walpole master plan:
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
HOUSING
General Goal: - Ensure that adequate, safe, and
sanitary housing for all existing and future residents is achievable in Walpole.
Specific Objectives:
1. Implement
and administer the land use regulations so that there are no regulatory
barriers to the provision of a range of housing types in a variety of price
categories.
2. Support
the preservation and maintenance of the existing and future housing stock
through public and private actions.
3. Encourage
the private sector to remove or rehabilitate all substandard housing.
4. Preserve
the character and quality of residential and rural areas.
5. Support
the development of adequate elderly housing.
6. Preserve
& enhance the classic New England character of the Walpole Village area,
Drewsville, and North Walpole by, for example, encouraging homeowners to
register their homes with the National Register of Historic Homes.
General
Goal: To protect and preserve the Town’s critical resource areas in an effort
to maintain a balance between the Town’s existing and future development needs
and its natural environment.
Specific
Objectives:
1. As
part of the update of the Land Use Plan, all development activity since 1986
within the floodplain areas will be examined.
2. The
Planning Board will continue to rely on the submission of contour and erosion
control information in its review of development applications.
3. The
Planning Board will pursue the adoption of Driveway Regulations, in order to
ensure that the construction of all driveways in Town, but in particular those
on slopes of over 25%, will address issues of erosion and sediment control.
4. The
Planning Board recommends that, at the building permit stage, when steep slopes
are involved, the Conservation Commission should review the plans to ensure
that erosion and sediment control are adequately addressed.
5. The
Planning Board will pursue an amendment to the Subdivision Regulations that
will require the identification of a safe driveway access for each
newly-created lot.
6. The
Planning Board will review all development applications within the critical
areas identified in this section for potential environmental impacts, and
recommend mitigation where appropriate.
7.
Despite the
absence of Scenic Road designations and accompanying regulations, the Planning
Board recommends that necessary safety and widening and/or reconstruction
projects on Town roads be accomplished in such a manner that the rural
character of these roads is not compromised.
8.
The Planning
Board will seek ways to preserve open agricultural land.
General
Goal: To enrich the lives of Town residents by striving to improve the
aesthetic quality and visual impact of the man-made environment as well as
preserving and enhancing the attractive visual features of the natural
environment.
Specific
Objectives:
1. Protect
the scenic elements of the Town's natural environment such as steep slopes,
hilltops, waterbodies, streams and rivers, particularly the areas adjacent to
Walpole's portion of the Connecticut River and the Cold River.
2. Encourage
the underground placement of utilities when and where practical; and when
underground placement is not practical, utilize design and landscaping
techniques to blend such facilities with the natural environment to minimize
their obtrusiveness. In the case of
wireless communications facilities, all reasonable efforts should be made to
minimize the visual effect of towers and any appurtenances.
3. Encourage
the use of aesthetically pleasing landscaping practices to enhance the visual
quality of the man-made environment. In
appropriate cases, the Planning Board may request landscaping plans to be
submitted as part of development applications.
4. Encourage
aesthetics and attractive designs of signs in terms of number, type, size and
location.
transportation
Goal #1: To provide for
the safe and convenient circulation and movement of goods and people within the
Town of Walpole and to points beyond using all practical methods.
Specific Objectives:
1. Provide for pedestrian walkways wherever warranted by traffic and other
development, in particular in North Walpole at the railroad crossing.
2. Ensure, through site plan review, that
adequate off‑street parking is provided for in all future developments.
3. In order to encourage pedestrian and
bicycle traffic in the Village, the Town should ensure that sidewalks are
maintained in good repair, that landscaping does not obstruct or inhibit such
use, and that there are adequate benches and bicycle racks in the Village for
use by the non-motorized traffic.
Goal #2: Provide for adequate streets and street systems in
all existing and future residential, commercial and industrial subdivisions.
Specific Objectives:
1.
Adopt
driveway standards that regulate the placement and construction of all
driveways in Walpole.
2.
Review the
road standards contained in the Subdivision Regulations to ensure that they
reflect current technology relative to construction methods.
3. Encourage the Planning Board to be sensitive to commercial development along Route 12.
4. Encourage the Planning Board to work
together with the Selectmen and the Road Agent to develop a Road Policy that
would guide development in town based on the physical and functional capability
of town roads.
Goal #3: Coordinate and
integrate the transportation systems of the Town of Walpole with that of the
Region.
Specific
Objectives:
1. Encourage the Selectmen to officially
support the designation of Route 12 as a Scenic Byway, and to continue to participate in current and
future implementation plans for the enhancement of the Connecticut River Scenic
Byway.
2. Encourage the Planning Board to develop a
rolling 5-year plan for road improvements.
3. Support the continued participation by the town on the Transportation Advisory Committee of the Southwest Region Planning Commission.
land use
Goal #1: To preserve the scenic elements of the natural environment and protect Walpole’s land.
Specific
Objectives:
1. Consider the adoption of a River Corridor Protection Overlay District.
2. Adopt by reference the Connecticut River Corridor Management Plan, Volume VI Wantastiquet Region, prepared by the Connecticut River Joint Commissions.
3. Consider the adoption of Natural Resource Protection Overlay Districts.
4. Consider the adoption of a Scenic Viewshed ordinance.
5. Support efforts to protect land in Walpole.
6. Regulate telecommunication towers.
7. Support Walpole’s agricultural activity.
8. Prevent/minimize sprawl development along Route 12.
Goal #2: To ensure that Walpole has diverse mix of commercial and industrial uses.
Specific Objectives:
1. Discourage the development of Walpole into a regional economic center.
2. Manage the type and intensity of commercial activity along Route 12.
3. Investigate options for nodal commercial development along Route 12.
4. Rely on performance standards to affect the impact of commercial uses.
5. Support home occupations and home-based businesses
Goal #3: To support a moderate level of tourism.
Specific Objectives:
1. Support the maintenance of the Cheshire Line Rail-Trail.
2. Support the designation of Route 12 as a Scenic Byway
Goal #4: To preserve agricultural land and support farming activities.
Specific Objectives:
1. Ensure that local regulations are not overly burdensome to farming.
2. Support local efforts to preserve important farmlands.
3. Support non-profit efforts to preserve important farmlands.
4. Investigate the value of backlot development.
5. Consider the adoption of a prime farmland overlay protection district.
Goal
#5: Preserve the individual character and identity of
Walpole’s three villages.
Specific Objectives:
1. Support the continuation of existing land uses.
2. Re-evaluate the zoning district boundaries for the villages.
3. Continue to consider the advisability of establishing a Historic District.
4. Consider the establishment of a Scenic Gateway Overlay District