Past Workshops

Thurs.  Apr. 17, 2008, 7 - 8:30 PM -  
Changes to Chapter 61 Co-sponsored by the Essex County Greenbelt Association and The Trustees of Reservations. Changes to the Chapter 61 land classification program were enacted at the end of 2006.  Chapter 61/A/B helps increase protection of open space and supports sustainable forestry and farming. This workshop covered how the changes make it easier for landowners to enroll in Chapter 61 and receive substantial property tax relief in exchange for keeping farm, forestry, scenic or recreational land undeveloped.  Among other changes, the new law clarifies the "right of first refusal" process for municipalities who wish to match a developer's bona fide offer to a landowner recently enrolled in Chapter 61. 

Reference materials included the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust Chapter 61 Handbook and the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, Inc. Summary of Chapter 61 Changes 

Sat. Apr. 12, 2008, 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM - The Great Marsh Symposium: Discover a Coastal Treasure in our Backyard Sponsored by the Essex County Forum and other members of the Great Marsh Coalition with support from EBSCO. This 2nd annual Symposium was held at the Parker River National Wildlife Headquarters in Newburyport. An outstanding roster of experts gave short presentations on a variety of Great Marsh topics ranging from "Four seasons on a salt marsh farm," to "Historic aviation in the Great Marsh" to "In search of the salt marsh tiger beetle and other mysteries of the Great Marsh." The Great Marsh Coalition members include but are not limited to Eight Towns & the Bay Committee, The Essex County Forum, Essex County Greenbelt Association, Essex National Heritage Commission, Massachusetts Audubon Society, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Recreation's Area of Critical Environmental Concern Program, Parker River Clean Water Association, and The Trustees of Reservations. More information is available at: http://www.greatmarsh.org. 

Sat.  Mar. 29, 2008, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference  Sponsored by the Trustees of Reservations’ Putnam Conservation Institute and the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition at the Worcester Technical High School, Worcester, MA. Over 400 attendees came to learn the nuts and bolts of what it takes to conserve land for everyone, forever. Novice and long-time conservationists attended a wide array of workshops on the legal, financial, political, and social realities of land conservation. The Essex County Forum  co-presented with the Community Preservation Coalition and the City of Quincy on The Community Preservation Act - Getting it Done in Cities.

Presentations: CPA Update   Salem, MA   Quincy, MA 

Fri. December 1, 2007 - Massachusetts Smart Growth/Smart Energy Conference The Commonwealth of Massachusetts,  the Mass. Chapter of the American Planning Assoc., and  the Urban Land Institute co-hosted a statewide conference at the DCU Center in Worcester attended by over 750 people. Susan Jones Moses, ECF Smart Growth Circuit Rider presented on a panel covering What's Working in Small Towns and Rural Communities.

Presentations:    Essex County Forum       Conference Proceedings

Thurs. Nov. 8, 2007, 7 - 9  pm - Transportation Choice Transit-oriented development, walkable neighborhoods, multi-use trails, and walk-to-school initiatives are ways that communities can offer choice and equity when it comes to getting around. Reducing vehicle miles traveled helps to improve not only air quality, but also the quality of our lives by giving us more time and money to spend on the things we really enjoy.  

Presentations: Trails    Transportation Mgmt Associations    Amesbury TOD    Concord TOD

Thurs. Sept. 27, 2007, 7 - 9 pm - Historic Preservation & Smart Growth Many Smart Growth tools can be used to not only accomplish land conservation but can also help preserve the historic character of our communities. Adaptive reuse, demolition delay bylaws, and the Community Preservation Act are just some of the tools that can help make our communities more livable while maintaining the historic treasures that enhance the fabric of our cities and towns.

