MANCHESTER, NH – Application deadline for the Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee is June 28. Officials are looking for three members of the public – to be chosen by Mayor Jay Ruais – to fill in the final slots on the committee, which according to word on the street, includes the following members:
- Housing Commission member – Kate Marquis
- Planning Board member – John Goeman
- Zoning Board of Adjustment member – June Trisciani
- Board of Mayor and Aldermen members – Jim Burkush and Christine Fajardo
- Heritage Commission member – John Clayton
Once selection is complete the committee will be tasked in the coming months with setting policy for the new Manchester Zoning Ordinance, which was revealed to the public last week.
Anyone who wishes to be considered as a candidate for the Steering Committee should send a letter of interest along with a resume to LUC@manchesternh.gov before Friday.
Check out more info on the city’s Land Use Code landing page.
According to City of Manchester Planning and Community Development Director Jeffrey Belanger, the new zoning code is largely form-based, following in the footsteps of other New Hampshire municipalities such as Dover, Portsmouth and Lancaster.
Other New Hampshire municipalities seeking form-based codes include Nashua and Concord and over a thousand other municipalities across the country, ranging from Burlington, VT to Buffalo, NY to Miami, Fla.
Belanger stated that the new code seeks to address the city’s housing shortage by making it easier for developers to build “missing middle” housing, buildings such as duplexes that allow more density than single-family homes but are cheaper and smaller than large apartment complexes. In the past several years, the Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment has regularly allowed variances for these “missing middle” housing proposals, a sign that the code no longer reflects the city as it is today. However, Belanger also noted that many developers would rather not build than wait a month to obtain a variance given the risk that they may not obtain the variance as well as the potential costs in waiting for the variance.
Public information sessions and public meetings will be announced and held over the summer. We’ll update your when those meeetings are announced.