Town of Ashland, Massachusetts ECONOMIC POLICY PLAN August 2010 Revised November 2010 COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES GROUP, INC. Boston, Massachusetts Town of Ashland ECONOMIC POLICY PLAN November 2010 Prepared for: Town of Ashland Prepared by: Community Opportunities Group, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts Supported by a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Town of Ashland Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Economic Development Planning and Policies .................................................................................................................... 2 MetroWest Region ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Sources of Information .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 2. ECONOMIC PROFILE ..................................................................................................................................... 7 POPULATION & LABOR FORCE ................................................................................................................................. 7 Population Characteristics ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Labor Force and Unemployment .......................................................................................................................................... 10 EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES .................................................................................................................................... 15 INVENTORY OF EXISTING BUSINESSES .................................................................................................................... 19 Employer Establishments ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 All Business Establishments ................................................................................................................................................... 20 Government .............................................................................................................................................................................. 26 TAX BASE................................................................................................................................................................. 26 3. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................. 29 LAND USE PATTERN ............................................................................................................................................... 29 TRANSPORTATION .................................................................................................................................................. 30 UTILITIES ................................................................................................................................................................. 33 BUSINESS DISTRICTS ................................................................................................................................................ 34 Downtown & Pleasant Street ................................................................................................................................................. 34 Route 135 Corridor .................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Route 126 Corridor .................................................................................................................................................................. 43 HOUSING ................................................................................................................................................................. 47 ZONING ................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Zoning Districts ........................................................................................................................................................................ 50 Site Development Regulations ............................................................................................................................................... 56 Planning, Zoning, and Permitting ......................................................................................................................................... 57 4. REGIONAL MARKET TRENDS .................................................................................................................. 59 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................................... 59 OFFICE MARKET ...................................................................................................................................................... 60 INDUSTRIAL MARKET ............................................................................................................................................. 64 RETAIL MARKET ..................................................................................................................................................... 66 5. ANALYSIS OF NEEDS ................................................................................................................................... 69 ADDRESSING THE IMPACT OF RAIL SERVICE .......................................................................................................... 69 Grade Separation ...................................................................................................................................................................... 70 Other Options ........................................................................................................................................................................... 73 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................................................... 80 Zoning ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 81 Municipal Services for Economic Development ................................................................................................................. 92 ii Capital Improvements ............................................................................................................................................................ 96 State Incentives and Special Financing ................................................................................................................................ 97 UNDERSTANDING THE FISCAL IMPACT OF LAND USE POLICIES .......................................................................... 99 Issues ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 99 Challenges .............................................................................................................................................................................. 102 6. RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................................................................................................................105 7. REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................109 8. APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................................................113 iii List of Tables Table Name 2.1 Comparison Demographic Indicators, Ashland Region 2.2 Population Age Trends 2.3 Commute Destinations of Ashland Residents 2.4 Selected Education Comparison Statistics, Ashland Region 2.5 Place of Residence of Ashland Workers 3.1 Roadway Miles by Class of Road 3.2 Downtown Ashland Land Use Inventory 3.3 Pleasant Street Land Use Inventory 3.4 Route 135 Land Use Inventory 3.5 Route 126 Land Use Inventory 5.1 Grade Separation: Comparative Impacts 5.2 Mitigation Options: Comparative Impacts 5.3 Ambulance Response Delays iv Economic Policy Plan / 1 1. Introduction Ashland is a MetroWest suburb with approximately 16,000 residents. Bounded by the towns of Framingham, Sherborn, Holliston, Hopkinton, and Southborough, Ashland is a relatively young community, incorporated in 1846 from land that previously belonged to three of its neighbors. It has the angular boundaries and small geographic area typical of towns formed during and after the mid-nineteenth century, and because Ashland is both small and rapidly gaining population, its population density is higher than that of most of the surrounding communities. In 2002, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) opened a commuter