MEDFORD, MA — The city officially launched its Comprehensive Master Planning process late last month through a Request for Qualifications of professional consultants. These consultants will be tasked with undertaking a public planning process, working with the community to prepare Medford’s first Comprehensive Master Plan.
The process, which will start after a consultant is selected, will take approximately 12-18 months. Once completed, it will lay out a long-range vision for the city, with corresponding policy and guidance for implementation of the plan over the next decade.
The Plan will provide a basis for decision-making about climate adaptation and mitigation practices, land use planning and redevelopment, budget preparation and capital improvement planning for public facilities and services and economic development for the City of Medford’s future.
“Planning for Medford’s future not only means setting a roadmap for development and updating our zoning, but by putting an emphasis on public engagement through this Comprehensive Planning process we will work together to create clear structures and processes that provide for all of our residents, businesses, and stakeholders,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said in a statement. “Through this process we can make sure that Medford is and remains a great place to do business, a community that provides critical jobs and affordable housing, a city that celebrates arts and culture and honors diversity and equity, and that upholds our history while enhancing our green spaces and our business districts. There is so much more potential on our horizon, and I am excited to work with the community, and our future consultant, to move this process forward.”
The planning process will emphasize public participation. The selected consultant will have a history of engaging with the public and community, using techniques designed to engage with a diverse population, and should be prepared to adapt to the current global health emergency.
“Medford has undergone a number of discrete planning efforts over the past ten years, focusing on a number of areas of importance,” said Alicia Hunt acting director of Community Development, said in a statement. “However, it is time to look at the big picture, to understand how all these efforts fit together and to hear from residents about where they see the future of Medford. We need this big picture to guide the day-to-day decisions and to attract good employers and solid developers to our city.”
The plan will build on recent and ongoing efforts, including the creation of a Housing Production Plan, the recently completed Open Space and Recreation Plan Update (2019), the recently completed Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (2019) and the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (2021) that is nearing completion.
