Engagement Envoys

Belmont's Comprehensive Plan, entitled Belmont 2050, will deploy Engagement Envoys which are citizens tasked with getting residents and other stakeholders connected to the project from all corners and communities of the town. A key goal of the project is to get as much public participation as possible so that the Plan will truly reflect the complexity and diversity that is Belmont. In order to do this, our project team is looking for people who might be interested in serving as an Engagement Envoy.

What Does it Mean to be an Engagement Envoy?

Simply spread the work about the Comprehensive Plan and the importance of participating in any way that works. This could mean encouraging people to attend a public meeting or workshop and sharing thoughts, filling out the online survey, sending in comments to our mailing list, attending a Committee meeting, conversing with our team at a pop-up event like Town Day, or just informally sharing your thoughts by contacting our team. Your role as an Envoy isn't intended to be a heavy lift but just intended to have you spread the word in whatever way is convenient for you to reach your community. We are particularly interested in trying to reach those who typically do not participate in these types of projects due to difficult work or home schedules, challenges with technology, difficulty in participating due to a disability, language or cultural barriers, or lack of familiarity with local government or comprehensive planning.

What Do you Need to Know?

Engagement Envoys just need to know the basics of what a comprehensive plan is and why it is important, the various ways that people can participate, and the schedule of upcoming events for the Plan project. The rest is up to you. If you have any interest in serving as an Engagement Envoy, please contact Director of Planning and Building Christopher Ryan at Belmont2050Plan@belmont-ma.gov or call 617-993-2658. Once we have a critical mass of Envoys, we will try to invite you to a future meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee to welcome you and thank you for your partnership.