Presentations: Demolition Delay    Historic Rehab Tax Credits    Ipswich: Whipple Annex

                            Lawrence: Washington Mills      Model Demolition Delay Bylaw

Tues. June 12, 2007, 7 - 9 pm - Zoning for Density - Chapter 40R Chapter 40R encourages communities to create dense residential or mixed-use zoning districts including a high percentage of affordable units near transit stations, in existing areas of concentrated development such as city and town centers, and in other suitable locations. Upon state review and approval of a local overlay district, communities become eligible for payments from a Smart Growth Housing Trust Fund. Chapter 40R seeks to substantially increase the supply of housing and decrease its cost, by increasing the amount of land zoned for dense housing. Communities are starting to implement these overlay districts. This program was sponsored by National Development Company and looked at work being done in 3 Essex County communities: Lynnfield, Lawrence, and Haverhill. 

Presentations:   40R Overview and Lynnfield: Golf Course Redevelopment    Lawrence: Arlington Mills 

                             Haverhill: Downtown 40R District

Tues. May 22, 2007, 7 - 9 pm - Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Co-sponsored with MA Coastal Zone Management and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Peabody Institute Library, Gordan Room, Sylvan Street, Danvers, MA. TDR permanently protects open space for water supply, agricultural, habitat, recreational, or other purposes via the transfer of some or all of the development that would otherwise have occurred in these sensitive places to more suitable locations. In essence, development rights are "transferred" from one district (the "sending district") to another (the "receiving district"). Communities using TDR are typically shifting development densities within the community to achieve both open space and economic goals without changing their overall development potential. An overview of TDR concepts and benefits was followed by examples from Plymouth and Groton.

Presentations:   TDR Overview    Plymouth, MA   Groton, MA

Sat. Mar. 24, 2007, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM -  Determining Land Conservation Priorities for Your Community The Essex County Forum Smart Growth Circuit Rider presented a workshop on "Determining Land Conservation Priorities for Your Community" at the 17th Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference.

Sat. Mar. 10, 2007, 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM -  The Great Marsh Symposium: Discover a Coastal Treasure in our Backyard An opportunity for all who love the Great Marsh to jump-start their own fair weather explorations of the area. The Great Marsh Symposium: Discover a Coastal Treasure in our Backyard included an outstanding roster of experts giving short presentations on a variety of Great Marsh topics ranging from Sea Level Rise to Bird Banding on Plum Island to Poets and Painters of the Marsh, circa 1900. Hosted by Mass Audubon and the Great Marsh Coalition with support from EBSCO Publishing in Ipswich, the Symposium was held in the lovely new auditorium at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Newburyport. More info. at the Great Marsh website, www.greatmarsh.org.

Fri. December 1, 2006- Massachusetts Smart Growth Conference The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Mass. Chapter of the American Planning Assoc. co-hosted a statewide conference at the DCU Center in Worcester attended by over 750 people. Susan Jones Moses, ECF Smart Growth Circuit Rider presented on a panel covering innnovative strategies from local, regional, and state initiatives that increased acceptance of smart growth. Attendees learned about innovative, transferable approaches to coalition building, education, community visioning, and achieving consensus.

Presentations:      ECF Smart Growth Circuit Rider                Full Conference Proceedings

Wed. November 15, 2006, 7 - 9 pm - Building Support for Smart Growth Initiatives: Strategies for Consensus Building and Implementation A workshop for planners, planning boards, selectman, conservation commissions, historic commissions, economic development staff, and other interested citizens.  Held at the Rowley Free Public Library 141 Main Street, Rowley, MA The best smart growth initiatives are moot if they do not gain community support and are not adopted by the local legislative body.  This workshop explored how to build support at the local level to ensure their adoption and implementation.  An overview of the key skills needed to build consensus and the elements of a public process to educate citizens, negotiate areas of disagreement, and ultimately "Get to Yes" was provided.  Representatives from four Essex County communities presented case studies describing projects that used these skills and techniques to advance a variety of smart growth initiatives. 

Presentations: Overview     Salisbury, MA    W. Newbury, MA    Boxford, MA    Gloucester, MA 

Thurs. June 15, 2006, 7 - 9 pm - Village Center Zoning
Also known as "new urbanism", "neo-traditional" or "traditional neighborhood design", village center revitalization is a way to create compact, mixed use, walkable neighborhoods in areas that have already been developed. It can knit back together the fabric of communities threatened by large lot scattered patterns of development. It also can protect open space through concentrating uses in a civic-oriented, pedestrian-friendly, economically vibrant, environmentally sustainable way that also evokes a unique sense of place. Held at the Gould Barn in Topsfield and co-sponsored by the Mass. Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Coastal Zone Management, and Merrimack Valley Planning Commission.

