Island Plan: The Planning Process

Documents:
Overview of the Planning Process ( 118K)
Forum 1 Proceedings ( 683K)
Vineyard by the Numbers - Sources and Notes ( 35K)
Open Space Preservation Suitability Map ( 476K)
NHESP Priority Habitats & Estimated Habitats Map ( 864K)
Water Resources - Edgartown ( 889K)
Developed, Conserved & Available Land - Edgartown ( 1.8M)
Access to Services - Island Wide ( 32K)
Municipal Service Areas - Island Wide ( 31K)
Groundwater Resource Protection- Island Wide ( 32K)
Water Resources - Island Wide ( 30K)
Edgartown Community Development Plan 2004 ( 1.4M)
This is Smart Growth ( 2.4M)
Nat Env Minimum Viable Areas 2008-1-30 ( 44K)
phragmites presentation 5 29 8 ( 203K)

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The Planning Process

It is anticipated that it will take about two years to prepare the Island Plan. The intention is to emphasize public commitment to bold, achievable solutions, rather than mere consensus on goals and policies.

The aim is to identify achievable targets for the plan as a whole and within specific topic areas, and to outline specific strategies to reach them. These could include programs, incentives, regulations, and other actions to be carried out by the Martha's Vineyard Commission, by the towns, and by other entities. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission will adopt the plan as the official regional plan.

Themes: The plan will deal with four broad themes and how they interact:

Economy
Community
Ecology
Land

Topics: The plan will focus on specific topic areas, with the help of work teams. The current list of topics is:

Livelihood and Commerce
Housing
Health and Education
Natural Environment
Water
Built Environment
Culture and History
Transportation
Energy and Solid Waste
Governance

Steering Committee: A Steering Committee was set up by the Martha's Vineyard Commission to oversee both the content and the process of the plan (see the document Steering Committee Description). It will be responsible for:

Overarching, interdisciplinary vision, goals, and strategies.
Identification and analysis of major alternatives.
Coordination of interdependencies and trade-offs between topic areas.
Finalize the planning documents and recommend them for adoption to the Martha's Vineyard Commission.

Steering Committee Members

Network of Planning Advisors: A hundred or more Vineyarders will closely follow the planning process and give their input at key times. Members will:

Receive a survey every couple of months and should be willing to respond,
Be invited to participate in forums, work groups, and other planning activities,
Receive draft documents and will be invited to comment on them.

Work Teams: Work teams are being set up to focus efforts on specific topics. The mandate is to identify overall goals and objectives, to identify short, medium, and long-term measurable benchmarks, and to outline strategies to achieve them such as policies, incentives, regulations, projects, and other actions.

Staff: The planning effort will be supported by the specialized expertise of the Martha's Vineyard Commission staff, and outside expertise will be brought in as needed.

Facilitators: A group of Vineyarders has volunteered to help facilitate various activities. Robert Leaver of New Commons is advising on the overall process and is facilitating major events.