Town Officials Outline Easton's Community Vision

Town officials invited residents to Oaks Ames Memorial Hall Wednesday night to hear a presentation about the progress of Easton's community visioning project. The project, which was initiated in 2007, was intended to "promote individual and collective thinking about Easton's future."

"The purpose of tonight was really to just say we’ve been working on it," Town Planner Brad Washburn said. "We’ve implemented a lot of the goals and action items. A lot of the things are not complete, they’re in progress. But really, we’re making progress."

Washburn, along with Land Use Agent Stephanie Danielson and Community Housing Planner Timothy Harrigan outlined goals and initiatives relating to open space, farmland, affordable housing, historic districts, commercial development, public transportation, wastewater planning and Easton's carbon footprint.

Washburn said, with the community visioning report completed, the next step is to build a master plan.

He said the town has been working with the state on a number of levels in coordination with the possibility of the . Most notably, Washburn said, Easton will receive a grant to develop the corridor along route 138 and Belmont Street near

"We’ve been working with the South Coast Rail," he said. "We’re coordinating with that effort. That’s the state’s project, but we’re staying in the loop."

Board of Selectmen chair Colleen Corona said that while the board had voted against a train coming through Easton, it was the state's initiative.

Washburn said the 138 corridor, or the "Queset Commercial District Study" would work to improve aesthetics of the area while widening sidewalks and crosswalks for pedestrians and bettering landscaping.

"Whithin the study area, we’re looking for potential zoning changes to allow for a mix of use," he said.

Harrigan said the town had made a number of efforts to develop and preserve affordable housing, including establish his position as Affordable Housing Planner.

Additionally, the town established an Inclusionary Zoning Bylaw, Housing Production Plan, and an Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Like the efforts made towards Affordable Housing, Danielson also mentioned efforts to preserve open space and agricultural land, including the development of the Agricultural Steering Committee in September.

Danielson also mentioned the town's coordination with Trustees of Reservation in preserving the and the leasing of Langwater Farm off of Washington Street by the Ames family.

With a number of initiatives in the works, Washburn said it is time to move forward.

"In terms of the next logical step, to me it is trying to do a master plan," he said. "It would be a more comprehensive piece of the vision plan."

For a deeper look at the town's Community Vision Plan, check out the attached pdf, or visit the Department of Planning and Community Development here.