Land Use 2025 - RhodeMap RI

4-10 Scenario SelectionIn August 2005, the Technical Committee selected the Composite Scenario as thepreferred scenario to form the basis of the State’s land use plan. This recommendationwas based upon the scenario evaluations illustrating a clear difference between wherecurrent trends are leading versus a future based on a more compact and managed growthpattern. The Composite Scenario offers a means to accommodate necessary growth in acompact and balanced fashion, while minimizing the negative effects and diseconomiesof sprawl.Pursuing policies that will restore and reinforce the tradition of focusing growth in andaround existing towns and cities appears to offer the best prospect for allowing futureRhode Islanders to live, work, and travel in ways that fully utilize the public investmentin roads, transit, water, and sewer services, while creating the fewest impacts to criticalresources and maintaining the distinctiveness of various parts of the State’s urban andrural landscapes.4-11 Comparing the Composite Scenario to Municipal PlansFollowing selection of the Composite Scenario as the preferred future land use pattern, anevaluation was performed to assess its correlation to municipal future land use maps andAffordable Housing Plans, as contained in local comprehensive plans. This was done toidentify both areas of consistency and of differences, which will be reviewed withmunicipalities during their next comprehensive plan update. Further, the analysis soughtto identify areas where the selected scenario might need to be adjusted to produce arecommended future land use map for this Plan. The analysis included two steps, first tocompare the Composite Scenario with the composite of the municipal future land usemaps, shown as Figure 121-04(5) and secondly to compare with municipal AffordableHousing Plans.The Composite of Municipal Future Land Use Maps was created by summarizing theland use categories shown on future land use maps in municipal comprehensive plans.The twelve generalized future land use categories from the Composite Municipal FutureLand Use Map were contrasted against the land intensity classifications contained in theComposite Scenario.Table 121-04(12) shows the results of this comparison. The comparison revealed someareas of differences but determined the State and local composite maps did not differgreatly overall.Land Use 2025: Rhode Island State Land Use Policies and Plan (April 2006) 4-29