Open Space and Recreation Planning
Open Space and Recreation Plans are a Commonwealth of Massachusetts planning initiative. The purpose of an Open Space and Recreation Plan is to inventory, assess, and plan for future open space and recreation resources for individual municipalities. The plan identifies natural and recreational resources within a community and takes inventory of all parcels, features, and resources. These efforts include sorting parcel data, mapping, categorizing land types, inventorying parks and needed upgrades, and ADA assessments. This work is incorporated with public input to better serve the community’s needs, build support for various efforts, and encourage public participation in protecting important resources, including access to fresh water, forested and farmed land, and recreational facilities. As required by the Guidelines of the Division of Conservation Services, an OSRP updates the social and environmental profiles of the town, discusses influences of present growth and development trends, inventories existing conservation and recreation areas and facilities, and examines community recreation needs. The Plan will provide community goals and objectives to preserve and enhance resources.
An Open Space and Recreation plan can be a powerful tool in helping municipalities source grant funding. A completed plan equips communities with extensive and complete updates on demographic data, land parcels, maps, and a goal and priority list for conserving land and updating recreation facilities. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also requires an up-to-date OSRP to apply for LAND and PARC grants. See the drop-down below for more information on these programs.
The LAND Grant Program helps cities and towns acquire land for conservation and passive recreation. The grants reimburse cities and towns for land acquisition in fee or a conservation restriction. Municipal conservation and agricultural commissions from communities with an up-to-date Open Space and Recreation Plan are eligible to apply.
Eligible projects include the following:
- Purchase of land in fee simple for conservation and passive recreation
- Purchase of a Conservation Restriction
Please refer to the LAND Grant Program website for year-to-year details.
The PARC Program was established to assist cities and towns in acquiring and developing land for parks and outdoor recreation. Municipalities can use these grants to acquire parkland, build a new park, or renovate an existing park.
Any town with a population of 35,000 or more year-round residents or any city, regardless of size, that has an authorized park /recreation commission is eligible to participate in the program. Communities that do not meet the population criteria listed above may still qualify under the “small town,” “regional,” or “statewide” project provisions of the program. Applications are open to all municipalities that have submitted an up-to-date Open Space and Recreation Plan.
Eligible projects include:
- Acquisition of parkland
- Development of new parks
- Improvements to existing parks
The number of residents in your city or town may affect the grant award. Please refer to the application and documents provided on the website.
State Guidelines and Resources
Undertaking an Open Space and Recreation Plan can be a lot of work, but it is a great community planning tool! The Commonwealth has a step-by-step workbook on how they expect approvable plans to be laid out.
To access the workbook and for information on submitting a plan, please see Massachusetts’ state website.
Partnering with OCPC
Old Colony Planning Council, Comprehensive and Sustainability Team, has lots of experience with Open Space and Recreation Plans. Many municipalities have previously partnered with us to get technical assistance with their plan. An entire plan can be contracted to OCPC, or we can collaborate to create a list of tasks that best meet the municipality’s needs. All OCPC lead projects require a municipal staff lead and resident-based steering committee. We are committed to capturing quantitative data and the community’s input and priorities.
OCPC can provide District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) to qualifying communities to help finance an OSRP. Please contact Laurie Muncy at lmuncy@ocpcrpa.org for more information about funding cycles and contracting.
