Zoning steering committee reviews community engagement report; housing affordability, walkability top concerns

The Zoning Ordinance Steering Committee on an evening meeting reviewed a community engagement report summarizing 12 ward meetings held over the summer, staff said, with roughly 1,100 unique participants and close to 1,100 individual comments recorded.

The report — prepared by UNH Cooperative Extension and posted on the Manchester Land Use Code website — distilled recurring topics across the city: housing affordability in multiple forms (senior housing, housing for unhoused people, housing for young families and general single‑family affordability), a preference among many participants for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and duplexes rather than large multifamily buildings, and widespread interest in walkability and neighborhood connectivity.

“12 community meetings, a thousand unique participants that were, counted and, close to 1,100 individual comments,” the presenter said, summarizing the report and its appendix of meeting notes. The staff presenter added that the appendix includes meeting comments captured on butcher‑block paper and read back in the full groups.

Why it matters: Committee members and staff framed the engagement summary as the principal public input they will use to refine draft zoning maps and the new land‑use code. The report’s ward‑by‑ward detail is…