Open Space and Recreation Plan

Open Space and Recreation Plans (OSRP) help to ensure that a community’s open spaces, critical plant and animal habitats, neighborhood parks, and quality outdoor recreation facilities remain a part of its landscape for future generations. A thorough and thoughtful planning process ensures that the needs and aspirations of the community are keystone to the goals of the plan.

These plans are powerful tools to implement the community's goals. An OSRP establishes the community's desires for open space and recreation access and recommends patterns of development that will support them. Having this document available can help you advocate for the open space and recreation needs of your community as well as address municipal vulnerability to climate change, improve management of conservation land, and strategically prioritize future areas for land protection.

Communities with an up-to-date approved Open Space and Recreation Plan are eligible to apply for a variety of grant programs administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Division of Conservation Services (DCS) including the Massachusetts Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant Program, Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) Grant Program, Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) Grant Program. OSRPs also help coordinate ongoing acquisition efforts between state environmental agencies, municipalities, and local and regional land trusts.

Read Haverhill's 2024-2034 Open Space & Recreation Plan

What is open space?

The term "open space" is often used to refer to conservation land, forested land, parks and recreation land, agricultural land, corridor parks and amenities such as small parks, green buffers along roadways or any open area that is owned by an agency or organization dedicated to conservation. However, the term can also refer to undeveloped land with particular conservation or recreation interest. This includes vacant lots and brownfields that can be redeveloped into recreation areas.

Why protect open space?

The City of Haverhill has a wide variety of natural resources, open spaces, and recreational facilities. Open spaces are generally located outside the city center in areas where lakes, streams, ponds, forests, and farm pastures are located. Active recreational facilities are located in the more densely populated areas of the city. The protection of these lands is significant to providing sustainable sources of clean air and water, protecting wildlife habitat, and providing residents with access to beautiful landscapes, safe lifestyle environments, recreational opportunities, and improved quality of life.

As the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services aptly notes, “it is through thoughtful planning and active stewardship that Massachusetts’ open spaces, critical plant and animal habitats, neighborhood parks, and quality outdoor recreation facilities remain a part of our communities’ landscapes. Without planning, the appearance of a community, the lifestyle of its residents, and the condition of its natural resources can be dramatically altered in a short period of time due to ill-conceived changes in land use patterns.”