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Date: 4/5/2022
SOUTH HADLEY – During their March 28 meeting, the Planning Board opened a public hearing to review the latest draft of the 2020 Master Plan update before approving the update and moving it to the Town Council.
The goal of this latest iteration of the Master Plan was to redefine the vision for the town based on changes since the 2010 plan went into effect. While many of the goals for the town are very similar between the two plans, this latest edition builds on the original plan by redefining the vision for South Hadley’s next decade.
The most recent changes come after going through the process of multiple community forums and other smaller meetings for the public dating back to 2019 to express what they were looking for in the new Master Plan. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the process of getting the new Master Plan approved and in action was delayed.
Anne Capra, conservation administrator and planner, began the hearing by going through a presentation of the draft to give a cursory overview of the major elements and framework of the updated plan.
Based on the results of the planning process and community input, the Master Plan Update Advisory Committee identified the three highest priorities for the next 10 years. These priorities are detailed in the plan and are focused on addressing community-wide housing needs, preserving the town’s natural resources for future generations, and support a welcoming community for all ages, races, ethnicities, cultures, abilities and income levels.
Discussion among the Planning Board was limited and mainly focused on the wording within parts of the plan. Board member Joanna Brown brought up that she thought the updated version was lacking the proper statements that showed the town acknowledged and welcomed the LGBTQ+ community.
“If we do not say something about LGBTQ individuals, it sends a message from the town that we don’t care if they exist,” Brown said.
Brown added that as someone who identifies in the LGBTQ+ group and who moved away from the community as a young adult due to not feeling welcomed, that this was an easy fix for them to make in the edits to make sure it was established the Town has the LGBTQ+ community in mind when talking about the town as a whole. There were no objections to the point Brown had made.
Board member Michael Davis agreed this was an important edit to make to show the LGBTQ+ community the town of South Hadley wants to be an open and inclusive space to all. This was discussed by the Planning Board as they looked through the Master Plan document and reworded certain sections to address the accidental omission being raised.
Board Chair Brad Hutchinson did say he recalled over a year ago the board having a similar discussion on verbiage in the Master Plan surrounding diversity. Hutchinson said they struggled finding the right way of including everyone and ended up simplifying certain areas to have it feel more general and open ended rather than listing specific communities.
“My recollection of it we had no intent to deliberately omit any community,” Hutchinson said. He added he did not want anyone to come away with the impression of an oversight from those involved in crafting the updated Master Plan.
Hutchinson said later during discussions among the board that he felt the Master Plan could serve as a lift to establishing a human rights commission in town and that the Master Plan as a whole is broad and has more overarching goals throughout it.
“In my own opinion, adding explicit language in support of that is not necessary,” Hutchinson said.
Board member Nate Therien agreed and added that he felt there was enough language calling for a welcoming community for all its members in the Master Plan. Therien felt it was right for the board to move ahead without any major changes to the latest draft.
Brown also raised the question of if the public hearing should be extended to their next meeting as she felt not enough residents fully have grasped the Master Plan and what it will be addressing.
“I continue to feel there’s a disconnect between a lot of people in the community and the town government in general. I still think there’s so many people in town who don’t have a clue what we mean for a Master Plan,” Brown said.
Brown was trying to be cautious on behalf of residents getting more time to review the Master Plan but other board members disagreed and felt there has been plenty of time to entertain the draft and come away with the gist of the town’s goals.
Associate board member Michael Adelman said to his fellow board members that he had spoken with two different realtors and asked how often they are asked by families moving into the community about the town’s Master Plan. He said both realtors said they had never been asked that before.
“It’s [the Master Plan] not something deep on the list of what people go to as a resource of trying to decide moving somewhere and inclusivity of the town,” Adelman said. “Where were these people all of these years when there was 19 meetings and box meetings.”
With enough agreement on that point from the board, they ultimately voted to close the hearing and adopt the Master Plan with the edits as discussed in two 4-1 votes. Brown was the only member to vote no on both votes.
The Master Plan is available for reading on the town’s website.