Master plan team lays out outreach timeline; community forum set for Feb. 5

Liz Kelly of Resilience Planning and Design updated the Milford Planning Board on Jan. 7 about the master plan process and related Housing Opportunities grant work.

Kelly said the project team has completed most of the existing-conditions research and expects a revised draft report to be posted on the master-plan web page that week. The report will serve as an appendix to the master plan and as a factual resource for public outreach and decision-making.

The planning team and staff set a public outreach schedule centered on a community forum on Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Town Hall. Kelly described the forum as an open-house, drop-in event with hourly short presentations, interactive station displays for topical discussions (population and housing, energy, community facilities, etc.), and worksheets for participants. "It will be a drop-in open house style event," she said. An online survey tool containing the same posters and questions will be available after the forum for roughly a month to collect input from people who cannot attend in person.

Camille Payson, director of community development, said staff will post the draft existing-conditions report and the forum materials on the new town website when they are finalized and will circulate links to boards and the public. Kelly said the HOP grant team (RKG Associates) expects a draft housing needs assessment and fiscal analysis in early February; that study will coordinate with the master plan outreach to inform future land-use strategy and implementation actions.

Board members and staff discussed outreach tactics. Members encouraged broad advertising — postcards, neighborhood newsletters, reader boards and social media — and volunteers agreed to distribute printed outreach cards and to promote the event in community organizations. Kelly said the online engagement tool will be open until about March 6, and staff said they will provide printable materials and a static map for residents who prefer paper or cannot access GIS online.

Next steps outlined included posting the revised existing-conditions report, running the Feb. 5 forum, compiling outreach responses into an outreach summary, and using those findings along with the HOP grant deliverables to draft a vision and future land-use strategy in spring 2025.