ROCKPORT — Selectmen have endorsed a plan that aims to protect and enhance Rockport's drinking water sources, its extensive trail system and other critical natural resources.
If the Open Space and Recreation Plan is approved by the state, the 88-page document would be Rockport's first official open space plan in over two decades and would likely open the doors to grant money to help put the plan into action.
The town has not had an approved Open Space and Recreation Plan since 1983. The town tried to update the plan in 1997, but only completed 90 percent of that project.
The town's Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee was reconstituted last winter and began reviewing the 1997 draft Open Space Plan in spring 2008. To start the process, the committee surveyed residents.
Committee members used the results of that survey to help sculpt the new plan, expected to be submitted to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation for approval next month.
Any comments and corrections submitted to the committee by selectmen must be attached to the draft report before it can be submitted to the state for review.
Committee co-chairman Larry Neal presented the report to selectmen last week.
Only Selectmen Charles Clark and Ellen Canavan had prepared comments and edits last Tuesday night; however, Selectmen Sandy Jacques, Sarah Wilkinson and Andrew Heinze said they would submit comments in advance of the committee's next meeting, Dec. 7.
The slectmen's comments will be included with the draft report sent to the state, which usually takes three to six months to review before returning it to the community with comments; it was upon return of the 1997 draft from the state that the last attempt at an Open Space Plan for Rockport "died," Neal noted.
The town must rectify any problems noted by the state during its initial review and then resubmit the document for final approval, Neal explained. Clark said selectmen would then likely vote to approve the report at that time.
However, he continued, the town doesn't have to wait for state certification to begin acting on the plan's recommendations.
"We could implement some of the recommendations locally at any time," Clark noted.
Peter Van Demark, a professional cartographer and committee member, said many of the plan's recommended actions can be done at little or no cost to the town. Fellow member Eric Hutchins, also a member of the Watershed Protection Committee, concurred, adding that efforts to complete several proposed actions are already underway.
Selectmen praised the Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee's work.
Jacques called the report "intensive reading" and Canavan said the group did "tremendous work" on the report, adding she "learned a lot."
The Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee's twice-monthly meetings over the past year and a half produced a detailed, four-part draft.
The document is composed of 11 sections, the first seven of which examine the community setting, environmental inventory and analysis, community vision and analysis of needs and led to the formulation of nine goals and objectives and 45 separate action recommendations.
The draft was sent to several town boards and committees for comment and was originally slated to go to the state early this summer. However, delays required selectmen to prolong the Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee's existence through the end of this year.
According to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, only about half the municipalities in the commonwealth have approved open space plans.
As a result of the new plan, selectmen are also expected to create a permanent Open Space and Recreation Committee next year. Its members will be charged with implementing the approved plan.
"There is definitely going to be a continuing need for services in the open space arena going forward, probably forever," Jacques said. "We'll begin to deal with it in December."
At its last meeting on Oct. 19, Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee members had a lengthy discussion centered around its suggestions for selectmen regarding the charge and membership of a permanent Open Space and Recreation Committee.
Current members said the new charge should require the committee to implement the 2009 plan; evaluate the five-year plan annually, revising the "Action Plan" accordingly; consider unanticipated open space issues and make recommendations for action; recommend a budget as needed; and update the 2009 plan with a view to a submission of a revised plan in 2014.
They also recommended the committee should have seven members. Of those, there must be representation from the Conservation Commission, Planning Board, Department of Public Works, and the Recreation Commission. Meanwhile, there should be a delegated person from the Harbor Advisory Committee, Rights of Way Committee, Watershed Protection Committee, and the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
DRAFT OPEN SPACE PLAN: PROPOSED FIRST-YEAR ACTION PLAN
1. Create a permanent Open Space and Recreation Committee.
2. Prioritize the protection of all private parcels of interest with three or more ecological and cultural values.
3. Establish and maintain an ongoing open space inventory for acquisition and conservation.
4. Enhance legal protection for town-owned watershed property.
5. Identify town-owned open space and recreation parcels most in need of active management.
6. Promote increased communication and consistency among committees, boards, and commissions on any land disposition action, including watershed protection.
7. Promote public awareness and education about open space issues.
8. Undertake a needs analysis for improved access to the shore.
9. Undertake a needs assessment, including parking needs, for facilities for active recreation.
10. Maintain the public trail network.
Purchase or enact conservation restrictions on key watershed land.
Source: Rockport Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee's Draft Open Space and Recreation Plan
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