July 17, 2023

• Select Board holds goal workshop to discuss Strategic Goals and Objectives for 2023-2024; and
• Receives Overview of Three Major Planning Documents – the Comprehensive Plan, the Climate Action and Sustainability Plan, and the Community Health Improvement Plan.

ANDOVER, MA – The Andover Select Board met on Monday, July 17 in the School Committee Conference Room at the Andover Public Schools Administrative Offices. The meeting was focused on the development of strategic goals and objectives that will guide the Town Manager and Select Board’s work over the next year. The Board’s goal setting workshop began with presentations on three recently completed long-term planning documents – the Andover Comprehensive Plan, the Climate Action & Sustainability Plan, and the Andover Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). Each plan outlines major recommendations in priority areas that are reflected in the draft goals and objectives considered by the Board. 

Draft versions of all three documents have been released over the last week and are currently available online for public review. Each plan will be refined through public input before being released in their final form in the coming weeks.  

Prior to entering the goal setting workshop, the Select Board acted on several regular business items, including the approval of a One-Day Liquor License to be used during the Recreation Division’s upcoming Unified Pickleball Tournament, approval of the temporary taking of easements necessary for the Ledge Road Landfill capping project, and the approval of the appointment of five new officers in the Andover Police Department. 

Comprehensive Plan

The Andover Comprehensive Plan, also referred to informally as a Master Plan, is a planning tool which develops a strategic vision and roadmap for the Town’s future. Both a comprehensive assessment of existing resources and a policy guide for future development, the plan establishes priorities around housing, economic development, open space and recreation, and a range of other topics. The Town’s most recent Master Plan was adopted by the Planning Board in 2012, and has served as a guide for the Planning Board on special permit decisions and recommendations on Town Meeting warrant articles for the past decade.

In May of 2021, the Town of Andover initiated the process of developing an updated plan that accounts for significant changes in the community over the past decade with the appointment of a steering committee comprised of Andover residents with a diverse range of professional expertise. The development of the plan took place over two years, and was guided by input gathered from the community through surveys and several well-attended visioning sessions. 

Assistant Planning Director Lisa Schwarz provided an overview of the Comprehensive Plan to the Select Board during the meeting. As outlined by Schwarz, key topics examined by the document include the natural environment, land use, demographics, mobility and transportation, jobs and the economy, recreational open space, topography and water, and land use and housing. 

Schwarz emphasized that the Comprehensive Plan aligns closely with the Climate Action & Sustainability Plan. Goals related to land use, transportation, and the natural environments are shared between both plans.

The Comprehensive Plan will be reviewed in greater detail during the Planning Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 25 at 7:30 PM in the School Committee Conference Room. Members of the community are invited to attend the meeting in-person or watch it on AndoverTV for more details on the plan.

The full draft of the Andover Comprehensive Plan can be viewed online at: andoverma.gov/comprehensiveplan.

Climate Action & Sustainability Plan

Director of Sustainability Joyce Losick-Yang provided an overview of Andover’s Climate Action & Sustainability Plan, which provides a roadmap for the Town to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Losick-Yang noted that the development of the Plan has been a priority since she joined the Town of Andover in December of 2019.

Like the Comprehensive Plan, the Climate Action & Sustainability Plan is the product of extensive public engagement. The development of the plan began in July 2021, and in the two years since, nearly 1,000 members of the community have been engaged in the process either by attending events or completing surveys. The process was supported by an eight-member steering committee. 

As described by Losick-Yang, the Plan is organized into six priority sectors that relate either to how Andover emits carbon or solutions for dealing with greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere: buildings, energy, mobility, natural resources, public health and safety, and waste. Goals for achieving progress in each priority sector are detailed in the full report. 

Losick-Yang noted three key take-aways highlighted in the plan that are critical to the Town of Andover achieving benchmarks for curbing carbon emissions. First, the plan aims to promote sustainable mobility by encouraging widespread adoption of electric vehicles and prioritizing non-motorized transportation options. Secondly, in the energy sector, the focus is on participating in the municipal aggregation program, pending approval from the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), to effectively reduce emissions. Lastly, in the buildings sector, the plan advocates for adopting a specialized building code for new construction to future-proof homes and businesses, along with promoting heat pumps, while ensuring that low-income households are not left behind during this transition.

