Process and Timeline

Project Organization

The Town of Longmeadow is updating our 2004 Long Range Plan (the master/comprehensive plan required by Massachusetts General Law) with a climate resilience and equity lens. The purpose of the proposed project is to assess and revise “business as usual” in Longmeadow to ensure a more resilient and equitable future for our residents and neighbors, our ecosystems, and the infrastructural systems upon which we all rely, and to understand where we have unintentionally been encouraging or allowing outdated municipal policies and land use regulations to exacerbate climate impacts and social and public health inequities. The goals of Longmeadow’s proposed project are to:

1. Develop a comprehensive, climate resilient, and equitable Long Range Plan that will:
   1. increase resilience in Longmeadow by incorporating up-to-date climate science and data into the existing conditions analysis of each of the Long Range Plan chapters, including the two new chapters on climate adaption and mitigation, and all related future-forecasting;
   2. prioritize nature-based goals and strategies as appropriate, and otherwise develop resilience-oriented actions for the town to take as related to each of the Long Range Plan chapters;
   3. assess and address inequitable vulnerabilities for multiple communities within town, and evaluate each chapter’s recommended goals/strategies to promote equitable outcomes and avoid inequitable outcomes;
   4. specifically address resilience and levels of service for non-resident individuals from neighboring Environmental Justice communities who work and/or regularly access services in Longmeadow;
   5. direct resilient and climate mitigative municipal operations; and
   6. catalyze its own implementation by identifying regulatory barriers to the newly developed plan’s goals and strategies.
2. Engage the general public in equitable, robust engagement around resilience and civic participation, with special targeted programming for seniors (AARP Age Friendly Process) and school-aged youth (LPS Climate and Civics curriculum development and professional development for teachers), two of Longmeadow’s most climate-vulnerable communities; and
3. Institutionalize resilient and equitable municipal operations by:
   1. identifying opportunities to increase climate action and resilience in the municipal capital planning process; and
   2. conducting a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategic planning process to identify opportunities to improve municipal hiring practices, workplace culture and policies, and interactions with a diverse public.