Burlington Planning Board Approves Town's Comprehensive Master Plan

BURLINGTON, MA — The Burlington Planning Board has approved the Burlington Comprehensive Master Plan, the Town of Burlington Planning Department has announced.

The 157-page Master Plan, created during a yearslong, community-driven planning process, contains a set of recommendations to guide the future of development in Burlington. Massachusetts towns that have a planning department are required to produce a Master Plan.

The Burlington plan's recommendations are in the areas of land use, transportation, housing, economic development, natural and cultural resources, open space and recreation, the town center, and service and facilities.

"This is a very big deal," Caleb Zimmerman, assistant planner for the Town of Burlington, told Burlington Cable Access Television. "Having a Master Plan is very important because it gives outsiders, residents, developers and business owners a sense of the identity of the town, and where we want to move in the future."

Zimmerman continued: "A lot of the goals are what you'd expect them to be, but it's good to have it in writing in an approved document."

The Master Plan was prepared by the Planning Department with the assistance of a Steering Committee, the latter was formed to provide advice and guidance.

Over a three-year period, the Planning Department and Steering Committee hosted public workshops, forums, expert panels and community conversations to discuss the plan. There also were online surveys.

During this process, input was sought from residents, community organizations, institutions and businesses.

Liz Bonventre, Burlington's planning director, told Burlington Cable Access Television that a number of the Mater Plan's recommendations already had been started or even completed since the plan was drafted, including changing zoning to allow life science developments and hiring an economic development director.