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CCRPC Executive Committee outlines equity committee plans, notes UPWP funding boost and legislative items
Summary
The Executive Director said CCRPC contracted with Creative Discourse to support racial equity work and will form an internal Equity Leadership Team; he also reported an unexpected $800,000 increase to FY22 UPWP funding and briefed members on several bills of RPC interest.
Executive Director Charlie Baker updated the Executive Committee on equity work, the FY22 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), and several legislative items of RPC interest.
On racial equity, Baker said CCRPC is now under contract with Creative Discourse and is developing an internal Equity Leadership Team to lead Phase I of the work. The team is expected to include five to seven people: two or three Board members, two staff (likely Bryan Davis and Emma Vaughn), and one person from the Creative Discourse team. Baker said staff will email Board members to solicit interest and clarify time commitments.
Baker also reported a positive development for the FY22 UPWP: the Federal Highway Administration informed CCRPC that roughly $800,000 of additional funds are available this year in addition to the typical $2.4 million, which eases some prioritization pressures. He cautioned that the limitation will be the ability to provide local match and staff capacity to deliver the work; the FY22 draft UPWP will be available for review at the next committee meeting.
On legislative matters, Baker flagged bills of interest including a Rental House Registry bill that could shift some local inspection responsibility to the Division of Fire Safety, a housing bill being worked on by Senator Sirotkin to incentivize local zoning updates to encourage housing in smart growth locations, and uncertainty about a Project‑Based TIF bill that could affect community wastewater projects in Westford and Huntington. CCRPCs have requested a 20% increase in the Regional Planning Grant; the outcome is uncertain at this stage.
Baker asked members to note the March Board agenda items, including the FY22 UPWP and Budget warning for May, Westford’s town plan, and VTrans project prioritization; members agreed staff should invite VTrans to present on project prioritization and explore an EV presentation with VTrans and VEIC.
