Committee Contact: David Morgan, Environmental Planner and Conservation Agent, dmorgan@town.arlington.ma.us

The Open Space Committee (OSC) is a volunteer committee responsible for preparing and implementing the Town’s Open Space and Recreation Plan. Members are appointed by the Town Manager with approval by the Select Board. 

Arlington's Open Space and Recreation Plan

The Town has completed the 2022 - 2029 Open Space and Recreation (OSRP) consistent with the guidelines from the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services (DCS). Arlington has had a State-approved Open Space and Recreation Plan in place since 1996. This latest update was funded through a $35,000 Community Preservation Act grant, approved at the 2020 Annual Town Meeting. The Open Space Committee worked with Town departments, commissions and organizations to develop the plan, and with Horsley Witten Group, who provided technical assistance.

Take A Walk

Welcome to Arlington's Take A Walk project. To encourage residents to get outside and walk to Arlington's diverse parks and recreational facilities, the Open Space Committee has developed a set of seven suggested and overlapping walking routes across town. The maps indicate safe walking distances linking open spaces, conservation lands, playing fields, playgrounds, and other points of interest.

A town-wide map shows all seven routes, or you can download or print any of the neighborhood maps - East Arlington North, East Arlington South, Arlington Center South, Arlington Heights South, Arlington Heights North, Arlington Center North, and Arlington Center Central. 

A separate, complementary walking initiative developed by Arlington resident George Stephans offers a route that follows the town's boundaries. As it turns out, one can travel very close to the entire Arlington border on roads that are reasonably safe for walking or running and typically are not very busy. His Circumnavigate Arlington main page (tinyurl.com/CircumnavigateArlington) explains this activity and has links to other information and several maps.

To supplement current information about walking around the Town's open spaces, this pdf version of a 1994 book provides a fascinating narrative and illustrated guide to the town's natural resources 25 years ago. The book was written and designed by Adaela Klapper McLaughlin, with illustrations by Laura Rallis, and was published by the Arlington Conservation Commission. Hard copies are no longer available, except in town and private libraries. Original publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management Greenways Grants Program in 1994.

Mill Brook Rediscovered 

In conjunction with the exhibit "A Brook Runs Through It: Arlington's Mill Brook Legacy", Arlington resident Glenn Litton wrote, directed, and produced a short video "Mill Brook Rediscovered". The exhibit was organized by and shown at the Old Schwamb Mill in Arlington Heights between September 2018 and June 2019. The exhibit and video document nearly 400 years of activity along the brook, from the first water-powered grist mill at what is now Cooke's Hollow through centuries of changing land uses to a look at the corridor today.

Experiencing Arlington's Open Spaces

This visual application presents an interactive inventory of Arlington's open spaces. It was prepared to work in concert with the 2015 - 2022 Open Space and Recreation Plan, but most of the information remains relevant. Arlington's natural environment is a precious and limited resource that has been difficult to acquire and maintain, and it needs to be protected ardently. Get acquainted with Arlington's open spaces through this application so you can go out and explore these places for yourself.

Statutory Authority

Voted at Town Meeting April 22, 1996:  That the Open Space Committee be appointed by the Town Manager subject to the approval of the Select Board.  Selection of members shall be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Arlington Open Space Committee and Recreation Plan.  The Open Space Committee shall recommend to each future Town Meeting the goals and objectives in Section 8 and implement the Action Plans proposed in Section 9 of the Open Space and Recreation Plan as well as such other action plans as the committee shall from time to time propose to Town Meeting.  

Committee members include representatives of the Park and Recreation Commission, Conservation Commission, Arlington Redevelopment Board, Envision Arlington, and Department of Public Works, as well as several interested citizens. The committee generally meets on the fourth Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm in the Town Hall Annex. 

Contact: David Morgan, Environmental Planner and Conservation Agent, Department of Planning & Community Development, 781-316-3012.

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