Plan Incorporates Feedback from Community Members to Guide Equitable, Sustainable, and Smart Development Over the Next 10 Years  

(MEDFORD) – The City of Medford has released and adopted the final version of the Comprehensive Plan, a document that will guide Medford and help create a long-range vision for development and policy over the course of a decade, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced. 

For roughly the past 18 months, City staff and external stakeholders worked collaboratively to form the foundation of the document with the input and guidance of community members. The plan engages seven core areas of development for Medford over the next 30 years, and includes a 10-year action plan:  

·         Land Use 

·         Housing 

·         Economic Development 

·         History, Arts, and Cultures 

·         Open Space and Recreation 

·         Public Services 

·         Mobility  

The seven core areas were studied and planned according to key themes that were predominant in the community engagement process, including climate resiliency, equity, health, transparency, among others.

“When I took office there was no strategic planning process in place to help guide Medford’s policy, development and strategies which led to missed opportunities and misguided decisions,” Mayor Lungo-Koehn said. “It was clear that in order to move our City forward in a sustainable, equitable and dynamic way, we needed to produce a plan that would help shape our goals and make our vision for Medford a reality. My sincere thank you to everyone who helped create this Comprehensive Plan, our Steering Committee members including Councilor Bears and Councilor Caraviello, and especially our Director of Planning, Development and Sustainability Director Alicia Hunt, who was instrumental in guiding this process.”

Community engagement was essential to this process, with the project team gathering thousands of comments that helped guide the vision laid out in the final plan. Over 10 in-person events were held, 15,000 residents were reached by mail, there were over 1,800 comments and ideas captured through the website, over 20 focus groups, and more. 

“This Comprehensive Plan is the result of countless hours of engagement, discussion and research by our stakeholders, partners, community advocates and City Hall staff,” said Director of Planning, Development and Sustainability Alicia Hunt. “Without the contributions of so many incredibly passionate and dedicated people we wouldn’t be able to create this critical document that will help shape the future of Medford.” 

To view the final plan, access past meeting recordings, an interactive map, draft details, and more, visit medfordcompplan.org. 

About Medford’s Comprehensive Plan: 

The City of Medford launched a citywide Comprehensive Master Planning Process on June 9, 2021 to develop a long-range vision for the City with policy and guidance for implementation of the Plan over the next ten years. The City worked with a team of consultants to complete this work: Agency Landscape + Planning; Innes Associates; Karp Strategies; Arup; and LANDAU Design + Technology. 

Agency was leading planning, design, and engagement for the Plan. They worked closely with Innes Associates for project management, land use planning, policy development, and zoning analysis; Karp Strategies for economic development and housing; Arup for mobility; and LANDAU Design + Technology for visualization and engagement technology. 

The Comprehensive Master Planning process took approximately 18 months and the resulting Plan provides a basis for decision-making about climate adaptation and mitigation practices, land use planning and redevelopment, budget preparation and capital improvement planning for public facilities and services.  

The Comprehensive Plan vision statement reads that, “the Plan and its recommendations are in support of a vision that by 2050, Medford’s many welcoming communities thrive among vibrant places that enhance the daily lives of all who work, play, learn and grow in our city. Together, we share a future that is protected from extreme heat and flooding, connects people to where they need to go, and promotes open, engaged communication.”