EOEA Overview 

Wed. June 7, 2006, 2:30 - 4:00 pm -  Connecting Youth with Nature Workshop
Annual Youth At Risk Conference, Endicott College Callahan Center, 376 Hale Street, Beverly, MA. In this high-tech, fast-paced world our kids may be suffering from what some have called "Nature-Deficit Disorder". A panel of experts will talk about the research that shows the importance of engagement with nature and the work to provide opportunities, particularly for urban youth, to re-establish their connection with the natural world. More information at: http://www.essexcountyyouth.org/yarconference20067.html

Wed. March 29, 2006, 7 - 9 pm - Low Impact Development(LID)
Co-sponsored with MA Coastal Zone Management. Peabody Institute Library, Gordon Room, Sylvan Street, Danvers. LID is a method of development that begins with thorough site analysis to identify the natural features of a parcel in order to build within nature's envelope. It can also be used to retrofit existing construction to a more balanced relationship with natural systems. LID seeks to protect, preserve and even restore the natural hydrology of a landscape. This is one of the many tools that communities have to achieve their Smart Growth goals in a low-cost, low-tech fashion. Presentations covered fundamentals of LID site design, examples of LID in practice, and a model LID bylaw. 

Presentations: Overview    LID Bylaw     LID Ordinance    2 Case Studies    Ipswich River   

Sat. March 11, 2006,  10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Conservation & Affordable Housing 101
Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, Bancroft School, Worcester, MA. Our Circuit Rider, Susan Jones Moses, presented with other experts in the field. They  covered case studies with time for questions & discussion. This day-long conference is designed for volunteers and staff conservationists from land trusts, state agencies, conservation commissions, planning boards and anyone else involved in or concerened about land conservation.  Co-sponsored by the MA Land Trust Coalition and The Trustees of Reservations-Putnam Conservation Institute, this conference draws 350-400 people to its 28 workshops on topics ranging from land protection strategies to community outreach tools.  This year's conference theme was "Conserving Land and Community."

Thurs. February 9, 2006, 8:30 - 10:30 am - Combining Open Space and Affordable Housing: Meeting Two Diverse Goals in a Single Project
North Shore Task Force, Peabody Institute Library, Gordon Room, Sylvan Street, Danvers. Our Circuit Rider, Susan Jones Moses,  presented. Many communities struggle with how to protect land and provide affordable housing opportunities.  This CHAPA - sponsored presentation highlights thirteen examples in eight Massachusetts communities that included land conservation and production of affordable housing in a single project.  Communities range in size, location, and strategies used to accomplish these often conflicting goals. 

Affordable Housing and Open Space Presentation

Sat. February 4, 2006, 8:30 - 10:30 am - Creating a Municipal Open Space Inventory
Open Space Network, Mass Audubon's Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary, 346 Grapevine Road, Wenham, MA. Our Circuit Rider, Susan Jones Moses, presented on our newest publication, Preserving the Future: a Guide for Creating a Municipal Open Space Inventory. The Open Space Network serves North Shore municipally appointed open space committee members, community preservation committee members and open space advocates in Essex County. The Network is a collaborative coordinated by Mass Audubon, Essex County Greenbelt Association, The Trustees of Reservations and Mass Coastal Zone Management.

Preserving the Future Presentation 

Thurs. November 17, 2005, 1:00 - 5:00 pm - Affordable Housing Workshop
The Forum, in partnership with the North Shore Housing Trust and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, offered a free workshopat the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers. Over 40 community members joined us to learn about housing programs and planning showcasing local actions that can be taken to develop affordable housing, explaining the role of housing trusts, and finding and keeping local support for affordable housing. Presentations available at http://www.nshousingtrust.org/scrapbook.html#workshopnov17.

Results of 2005 Workshop Topics Survey