The town Master Plan developed three carefully reviewed scenarios for potential development:

• Scenario 1 emphasized environmental concerns and focused on providing ample open space in a manner that reflected "extreme" environmental emphasis. 
• Scenario 2 focused on high economic development, including the use of substantial acreage to be used for high density residential development and little preservation of open space.  This example was designed to demonstrate an "extreme" opposite of the plan's environmentally driven scenario 1. 
• Scenario 3 is described in the Master Plan as a "composite plan" and was meant to balance the town's diverse needs for both preservation and development from 1996 into the next decade.  The composite plan maintained 21% of land for open space/recreation/public land and reserved 60% of developable land for low-density residential development. It should be noted that the composite plan was more preservation focused and limited the rate of development.
•  It is important to note that "developable" land is defined in the Master Plan as excluding wetlands and floodplains.

Overall, the recommended composite scenario of the Master Plan calls for an almost-exclusively low-density approach to housing development and reserves only 2% of developable land for high-density housing.  It is obvious that the Master Plan Committee did not support high-density development and substantial use of available land for development purposes.

Most worriesome is the projected number of residential units per acre.  The Master Plan expected the highest residential density to be 7.5 units per acre.  Even at that level, the Plan recommends very little high-density development.  However, the town has recently witnessed developments that dwarf those projections.  For example, the Village at Glen Isle on Glen Avenue has 9.47 units/acre the planned development off Rt 110 called "Hillside Gardens" has 11.80 units/acre and Kensington at Chelmsford, also along Rt 110 has 17.12 units per acre!

These high-density developments will have significant negative impact on the town.  For instance, the Master Plan indicated that Scenario 2 (high development) generates the most intense traffic congestion.  That scenario projected 20% more traffic than existing 1996 zoning and projected 60% more traffic than the recommended Composite plan.  Considering that residential density rates are even higher than expected, one must appreciate how significant the impacts will be on traffic alone.

Certain town planners and members of the Board of Selectman have successfully avoided higher density developments by working with residents to fight unreasonable proposals.  To be most effective in preserving our community however, they need your help.  Residents who support a town-centered, balanced approach should step forward to assist PCF and town planners in developing policies that will help Chelmsford avoid rampant overdevelopment.