The draft Climate Action & Sustainability Plan can be viewed online. Public comments on the document will be accepted until August 1. A final version of the draft of the Plan is expected to be published in August.

Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) 

The final plan presented to the Select Board on Monday was the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), a comprehensive strategic framework aimed at enhancing the health and well-being of the Andover community. Developed through a collaborative effort led by the Andover Public Health Division, the CHIP outlines priority health issues and strategies to drive positive health outcomes for the residents of Andover.

Director of Public Health Thomas Carbone provided an overview of the Plan’s development and the key themes that it addresses. 

According to Carbone, the development of the CHIP was initiated in 2022 when Andover forged a partnership with the North Andover Health Department to contract with Health Resources in Action, Inc. (HRiA) to conduct a shared Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).

The CHIP identifies three crucial health priorities that emerged from the CHNA findings: (1) mental health across the lifespan, (2) affordable housing, and (3) diversity, equity, and sense of community. The plan outlines strategies and objectives for achieving progress in these priority areas.

The CHIP can be viewed online at andoverma.gov/CHIP. Members of the community are encouraged to review the plan and provide feedback and suggestions via e-mail to: cdphealth@andoverma.us  Comments must be submitted by Friday, August 11.

Two listening sessions will be held in the coming weeks to provide additional opportunities for members of the community to learn more about the CHIP and provide feedback. An in-person event will be held at the Robb Center on Friday, July 28 at 1:00 PM, and a virtual event will be held on Tuesday, August 1 at 7:00 PM. Details on how to join the virtual event are available online at: andoverma.gov/chip.

 Strategic Goals and Objectives 

The Select Board conducted a thorough review of strategic goals and objectives for the year ahead during their annual goal workshop. Town Manager Andrew Flanagan presented proposed priorities for the Board’s consideration during the session. 

The preliminary set of goals presented by Flanagan was produced through an extensive internal process that considered the status of goals set for the previous year, and additional priorities of the Select Board that have emerged in recent months. Certain goals were carried forward from last year, or adapted to reflect changed implementation status, while others were added for the first time.

The list outlined by Flanagan contains 35 goals and accompanying deliverables across the areas of administration and finance; resident response management and engagement; capital improvements; economic development and housing; active transportation; river and open space access; energy and sustainability; and diversity, equity and inclusion. 

The full list of proposed strategic goals and objectives can be viewed online. Residents are encouraged to review the document and share feedback by e-mail to selectboard@andoverma.us and manager@andoverma.us. 

A revised strategic goals and objectives document will be developed based on input from the Select Board and community feedback. It is anticipated that the Select Board will review and consider adoption of the updated goals document in August.

Other Actions 

• During the announcement portion of the agenda, Town Manager Andrew Flanagan stated that the second public forum on the ongoing Elm Square Road Safety Audit will be held on Monday, August 7 at 7:00 PM. Additional details will be shared in the coming days. 
• The Select Board approved an application from the Recreation Division for a One-Day Liquor License for use on Town Property. The license will enable Oak & Iron Brewing Co. to operate a beer garden at Rec Park during the first Andover Unified Pickleball Classic on Saturday, July 22. 
• The Select Board approved the taking of a temporary easement across three private properties on Greenwood Road that are necessary for the Ledge Road Landfill capping project. The property owners voluntarily signed easements with the Town, and the taking was approved during Annual Town Meeting in May. 
• The Board approved a consent agenda that included the appointment of five new officers in the Andover Police Department. Four of the new officers will fill vacant positions in the Department created by the departure of other officers, while one will fill a new role created through the implementation of the public safety staffing plan incorporated in the FY2024 budget. That plan added three positions to the Andover Police Department – one in the drug enforcement unit, and two in the traffic unit.
• Select Board Chair Melissa Danisch provided an overview of the timeline for the Board’s annual Town Manager review process. Under the timeline, members of the Board will submit completed reviews to the Town’s HR Director by August 25, and the Board will vote on the review approximately three weeks later in mid-September.

The full meeting can be viewed online through AndoverTV.