Click here for information about Hanover's related Community Preservation Plans

Click on one of the links below for more information about the Hanover Master Plan:

About the Master Plan

The Master Plan Process & Public Participation

Public Surveys

Public Hearings

Youth Art Contest & "Visioning"

Progress Report on the 1997 Master Plan

Executive Summary

Key Plan Recommendations

Give us Your Feedback

Related Links

About the Master Plan

The Master Plan is a 10-year guidance document prepared by the Hanover Planning Board and staff for use by all Town Boards and Departments. This Plan (also referred to as a Comprehensive Plan) was last updated in 1997.  The Master Plan addresses seven (7) major elements in order to coordinate planning for changes and growth over the next ten years.  Planners generally update such plans on a 10-year schedule. This allows time for implementation of the plan while ensuring regular updates to the Town’s central and guiding plan for action. The purpose of a Master Plan is to coordinate the actions necessary by all Town agencies to fulfill a defined vision of the community’s future. Typical analysis and recommendations of the plan relate to the following key elements:

1. Land Use Planning & Growth Management

2. Economic Development

3. Housing

4. Transportation & Circulation

5. Natural & Recreational Resources

6. Cultural & Historical Resources

7. Municipal Facilities & Services

Click here to see the World Town Planning Day (WTPD) Proclamation, adopted by the Hanover Board of Selectmen, August 29th, 2006.

It is the Hanover Planning Board’s responsibility to research and develop the Town’s Master Plan and ensure that any future growth in the Town is consistent with that plan. While the importance of having a Master Plan is not widely understood, a successful plan can have a tremendously positive impact on the Town’s future. The converse is also true – “Failure to plan means planning to fail”. Planning is the guidance of change. And while a certain amount of change is inevitable, not all change is good. In order to meet these changes and guarantee the development of a better community a proactive effort must be undertaken to direct that change toward a vision shared by the community.

A good master planning process provides an open dialogue for a discussion of the Town’s history, past trends, and projected future. Most importantly, the plan concludes with recommendations for what direction the Town should take to maintain or improve the community over time. This “implementation” section is the means by which to realize that collective vision. The basic Master Plan covers such elements as land use, housing and economic development, natural resources, open spaces, municipal services and transportation.

The 1997 Hanover Master Plan is at a 10-year anniversary. Planners have established a ten-year timeline for updating local community Master Plans. Beyond the ten-year window a Master Plan becomes distant, irrelevant, and forgotten. The context of the demographics, built form, and community vision has often changed. Laws and regulations have changed, as have case law precedents and the community’s very needs and desires. In order to ensure that development stays in tune with the wishes of our residents the plan must be updated regularly.

When the residents, businesses, public officials, community leaders and other stakeholders come together to define a common vision, efficiency is improved. Department and Board efforts will have greater success when working in unison. The Vision, Goals, Objectives, and Actions recommended by the Master Plan ensure that benchmarks are available to measure actual progress during the ten-year window.

Population and land use is increasing at profound rates worldwide. It is inevitable that we will continue to experience this growth in Hanover until “Buildout” conditions are reached (when no land is available for new growth).  Believe it or not there is still a good amount of land area still available for development in Hanover.  In 2000, the Massachusetts Executive office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) found that at current trends, Hanover would have 2,295 more single family homes, 6,794 additional residents, and 1,368 new students at "Buildout."  In 2005, the Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) found that Hanover's total population would rise from 13,164 (2000) to 14,682 by the year 2030.  These numbers are only estimates, based on certain assumptions, but they are an important reminder that we need to plan for that growth.  Without proper planning we will not be able to establish and sustain a livable Town that is socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally conscious. The community must play a part in envisioning the future and accepting responsibility for its collective future. In the times of ancient Athens civic leaders had to swear an oath to "pass on to the next generation a city that is better than the one received."

The Town’s Master Plan is a statement about how Hanover can utilize all its resources to achieve what it (collectively) wants to be in the future. It is our hope that the public participation process will engage an informed discussion for vision-setting and that the new Master Plan will guide us to that future.

A dynamic Town is not created in a haphazard manner, but rather through thoughtful and insightful planning. Simply building roads, shops, schools, parks, and houses, without careful research on the area, can result in fragmentation. Careful thought to every detail in planning and design is essential if a cohesive unity is to emerge that reflects the needs of the whole community. Forward-thinking is essential for the Town to develop and improve with its own unique identity.

Think of the Town’s Master Plan as a statement about how a community can utilize all its resources, human and physical, to achieve what it collectively wants to be in the future.  Development and adoption of the Town’s Master Plan necessitates a depth of outreach and public participation to create a conceptual “Vision Statement” and Goals along with specific Objectives and Actions to implement those goals. Over the ten-year life-cycle of the plan the community must work to execute the recommendations of the plan in order to improve or maintain the quality of life in the Town.

