Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program

Municipal Planning Boards Resources Page

The need for better municipal planning for growth

Southeastern Massachusetts is one of the fastest growing areas in the United States. Unfortunately, this growth is leading to unplanned development and sprawl, which is quickly overrunning our cities and towns. According to a study done by The Trustees of Reservations, if this trend continues, roughly one-third of the state's land mass will be developed by the year 2010, four times as much land as was developed in 1950. Because development will be so widely scattered, the impact on the remaining land will be devastating as broader patterns within the ecological and cultural landscape are disrupted.

Open Space Plan Development Assistance from the BBP

For nearly a decade, the Buzzards Bay NEP has assisted Buzzards Bay municipalties prepare municipal open space plans. Our goal is to assist towns better protect water quality, wetlands, and habitat through the acquisition or protection of open space. More information is on our Open Space Protection fact sheet page. This page has links of acres protected in each town.

Related BBP pages and some past efforts

Open Space Protection Information for the Buzzards Bay watershed

Low Impact Development Strategies

2000 Announcement that BBP funds available for land conservation
Program was again offered in 2001, and is expected to be available again in Fall 2002.

A 1998 announcement that the Buzzards Bay NEP will assist Coalition in "Bay Lands Center" Initiative.

The Project GIS assistance program.
The Project is helping Buzzards Bay towns set up GIS systems and funding the acquisition of parcel level data.

Important Legislation

An Act Facilitating the use of Land Transfer of Development Rights.

"Approved August 3, 2002. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Section 9 of chapter 40A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following paragraph: Zoning ordinances or by-laws may provide for special permits authorizing the transfer of development rights of land within or between districts. These zoning ordinances or by-laws shall include incentives such as increases in density of population, intensity of use, amount of floor space or percentage of lot coverage, that encourage the transfer of development rights in a manner that protect open space, preserve farmland, promote housing for persons of low and moderate income or further other community interests."

The electronic copy of the recent Community Preservation Act amendment.... Senator Fargo's bill - recently signed into law by the Governor, can be found at: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw02/sl020165.htm

Proposed: An Act Facilitating the use of Land Transfer of Development Rights.

Two-thirds of the states require consistency between local planning and land use regulations; Massachusetts does not. This causes local master plans to be ignored. According to the Massachusetts APA, "The proposed Massachusetts Land Use Reform Act (MLURA) is the first major updating of the Commonwealth's zoning and planning/subdivision control statutes in 30 and over 50 years, respectively. The Act encourages communities to adopt or update their local master plans and enables them to develop effective land use regulations that are consistent with those plans."

Massachusetts APA page on the Massachusetts Land Use Reform Act

Links to other Sites

Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association.

The American Planning Association.

Southeastern Regional Planning & Economic Development District.

Cape Cod Commission.

Smart Growth America.

"Smart Growth America is a coalition of nearly 100 advocacy organizations that have a stake in how metropolitan expansion affects our environment, quality of life and economic sustainability. Our diverse coalition partners include national, state and local groups working on behalf of the environment, historic preservation, social equity, land conservation, neighborhood redevelopment, farmland protection, labor, town planning … and we're growing all the time. "

Reports

"Paving the Way to Water Shortages: How Sprawl Aggravates Drought"
According to this August 28, 2002 report (pdf file), sprawl development is making the nation's drought even more painful by impairing the landscape's ability to recharge aquifers and surface waters, according to a new report released today by American Rivers, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Smart Growth America. Nationwide, paved-over land sends billions of gallons of water into streams and rivers as polluted runoff, rather than into the soil to replenish groundwater. This report urges communities to adopt "smart growth" policies to protect water supplies and watersheds.

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