Since many open space resources cross municipal boundaries, any effective open space planning must include a regional component.  However, this regional perspective is hard to implement when most open space planning happens at the local level.  Municipalities should aggressively pursue opportunities to meet open space and recreation needs through shared facilities or development of regional resources.  

Currently, each municipality in the state is required to prepare its own Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) in order to be eligible for many funding programs.   The Division of Conservation Services (DCS) reviews and approves these plans and awards grants to support their implementation.  The current OSRP Requirements include a section on regional context, but the requirements for this section fall short of requiring a thorough analysis of regional considerations.  These standards should provide clear guidance and expectations for a thorough analysis of regional considerations and they should explicitly support the regional development and implementation of OSRPs.  DCS should convene a working group (including MAPC and private conservation organizations) to revise the regional element of the OSRP requirements, and should create a new category of plans (and funding) for multi-municipality open space plans.  

The current structure by which the state guides local open space planning consists of guidelines for preparing open space plans.  The guidelines themselves result in open space plans that are very limited and traditional in the following ways:

• Communities put too much effort into compiling the extensive background data that is required with less emphasis on strategic planning.
• The guidelines encourage the creation of overly ambitious laundry lists of action items which are completely unrealistic for communities to implement.
• The plans are either done by local volunteers or staff person who doesn’t have the time to complete a plan in a timely manner or by a consultant who prepares a very generic plan.
• The planning process does not encourage communities to reach out to a broader constituency or to think beyond the borders.

More attention to strategic action, tighter connections to land use plan and zoning, and a greater emphasis on regional resources (both environmental and fiscal) will help these local open space plans be more effective. 

2.a    DCS should convene a working group to revise regional component of Open Space and Recreation Plan requirements

2.b    EOEEA should support pilot programs for the creation of multi-municipality Open Space and Recreation Plans

2.c    Municipal open space planning efforts should thoroughly explore regional issues and opportunities

2.d    MAPC should develop a repository of geographic data on acquisition priorities

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