Why plan now?
It is anticipated that communities like Whately could see changes in population and development pressure over the next few decades. The Whatley Comprehensive Plan can prepare our community for how population, employment, housing options, and development patterns may change.
To best prepare for these changes, the Whately Comprehensive Plan can build on work that has already been done. It can honor the recent past by incorporating the goals of previous town plans. The Whately Previous Plans Memo summarizes the objectives and common themes across Whatley’s plans from the last two decades. The memo helps provide an understanding of what our town has been planning up until now.
In addition to listening to the voices of previous plans, it is important that we have an understanding of Whately in the present to better plan for its future. The following is an overview of what is going on in Whately now.
Population projections from 2022 show Whately’s population declining slightly over the next two decades. As the last few years have shown, however, climate, the economy, and other large events can change migration and demographics in ways we don’t expect. Since the pandemic, people have moved to rural parts of Franklin County at a faster rate than in the past. How can we plan for future population changes?
Population projections show the share of residents 65 and older increasing over the next 20 years. What are we doing to anticipate the needs of our senior residents?
With less than 15% of Whatley households as rentals, but over a third of renters cost-burdened by their housing (paying more than 30% of their income on housing costs), how can we more equitably meet the need for housing in Whately?
Whately is less diverse than many surrounding towns and has the 5th highest median household income in the county. How are we equitably balancing the needs of the whole community when it comes to housing, community resources, jobs, climate vulnerability and more?
33% of land in Whately is permanently protected and 24% is under limited or temporary protection status. How can we balance the use of our land for housing, sustainable development, protection of natural and recreational resources, preservation of the farming economy, and climate resilience?
A Comprehensive Plan for Whately 