One suggestion is to extend the retail area in Concord Center to include some of the buildings with archaic zoning, like banks. Banks are not needing large buildings to serve customers these days, so having them zoned only as bank/financial institutions is limiting. One example is 59 Walden Street which has been vacant for 2 years. Concord center would be better served by having a vibrant business like a restaurant that attracts people to come shop.
Another need in Concord is a place for baby Boomers to "down-size" to. Concord has become an expensive place to reside during retirement for long-time residents. Town planners should encourage housing for a variety of lifestyles. As our regs stand right now, the process is more conducive to building out a lot with the largest house possible (that fits in the FAR), since that is more lucrative than meeting the demands of our community. For example, there is a demand for 55+ housing as well as homes that town employees, farmers, and teachers can afford.
A third idea for sustainability, in response to the use of the landfill at CCHS campus, is to consider this or another more central site for the MIddle School campus. A centralized campus(CCHS and CMS) is a good way to create better traffic patterns and reduce what I call the "cross town shuffle" for families with multiple children in grade 6-12. Towns like Weston and Acton are good examples of this. Transportation issues would also be improved.