Dedham Master Plan - Community Opportunities Group, Inc.

COG served as lead consultant for a comprehensive update of Dedham’s 1996 Master Plan. A mature suburb with a population of about twenty-four thousand, Dedham faced the challenge of balancing new growth – including several major mixed-use, commercial, and housing developments – with neighborhood and community needs, opportunities for redevelopment, and conservation of its significant natural and cultural resources. Throughout the planning process, COG worked closely with a Planning Board-appointed Master Plan Steering Committee that included residents, business leaders, and town officials. The new Master Plan, adopted by the Planning Board and accepted by Town Meeting in May 2009, emphasizes the following priorities:

• Neighborhood-level needs, identified during a series of Neighborhood Input Sessions where residents discussed neighborhood-related concerns and opportunities.
• Town governance, based on the results of an All-Boards Meeting and meetings with Town department heads, in order to improve local government’s effectiveness and capacity to carry out the Master Plan.
• Dedham Square, where long-needed public improvements required attention and an active downtown business group stood ready to lead a successful downtown revitalization program.