DLTA Spotlight: Rockland Master Plan 2030

Creating a Roadmap for the Future of Rockland

Written by Operations Specialist I Rachel Marx

District Local Technical Assistance, or “DLTA” funds, are state grants distributed among the state’s 13 Regional Planning Agencies (RPAs)—including MAPC—to provide cities and towns with money and technical staff to work on projects related to regional collaboration, economic development, zoning, and protecting the environment.

Each month, MAPC will highlight a project made possible by DLTA funding.

Using $20,000 in DLTA funding, MAPC worked with the Town of Rockland to complete the Rockland Master Plan 2030. The 10-year vision sets forth Rockland’s road map to achieving long-term goals for the community.

Rockland Master Plan

The final Rockland Master Plan was published in December 2020.

Click Here to Read

The final plan, adopted by the planning board in December 2020, concluded a year-long planning process with extensive community input, including four public forums, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

A master plan is a long-term planning guide that summarizes the goals and aspirations of residents and property owners, describes existing concerns, and recommends actions the Town could take to achieve its goals.

This is the first master plan for the Town in many years. It builds on previous planning efforts by MAPC, including a housing production plan, open space and recreation plan, creative placemaking initiative, and 40R Smart Growth Overlay rezoning project.

The Rockland Master Plan covers a wide array of town functions and priorities, from land use to clean energy to public facilities (and more).

The plan's goals and recommendations build on a vision statement agreed on by residents and town staff.

Click to Expand: Rockland's Vision Statement

Rockland is a proud maturing suburban community located in greater Boston’s south shore region. Rockland celebrates and preserves its historic and cultural assets, while also looking toward the future by building upon them. The Town’s centrally located historic lower Union Street retail shopping district is home to its main civic facilities, cultural assets, and within proximity to its Rail Trail. Looking toward 2030, Rockland envisions a downtown streetscape with upper-story homes, ground floor shops, busy outdoor seating areas, and widened sidewalks with amenities and public art. Visitors from neighboring North Abington and Hanover will use the Rail Trail to visit downtown shops. In addition to its state-of-the-art consolidated elementary school, the Town’s rehabilitated Community Center and redeveloped Town Hall will host indoor functions as well as outdoor social gatherings on enhanced public plazas. These renovated public facilities will feature green building features to further demonstrate Rockland’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

An expanded regional bus service will bring hundreds of workers from Hingham Street and Route 3 businesses after work to downtown restaurants and bars. Residents will have the option of taking the improved BAT bus RF service to the Abington MBTA commuter station to Boston for work. Outside businesses will continue to propose redevelopment projects in response to public realm improvements, a new transit-oriented landscape, and other resolved infrastructure matters.

The Town will expand its community events to showcase its assets through community art walks, scavenger hunts, and food festivals that will bring visitors to its historic district, artist lofts, Town Forest, the stadium, among other places. Seniors, downsizers, and young adults and families will have the option of smaller, more affordable homes in downtown Rockland, as well as townhomes and smaller, pocket neighborhoods elsewhere in Town.

The plan included 27 goals with 83 associated recommendations. Key goals included:

Continue to address affordable housing through inclusionary zoning, multi-family housing, and more
Promote key historic and cultural resources
Improve the business district
Enhance creative and cultural economic development
Continue reducing energy use and improving renewable energy infrastructure
Maintain and manage existing open space resources

Rockland Master Plan Highlights: 8 Planning Elements, 27 Goal, 83 Recommendations

Each goal includes in-depth recommendations for how to achieve it. For example, one of the plan’s goals is to grow Rockland’s downtown by enhancing transit options. There are five recommendations on how to achieve this, including expanding the Brockton Area Transit (BAT) bus frequency, spreading awareness about the BAT bus, and partnering with local employers to form a public-private transportation partnership.

Having this master plan in place gives Rockland a cohesive vision for the future. It will help to inform decisions on policies, bylaws and zoning. It also helps community members, future community members, and businesses know what kind of community Rockland is growing to be.

Want to dig into the master plan? Check out the Rockland Master Plan webpage here and read the full report here.

Want to learn more about how you can support DLTA? Check out our DLTA one-pager or contact Leah Robins at [email protected].