Public comment period on Milford master plan to begin Jan. 15

The draft of Milford’s proposed comprehensive plan will go up for review on Jan. 15 with an eye toward making a final presentation to the borough on March 16 for potential adoption.

Simone Collins Landscape Architecture is developing the plan and reviewing it with the comprehensive plan committee, which includes the Milford Borough Council, Mayor Sean Strub, local business people, and planners.

The public will have 45 days, from Jan. 15 through March 1, to submit comments to Simone Collins, which held its third and final public meeting online on Dec. 16 and further outlined the plan’s goals in seven areas: land use, transportation, open space and recreation, community facilities, resources, housing, and economic development.

The plan projects Milford’s growth will equal about 20 to 25 additional residents per year over 20 years, with a population of 1,614 to 1,738 by 2040.

To accommodate that growth, the plan suggests the best use for the vacant gas station on West Harford Street is a mixed-use residential development, while using mixed-use residential units in the commercial corridor for senior citizen, workforce, and affordable housing.

Nearly 33 percent of respondents to a Simone Collins public opinion survey had lived in the borough for only three to five years. About 20 percent lived in the borough for 20 years.

Councilman Joseph Dooley said he was surprised that most of the respondents lived in the borough for less than five years. He, himself, is in that category.

“I’m surprised to see that,” Dooley said. “I didn’t think there were that many transplants in the borough, but I’ve seen a lot of people moving into town. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised as I thought I was. Maybe those 0-5-year people are the ones who have taken the survey and taken an interest in the borough.”

Sewage, recreation

Most borough residents didn’t want sewage collection in the residential areas and prefer it limited to the commercial district. Most also want the borough to attract restaurants, bars, and specialty food stores.

Borough residents and non-residents also want the Broad Street and Harford Street corridors to be planned to better meet the needs of pedestrians and vehicles.

For recreation, most residents want to see more sidewalks and trails.

The plan calls for bicycle and pedestrian routes through the commercial zone and heading up toward the trailhead near the borough’s border.

Borough council vice president Adriane Wendell said the comprehensive plan is just a plan. Nothing is set in stone, she said — it’s a document the borough is going to work from going forward, and it’s up to the borough to figure out how to fund it.

Despite earlier concerns, she said, she is looking forward to seeing the draft plan.

“None of it is funded,” she said. “None of your recommendations, none of the concepts we’ve been talking about, none of it has been funded.

“It’s all stuff for us to consider and then go figure out how to fund. I can see this goes out and somebody says, ‘We’re going to do all this stuff.’ No. This is just a plan.”

To read the master plan, follow this link: bit.ly/3nX2E9u.