Municipal plans also give towns guidance in planning their own infrastructure investments. Wise investments yield better results. A municipal plan can serve as a yardstick against which to measure the change in a community over time. The snapshot of the town that the plan provides becomes a baseline to measure change in the next planning process. Therefore it is important to review the plan, go through the process, on a regular basis.
Plans also help identify opportunities for a town.
The process of planning involves taking a fresh look at the town. In taking that look a town may see itself anew and see new possibilities. At the same time, the plan provides a framework against which to measure new opportunities. It is easier to judge new opportunities and see how they fit into the shared vision of the future of a town if a set of values and goals is already in place. The Planning Process There are five parts to any good planning process.