Welcome to the Town of Townsend Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee page.

To obtain the benefits of development without losing valued environmental assets, we must plan how the town uses its land. Planning allows us to confront and manage many aspects of the town’s growth and development in a way that preserves, protects and enhances the environment. Planning provides the opportunity to assess where we are, where we would like to go and how we might get there. An approved Open Space and Recreation Plan is a requirement of the State and is also used as a determining factor in awarding grants for land use projects such as open space purchases and recreation facility upgrades.

Below you will find links to the 1999 Open Space and Recreation Plan and the 2012 Draft update of the plan, as well as the Maps that are required by the State to be with the Plan.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact Karen Chapman at (978)597-1723 or kchapman@townsend.ma.us.

Document List

• 2012 Open Space and Recreation Plan DRAFT
• 1999 Open Space and Recreation Plan
• .
• Map 1: Regional Context
• Map 2: Townsend in 1889 is located within the Plan
• Map 3: Zoning Districts
• Map 4: Hills and Slopes
• Map 5: Geology Bedrock
• Map 6: Surficial Geology - not completed yet
• Map 7: Surface Water Resources
• Map 8: FEMA Floodplains
• Map 9: Water Supply Features - waiting for data from MassGIS
• Map 10: NHESP Priority Habitats
• Map 11: NHESP BioMap Areas
• Map 12: Environmental Issues
• Map 13: Open Space and Chapter 61 Lands
• Map 14: Action Plan Map
• .
• Commonwealth of Mass Open Space and Recreation Plan Requirements
• Commonwealth of Mass Open Space and Recreation Planner's Workbook