The Master Plan Process & Public Participation

Development of the Hanover Master Plan update consists of six (6) major phases:

1. Plan Development  (information gathering, document drafts, creation of maps, charts and illustrations, etc.)

2. Initial Public Participation (public involvement, public surveys, etc. to identify major issues and concerns)

3. Intermediate Public Participation  (public involvement, public surveys, etc. to gather statistical information and prioritize recommendations)

4. Final Public Participation (public involvement, public surveys, etc. to evaluate alternative futures and prioritize recommendations)

5. Plan Finalization (incorporate public input, document and map finalization, printing and plan adoption)

6. Plan Implementation & Follow-Up (implementation of plan goals, objectives, and actions, annual progress report, next ten year update)

Public Participation is key to the development of a good community Master Plan.  The diagram below shows a preferred process by which citizens and other stakeholders are involved in defining problems and concerns, considering alternative futures, and seeking agreement on which future to pursue.  The cycle concludes with a specific plan to realize the collectively desired future for the Town.  But that's not it.  The cycle repeats itself every year with a progress report and every ten years with a Master Plan update.

Click here to download the above graphic in Adobe PDF format.

Public Surveys

The Public Survey process for the Hanover Master Plan has ended.  We will post our next Public Survey here when it is available.  In the meantime, please fill out our Feedback Form.

Public Hearings

The Hanover Planning Board initiated Public Participation in our development of the Town’s new Master Plan by holding two Public Hearings on November 8th and 16th, 2006.  In doing so, Hanover joined other communities across the world in celebrating World Town Planning Day (WTPD). The Planning Board welcomed all residents, business owners, town boards and departments to attend one of these Public Meetings and “Charrettes” on the Master Plan update.  The Planning Board later held a joint meeting for round-table discussion with Hanover's Boards and Department Heads about the new Master Plan in late January 2007.  On November 8, 2007, the Hanover Planning Board hosted a Public Forum on the Hanover Master Plan and related Community Preservation Plans.

As part of the Public Meetings we asked participants for their thoughts and feedback on the following questions:

• What do you believe are the most important issues Hanover is currently facing?

• What do you believe are the most important actions the Town should take to address these issues?

Citizens and members of the general public have been asked to brainstorm and identify the key concerns they see for the future of Hanover and what the Town should do to address those concerns.

Youth Art Contest & "Visioning"

Click here for information about the Hanover Master Plan Youth Art Contest winners!

Progress Report on the 1997 Master Plan

The Town has undertaken a number of important initiatives originating in the 1997 Master Plan, including the adoption of Planned Residential Development (PRDS) zoning, regulations for telecommunications and adult use zoning, the renovation of Town Hall, expansion of the John Curtis Free Library, relocation of the Police Station, coordination of inter-departmental functions, funding for Open Space Acquisitions (adoption of the Community Preservation Act), and a Route 53 widening project currently underway.

Click here to see the prior (1997) Hanover Master Plan
 

Executive Summary

Click here to see the Executive Summary of the Hanover Master Plan with key recommendations.

Key Plan Recommendations

Click here to see an illustrated presentation of some of the key recommendations of the new Master Plan under development (5MB  PDF file).  This presentation was used by the Planning Board at the November 8th, 2007 public hearing on the Master Plan and Community Preservation Plans.

Click here to see the 51-page "Strategic Action Plan" which contains Key Recommendations of the 2008 Master Plan.  Each action is intended to work in unison with the other recommendations to achieve the vision of an improved, more viable and sustainable future for the Town.  Every attempt has been made to prevent overlaps and redundancies.  While the enclosed Strategic Action Plan is a lengthy document it is important that it be structured as it is. Each Action item in the plan (represented in green outlined blocks) is accompanied by a responsible town entity and a timeframe for completion. Also included is a one-line “Status” field so that the Action Plan can be reviewed on a yearly basis and it will be convenient to track progress from year to year during the ten-year implementation phase of the Master Plan. Master Plans in other communities sometimes fail to assign responsibility and a timeframe for completion, or to ensure regular review of milestones. Such plans are generally left on the shelf as they lack accountability for implementation.  The Strategic Action Plan of the 2008 Hanover Master Plan is intended to succeed where similar plans have failed.
 

Give us Your Feedback

Click here to fill out our online feedback form and give us your comments, thoughts, and suggestions for the new Hanover Master Plan.

Related Links

Hanover Planning Board

Downloadable Maps

American Planning Association
MetroFuture - Metropolitan Area Planning Council