The Plaistow Planning Board on July 16 opened a public hearing to consider comprehensive amendments to the board’s bylaws and rules of procedure and read the proposed document in full. Board members and staff discussed editorial fixes and substantive clarifications, and the board continued the public hearing to Aug. 6, 2025, for further revision and legal counsel review.

Why it matters: the rules and procedures document defines the planning board’s authorities, meeting procedures, notice requirements, conflict‑of‑interest and disqualification rules, application timelines, and interactions with town staff and other boards under New Hampshire law. Changes affect how the board runs public hearings, how staff and applicants communicate with members, and procedural timelines tied to statutory deadlines.

Board discussion identified several items needing clarification or legal review. Members noted inconsistent or unclear language in the draft related to required training hours for new and continuing members (the draft alternately referenced six hours and two hours of training), and flagged a provision that currently reads that each board member “shall be provided a town email address,” which board members said should reflect that providing a town email is subject to the town manager or selectmen (they discussed changing the term from “shall” to “may” or otherwise qualifying it). Members also asked legal counsel to clarify whether an ex‑officio member may or may not preside over a meeting in practice; the draft contains categorical language barring an ex‑officio member from serving as chair, and members asked the town counsel to confirm the scope and limits of that prohibition.

Other editorial and process clarifications sought included: distinguishing external applicant submission deadlines (21 or 14 days prior to hearing) from internal packet timelines, clarifying the role of planning staff versus town manager in appointing and supervising staff, and correcting minor typographical and RSA citation errors the board identified while reading the draft. The board also discussed public‑hearing logistics such as packet distribution timelines, the chair’s authority to alter the agenda during long meetings, and rules for site walks and joint hearings with other boards.

The chair directed staff to incorporate the suggested edits, resolve typographical inconsistencies, and consult town counsel on the outstanding legal questions before resuming the public hearing. The board scheduled a continuation of the hearing to the next regular meeting on Aug. 6, 2025, at 6:30 p.m., and asked members to send any additional editorial suggestions to staff for inclusion in a revised draft. No final vote to adopt the revised rules was taken at the July 16 meeting.