Community Meeting to Help Craft Economic Development Action Plan on Wednesday Night

An upcoming public meeting will help town officials determine an economic development plan for the future of Reading.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), in collaboration with the Town of Reading, is hosting a community meeting on the ongoing Reading Strategic Economic Development Action Plan at 6 :30 p.m.on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 at the Reading Municipal Light Department. The meeting was rescheduled from Sept. 23.

The goal of the plan is to get public input into what economic development might look like for Reading, according to town officials. By proactively planning for the kind of economicdevelopment that will be supported, including things like density, height, mixed use, and other factors, the Plan will serve as a guide for future development.

Since last fall, the town and MAPC have been at work engaging the public at various community meetings to solicit feedback on potential development scenarios in four priority development areas in town. Citizen participation has been a major component of this planning effort, which has included a visual preference survey and design charrette, according to officials.

The next opportunity for residents to participate in the conversation will be on Wednesday, September 23, 2015 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) located at 230 Ash St. in Reading.The event is free and open to the public and a light dinner will be provided.

This meeting will gather input on action plan recommendations that the town and partners can take to advance economic development and maximize development potential in Reading and present renderings illustrating redevelopment potential in one priority development area in town.

Residents, business owners and other stakeholders are encouraged to attend to voice your opinion on economic development opportunities and to help prioritize the action plan recommendations.

“It has been very rewarding to participate in this process and I have been especially pleased with the level of engagement from the community,” saidReading Town Manager Bob LeLacheur. “The priority areas of Main Street/Route 28, Haven Street, New Crossing Road, and 1 General Way all hold great potential for economic development opportunities and expansion of our tax base. I’m excited to put the Action Plan to work and to encourage development that builds the character of Reading.”

In January 2014, a regional Priority Mapping Project involving the Town ofReading and seven other municipalities in the North Suburban subregion laid the foundation for this project. The Reading Strategic Economic Development Action Plan is being funded in part through the District Local Technical Assistance Program (DLTA) and the Priority Development Fund (PDF) of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

For more information on the project, contact MAPC Regional Planner Jennifer Erickson at (617) 933-0759 or jerickson@mapc.org or Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios at (781) 942-6612 or jdelios@ci.reading.ma.us.

To register for the forum, please visit http://bit.ly/readingsep23. If you need any special accommodations, e.g., assistive listening device, translation, and/or interpretation, please let us know two weeks prior to the meeting by Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015 by contacting Jennifer Erickson, Regional Planner II and Equity Specialist at MAPC at jerickson@mapc.org or 617-933-0759.