Character of Community

Communities need ways to strengthen their economies, provide better quality of life, and build on local assets. Challenges include rapid growth, sprawl and other suburban-style development pressures.

Strategies to help attain goals and manage growth include:

Planning where development should or should not go to help businesses thrive on walkable main streets where families can live close to their daily destinations.

Policies that protect the landscape and help preserve open space, protect air and water quality, provide places for recreation, and create attractions that bring investments into the local economy.

Policies that support walking, biking, and public transit help reduce air pollution from vehicles, reduces the amount of parking needed, and saves people money.

Results of survey responders:

80% want new commercial buildings along the Main Road and Route 48 to have wooded buffers near the streets, followed by parking, and setting the building as far back as possible.

86.5% think that repurposing of empty buildings must be made a collaboration between the Town and local developers and encouraged by the Town.

The character of the community could be enhanced by the improvements of existing properties and would be facilitated by incentives (grant funding?) to property owners.