Steering Committee Emphasizes Importance of Master Plan Update

The Master Plan Steering Committee met on Aug. 15 to reiterate the importance of updating the Master Plan, something Chair, Jeff Penta, wanted to address a week’s worth of feedback from Londonderry residents.
“Updating our Master Plan is not only essential for addressing the significant changes our community has experienced between both 2012 and 2024, but it’s also crucial for ensuring compliance and statutory requirements in adopting new regulations,” he explained, noting that a shift in population has contributed to the issue of an outdated Master Plan as more families and retirees have moved in. “This population growth necessitates thoughtful planning to manage land use and infrastructure effectively, catering to the needs of all ages and populations within are community.”
Housing has been a growing issue as more people move to Londonderry, a trend expected to continue over the next decade. The update would also address some economic changes Londonderry has seen, especially regarding planned use developments.
“These developments require updated zoning regulations and land use policies, which can only be effectively addressed through a revised Master Plan,” said Penta. “Addressing these changes requires a proactive approach.”
Additionally, he claimed an updated plan would make it easier for the town to comply with changing environmental regulations.
“I think this is a very important step that we need to take as a town to help us get to the future of Londonderry,” added Vice Chair, Jake Butler.
The Committee also wanted to check in on survey feedback related to housing, demographics, and land use, three topics that had been flagged as particularly important to many residents.
Sylvia Von Aulock, Executive Director of the Southern NH Planning Commission, summed up the feedback as “this is long.” The original survey was designed to be 50 questions.
“It was long because it addressed pretty much every section in the entire Master Plan,” said Von Aulock. “What we talked about was really focusing the initial survey on the ‘top tier.'”
The revised survey should take 5-10 minutes. The hope was that a shorter survey would generate more feedback.
The reduced scope provoked a response from members of the public, including Senior Resources Committee member, John Wilson.
“You have a good, substantive section on transportation and I’m here to ask you not to take it out of the survey,” said Wilson.
Recently, the Senior Resources Committee began examining what transportation opportunities exist for Londonderry residents and had hoped the Master Plan survey would make that task easier.
The Executive Director expected to revisit the transportation section and the “lower tiers” of the Master Plan in five to six months, wanting to leave it out of the initial survey to keep things short.
“The only issue I have with that is the Senior Resources Committee is working towards determining over whether to put a warrant article on the March ballot,” said Wilson. “Doing a transportation survey later would probably negate being able to get a warrant article on, we would have to wait another year to deal with this issue.”
Penta expressed his sympathy, but worried warrant articles were beyond the scope of the Steering Committee.