. In most cities and towns, zoning is not consistent with the land use plan outlined in the Master Plan.

Objectives:

• 100% of municipalities will have a master plan that has been created or updated in the past five years and is consistent with the regional plan.
• 100% of municipalities will have zoning consistent with the local master plan.
• Disparity between actual development patterns and MetroFuture land use plan will steadily decrease over time by most measures.
• Regionwide, “as of right” development potential (in terms of housing units and commercial/industrial square footage) in designated growth areas will be equal to or greater than the regional plan’s forecasts for those areas.