City of Amesbuy, MA Amesbury, MA
Amesbury Open Space and Recreation Plan (MVP)
BSC assisted Amesbury in obtaining and implementing a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action grant to integrate climate resiliency into the City’s draft Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP), and to update and formalize the plan, which received an enthusiastic review from Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The update included the incorporation of climate change considerations, data from the City of Amesbury MVP Community Resilience Building Summary of Findings Report and the City of Amesbury MVP Natural Resources Infrastructure Assessment Report and associated maps. In the reports, BSC played a crucial role in public engagement, hazard identification, and mitigation recommendations.
As part of the updated plan, BSC collaborated with the City as well as the Amesbury Open Space, Natural Resources, and Trails Committee (OSNRTC), working together to complete public forums and promoting an effective and meaningful public participation process that resulted in a strong understanding of community values and opinions relevant to the project. In light of COVID-19, the team was tasked with progressing the project remotely and adapting to new norms which included a web-based presentation for the public meeting, as well as utilizing remote forms of communication between the City and team.