City seeks public feedback as Worcester Now | Next development plan nears final stages

Photo | Timothy Doyle Worcester City Hall

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A document meant to shape the next decade of development in Worcester is one step closer to fruition, as the City released a draft of the Worcester Now | Next plan on Friday.

As the first citywide comprehensive planning effort since 1987, Worcester Now | Next seeks to create a unified framework to guide the city’s growth and development with a focus on inclusion, integrity, and innovation, according to the plan’s City-run website.

The release of the latest draft starts a one-month public comment period where Worcester stakeholders are invited to provide feedback via an online form on the plan’s website, according to a release issued by the City on Friday. A Worcester Planning Board meeting to be held on Wednesday will feature a discussion of the plan.

“This framework outlines our shared vision for the community we want to see for Worcester through 2040,” City Manager Eric Batista said in the press release. “I am grateful for our community members who engaged with this process and shared their input for all that our city can be, and should be, in 2040. Those ideas of today will shape our next chapter.”

The draft plan identifies six top-priority early action items to be the primary focus of the plan during the first three to five years of implementation:

Completing and implementing the Mobility Action Plan, which seeks to prioritize projects to advance, safe, equitable, and sustainable transportation in the city;
Implementing a number of preliminary zoning changes, including legalizing accessory dwelling units by-right, reducing off-street parking requirements, and reforming tree protection plan requirements;
Developing a Housing Production Plan, which seeks to identify the types of housing most needed in the city based on demographic trends and projections;
Conducting infrastructure capacity and needs assessments; and
Initiating a comprehensive citywide zoning overhaul.

Launched in March 2022, the Worcester Now | Next plan is being developed by the City’s Planning and Regulatory Services Division and a team of consultants led by Utile, a Boston-based planning firm. An advisory committee composed of Worcester residents, business owners, and other stakeholders is contributing to the process.

Following the public comment period, which is expected to close on Feb. 25, the plan will be put in front of the Planning Board for final approval some time this winter.