ABOUT THE PROJECT

Project Purpose

The purpose of the Visioning phase of the Comprehensive Community Plan is a way for the townspeople to share and consider the characteristics of the community that are most appreciated and to begin to articulate a desired future. We are holding these discussions because it is important for the Town officials to understand what the residents of Acton value, what most concerns them, and what direction they would like the Town to take in the future.

At the end of this phase, we will compile and summarize the responses of all those who participated in this community conversation -- by answering the survey, by attending meetings, by writing comments and submitting them -- together these will be used to craft a community-wide vision. This vision document -- which will be comprised of a vision statement, a list of community values, and a set of related goals -- will help guide the comprehensive master plan. The vision will describe a desired future, one that most people have agreed they would like to strive towards. This vision will be the basis for developing goals for the future, and these goals will help guide policies and actions that will be part of the Master Plan.

Beginning in the fall, the Town will begin a 12 to 18-month process to complete a Comprehensive Community Plan for the Town. This Plan will be a road map for the Town's future, it will take stock of how the Town's past has defined it, what it is now, and what it can be in the future. That is, the Comprehensive Community Plan is a document that defines what direction the Town would like to take and is used to guide decision-making by evaluating decisions against the goals laid out in the Plan. It also outlines action steps to take toward the desired future as defined in the vision. Developing this vision is what we are working on in this first phase of the project.