In order to hear from Millis residents directly, the Conway student team, in collaboration with the project Core Team, hosted a public forum at the Millis Public Library on January 31, 2023. Nearly fifty town residents attended and took part in a number of activities and discussions to share their desires, ideas, and opinions about the best uses for Millis’s Town-owned properties.
Student project by Savannah Bailey ’23, Josie Kaul ’23, and Emma Picardi ’23
Prepared for the Millis Conservation Commission
Millis, Massachusetts, has a long history of acquiring parcels of land. Today, the Town owns a large array of properties ranging from undeveloped wetlands to beloved historic buildings. A Plan for Public Lands in Millis, Massachusetts presents three frameworks to guide the Town’s land use decision-making process. The first framework identifies features of conservation value on the parcels and investigates how they fit into the broader ecological landscape of the town and region. The second framework analyzes the parcels’ suitability for Town-directed development. The third framework, a synthesis of the first two, identifies where both conservation and Town development potential are low, indicating that the greatest benefit may come from selling the parcel. Broadly, these frameworks are designed to help Millis make informed decisions about how and where to prioritize conservation or development throughout the town.