CHARLEMONT — The Planning Board has adopted a new Master Plan that outlines Charlemont’s goals for the next 20 years, such as growing its housing stock, expanding the local economy and preserving natural resources.

Board members voted unanimously on Wednesday to adopt the plan after the landscape architecture and planning firm Dodson & Flinker spent five months conducting research and community outreach, and then writing up the Master Plan. The document outlines the town’s existing demographics, as well as its economic, housing and climate conditions, along with future goals for development and conservation.

“I think you guys did a very good job on this,” Planning Board member Lori Shulda-Merrigan told the firm. “I really liked it.”

Charlemont’s Master Plan was last updated in 2003. Since then, the town and its residents have seen a shift in their needs and wants.

“Charlemont faces both pressing challenges and exciting opportunities that require thoughtful planning. Like many rural towns, Charlemont is grappling with population decline, a high tax burden, costly infrastructure and public services, and a limited workforce and customer base to support small businesses,” the plan states. “The town is also experiencing a housing affordability crisis, complicated by demand for second homes and short-term rentals. Additionally, Charlemont faces climate-related risks such as increased flooding along Route 2 — a critical transportation corridor — and in the town center, where emergency services are located.”

With these challenges in mind, the plan outlines goals such as revitalizing the town center, expanding the local economy, preparing the town for climate change, preserving its natural resources, enhancing connectivity, increasing the town’s housing stock, investing in public services and promoting civic engagement.

Top priorities and action items will include appointing a Master Plan Committee to oversee the implementation of the plan. Dodson & Flinker Senior Associate Dillon Sussman told the Planning Board that meeting the plan’s goals will require a team effort. Some action items should fall to the Selectboard, while others will be the responsibility of the Conservation Commission, Planning Board, the schools, and other town departments, boards and organizations.

The plan recommends the creation of a Charlemont business association that would work on driving economic development in town, and further studies of Route 2 and development opportunities. The plan also suggests that the town look at updating its cluster development bylaw to address housing needs.

Other action items include creating an outdoor recreation tourism package and working with nearby communities and organizations to attract tourists; identifying areas in town where food trucks and other mobile vendors could set up shop; improving signs and safety barriers along Route 2 and the riverbanks; creating visitor parking downtown; and creating pedestrian-friendly and cyclist-friendly paths to the fairgrounds.

To support this work, Sussman told the Planning Board that the town should seek as much federal and state grant funding as possible, and recommended that the town apply for the next round of Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program grants for future projects.

If all goes according to plan, the Charlemont of the future will be one that prioritizes natural resource preservation while showcasing the town’s natural beauty to visitors, the Master Plan states.

“In 2045, Charlemont is a town where natural beauty, a sense of adventure, creativity and strong social fabric come together to create a one-of-a-kind community,” the plan states. “Our town has masterfully balanced thoughtful development with environmental stewardship, sustaining our clean air, clean water and scenic landscape while creating housing and business opportunities that support an economically and environmentally thriving community.”

Charlemont’s Master Plan is available to read at dodson.egnyte.com/dl/4dhJjxRYYwW4.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.