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Date: 8/11/2022
SOUTHWICK – Town officials are looking for greater involvement from Southwick residents as the town develops what many hope will be the first Master Plan to be approved in Southwick in more than 50 years.
The Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) is urging residents – adults, youth and business owners alike – to participate in the Master Plan survey that is available online. The survey is meant to provide a baseline of data upon which future community Master Plan hearings are organized. Community Master Plan meetings are expected to begin this fall.
As of the most recent MPAC meeting Aug. 4, 369 responses had been submitted for the survey, but the committee is hoping for more.
“Participation in the survey will help shape Southwick for the next 20 years. Southwick residents (both adults and teens), business managers and others interested in Southwick’s future are invited to share their opinions, thoughts and suggestions,” said the committee in a statement Aug. 1. “The more responses received; the more information the Master Plan Advisory Committee members will have as they prepare the road map for the future of the town. The survey will be available through Aug. 31, 2022.”
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Consultant Ken Comia, who has been working with the committee through the master plan process, told the committee that there are very few responses from younger people in the survey thus far. He said there have been a total of 17 responses from people under the age of 29 and urged the committee to explore ways to get the town’s younger residents to participate.
He also showed a map of where in Southwick the responses are coming from, and it showed what appears to be an even distribution of responses that is proportional to Southwick’s geographic population spread.
The idea behind the Master Plan is for it to act as a guiding document for development and future infrastructure needs in a community. Communities are encouraged to update their plan about every 20 years, and the creation of this new plan is centered around imagining life in Southwick in the 2040s.
Southwick attempted to create a new plan in 1997, but it ultimately failed to be adopted. The plan does not take effect unless voted by Town Meeting, and does not, in itself, make any changes to local budgets, bylaws or zoning. It is intended to serve as a guide and contain suggestions for future bylaws, zoning amendments and spending priorities.
The survey is available at www.southwick2040.com.