Planning staff provided the Manchester Conservation Commission with a preview of the proposed new zoning map and an update on next steps for a revised zoning ordinance during the commission’s June 26 meeting.

Staff said the second draft of the proposed ordinance is scheduled for public release in the first full week of August, with a public presentation and a recorded overview planned for Friday, Aug. 8. Once released, staff said the draft ordinance will be out for 60 days of public review and comment to allow residents to review materials and contact their aldermen prior to formal hearings.

Staff previewed map changes and said conservation districts had been restored to the draft. Staff described a series of zoning categories (suburban residential, multifamily residential, two mixed‑use districts that limit building size to neighborhood scale, business corridors and two downtown zones) and said the draft includes overlay districts such as a Lake Massabesic protection overlay that is unchanged. The staff presentation noted that a portion of the existing Research Park/Innovation District that is already under contract for townhouses has been reclassified to a residential multifamily district to reflect likely near‑term development.

Commissioners asked about buffers where intensive business or industrial districts abut conservation areas; staff said the board of mayor and aldermen had discussed a 50‑foot buffer in places where industrial or business corridor zones touch conservation lands but decided not to apply that buffer where residential districts touch conservation areas because wetlands, steep topography and other constraints make a uniform rule difficult to apply. Staff said particular developments will still require planning‑level review and potential conservation commission involvement when they come forward.

Staff also described that the administration is exploring updated rules for planned developments (multiple buildings on one parcel) to set standards for building spacing and periphery setbacks that would apply to multi‑building parcels rather than relying solely on conventional lot‑line standards.

Staff encouraged commission members to review the August release and said staff will meet individually with aldermen to walk through how the draft addresses specific concerns raised at past meetings. The draft ordinance’s public release will begin the formal process of presentations, subcommittee review and aldermanic approvals.

No formal commission vote was taken on the zoning text or map at the meeting; the update was informational and staff requested the commission’s continued input during the public review period.