Municipal stormwater systems epitomize the concept of “stranded infrastructure.”  Unlike water and sewer systems, there is no dedicated funding stream to ensure adequate maintenance of stormwater systems.  Capital funding (grants, bonds, or developer mitigation) pays for new infrastructure, but constrained tax revenues and competing priorities mean that public works departments are under resourced.  Municipal staff are unable to conduct routine maintenance such as cleaning catch basins, repairing pipe, or removing blockages, resulting in lower pollutant removal an

The current “Approval not Required” exemption in the Massachusetts Subdivision Control Law allows landowners to create new lots without the approval of local authorities so long as those lots meet minimum frontage and area requirements.  This exemption leads to uncoordinated development along existing roadways, where planning boards have little authority to manage design and access; and opportunities for clustered homes are lost.  

Implementation steps to eliminate this exemption are included in (#1B—Modernize Zoning Tools). 

Providing municipal services is especially challenging in urban environments with high densities, aging infrastructure, and diverse populations.  There are numerous emerging techniques and technologies that support municipal efforts to improve service delivery through tracking, benchmarking, and evaluation.  These systems can operate across all departments citywide (e.g., the “Stat” programs described in (#3C Cost-effective service delivery), or they can target a particular neighborhood and focus on specific elements such as public works.  

Increased availability and analytical use of detailed crime data is important for two reasons: it can increase the effectiveness of crime prevention efforts; and it can correct misperceptions about the safety of urban neighborhoods.  State of the art crime analysis can help police departments to identify and manage crime problems before they get out of hand.  Access to data can also help community groups to have a better understanding of the crime problems in their neighborhood, so they can be more effective partners with law enforcement.  

Application of community policing strategies can both deter crime and improve relationships and interaction between police and the public.  Community policing employs partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address crime and the underlying causes of crime.  It is also contingent on organizational transformation of police departments to reflect modern management practices, including performance assessment and accountability.  

Municipalities that institute a split rate property tax apply a different tax rates to the value of land and the value of the buildings on each parcel.  Some municipalities already apply a split (residential/commercial) tax rates.  Like tax increment financing, split (land/building) tax rates can be a strong incentive for additional development.   Consequently, such tax strategies should be applied only on in municipalities and districts with consistent planning and zoning in place to guide the resulting growth.  

Strong district plans provide a framework for zoning, infrastructure investments, and permitting.  Too often, proposals for new development—even those that are allowed by zoning—become entangled in community disagreement about the vision for a given location.  The developer wastes time and money, and the community loses opportunities to maximize local benefit.  District plans seek to avoid this entanglement by building consensus about scale, density, and form; and by evaluating how growth will relate to existing infrastructure, municipal finance, and surrounding n

MetroFuture establishes bold, achievable, and measurable goals for growth, preservation, and equity in Metro Boston.  A diversity of policy recommendations contained in the implementation plan are designed to move the region toward a brighter future.  A regional indicators framework is necessary to make periodic, quantitative assessments of conditions in the region.  Such assessments will support policy development as well as accountability.  Regional indicators should include information at a variety of levels, providing an understanding of conditions in the region gene

Strong incentives for development of consistent municipal plans can be developed through targeted increases in state aid or structured flexibility with regard to property tax restrictions.  Local aid increases should be discounted where significant new growth occurs inconsistent with the local and regional plan.  The new growth exemption should be limited to development consistent with the local and regional plan.  

Productive relationships between municipalities and the development community foster compact growth.  Municipalities should adopt best practices that can make permitting more predictable, equitable, cost effective, and efficient.