Town of Rumford Comprehensive Plan

Project Scope

Haley Ward partnered with the Town of Rumford to develop its 2026 Comprehensive Plan — a shared roadmap to guide growth, investment, and community decision-making over the next decade. While municipal leaders face and make many decisions every day, each of those decisions contributes incrementally to long-term outcomes. A current, thoughtful, actionable comprehensive plan provides the consistency and continuity necessary to ensure that those decisions accrue toward community goals, and move the Town toward a shared, sustainable future vision.

Developing a comprehensive plan requires balancing technical analysis with meaningful public engagement. Over a six-month planning process, the Town and Haley Ward worked closely together with elected officials, residents, business owners, and community organizations to identify opportunities and challenges, and establish a shared vision for Rumford’s future. At the center of that process was an intensive, week-long public charrette, allowing the planning team to immerse themselves in the community and engage stakeholders through workshops, panel discussions, one-on-one conversations, and an open house. Discussions ranged far and wide, but were nearly universal in their enthusiasm for the River Valley community where they chose to live, to work, and to grow.

One of the greatest challenges in community planning is capturing a broad range of perspectives within a limited timeframe. Rumford met that challenge head-on: residents, business owners, and community leaders engaged openly, candidly, and constructively throughout the charrette, offering keen insight into the Town today and the initiatives they believed would move Rumford forward over the next decade. Haley Ward’s role was to listen closely, facilitate that dialogue, and help translate it into a plan grounded in what the community wants. The resulting Comprehensive Plan provides clear, actionable strategies to guide future growth while preserving the character and strengths that make Rumford unique, giving Town leaders a practical framework for making informed decisions and advancing community priorities for years to come. The plan reflects the residents, municipal leaders, businesses, and organizations who contributed their time, ideas, and aspirations throughout the process, and the shared optimism they hold for a place with almost unlimited potential.

Renderings produced by, and used with permission from Able City East.

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• Municipal & County

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Project Data