Voters have spoken. Vicksburg Square will not be redeveloped, at least not anytime soon. Harvard officials can turn their attention back to planning for all of Harvard, and let Devens’ future be part of that.

To be sure, there are planning issues that are Devens-related. How might Devens resources be part of an expanded Ayer Road commercial district? How will Devens housing development (there is capacity for 176 more units of housing, all in Harvard, within the existing 282 cap) affect fulfillment of Harvard’s 40B obligation? How might MassDevelopment planning resources be brought to bear on Harvard’s planning needs?

In the immediate future, Harvard will have to produce an updated affordable housing plan as required by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Planned Production Regulation under MGL Chapter 40B. Who will produce this update? The last update was prepared by the Harvard Housing Partnership, which no longer exists. If the update is produced before 2010 census data is available, Harvard’s 10 percent target will be inflated by a Devens housing count of 314; in fact, there are only 71 housing units now standing in the Harvard portion of Devens. All of the rest have been demolished, and will not be in 2010 census numbers. Harvard should either wait for 2010 census data before producing the plan, or demand an adjustment to the year-round housing stock number that is the basis of the affordable housing target.

While it is no doubt important to restart the planning and collaboration of the Joint Boards of Selectmen and MassDevelopment, that should take a back seat to the primary task of addressing Harvard planning needs.