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2007 Master Plan
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Creating A New Master Plan for Amherst

Help Create the next Amherst Master Plan


AMP Website

“We become what we behold.
We shape our tools and therefore our tools shape us.”
        - Sir Ken Robinson, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative

Amherst will spend the year 2007 creating a new Master Plan. The Amherst Master Plan or AMP project will be presented and discussed on the AMP website as the work progresses. The Planning Board will hold an extra meeting on the second Wednesday of every month for work on the Master Plan, as well as a numbner of other meetings. Check the AMP website for details. Everyone is welcomed to attend any meeting to help plan for and to help create a new Amherst Master Plan.

Consider the Alternatives

Often people feel that if they don’t want anything much to change, then there’s nothing much to be done. However, doing nothing does not result in “no change.” All too often towns lament as a valued historic building or open field or stone wall seem to "suddenly disappear" as development pressures take form. Citizens must actively work to preserve what they cherish and to ensure that their regulations support the development of the future they desire. To this end, Amherst must ensure that its leaders understand what its residents agree is desirable. In order to develop this shared vision, as many points of view as possible must be involved. It is by crafting this vision and voicing our goals for Amherst’s future that our master plan can truly reflect the community and be credible.

In order for the plan to be useful it must be understood and supported by the citizens - those it impacts, as well as Town officials and employees - those charged with implementing it. We are committed to a broad and inclusive participation process and the active involvement of both citizens and town government in developing the plan. One of the ways we will facilitate participation is by branding the planning process itself.

Volunteers Needed

Volunteers help to make the Master Planning process a community effort. Volunteers broaden the scope of discussions, they add perspective and help others learn. Volunteers will drive the future of Amherst. Master Plan volunteers will determine how the community should grow over the next 5, 10, or 20 years. Become a volunteer and represent yourself as an individual, or represent the interests of a community group of like-minded people with whom you share some common interest (personal-neighborhood, social-political, professional, business, recreational, or economic). The future of your community depends on you volunteering. Let other volunteers hear and see you voice your opinions; you can influence the master planning process. To volunteer, check the information for participants.

The Existing Plan - A Starting Point
How has Amherst Changed Since this Plan was Written?

The current Amherst Master Plan is available now as a series of Adobe PDF files. This is our starting point. This Master Plan was created about 1968, with updates in 1978 and 1995. This time, we are not just updating the plan, but it will be rewritten from scratch. You will need the Adobe Reader software to read these files. Each Adobe PDF files is quite large, so you may need to wait a short while in order to read or download these files. On a dial-up line, it could take as much as 15 minutes to download each chapter. A copy is also available at the Town Library. Here are the sections of the Master Plan.

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