Open Space Assessments
Regional Planning Commissions, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF), and local governments will work together to assess each community’s present growth planning strategies and to identify needed services to achieve regional goals. They are intended to help the participating communities get the information they need to apply for and spend grant money earmarked for planning and growth practices. Specifically, the assessments will:
- identify land that should not be developed and document why;
- map those lands and link them into a functioning "green infrastructure";
- create strategies for the protection of those lands; and
- ensure the plan works ecologically, financially, and legally for the towns.
When a community’s assessment has been completed, opportunities to protect green spaces through purchase and easement, as well as through regulation, will be considered. By late 2007 and through 2008, the teams will work with each interested corridor community to put together a solid conservation plan.
