Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning And Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Islington Creek residents urge council to act after planning board shelves rezoning
Summary
Multiple residents and property owners told the Portsmouth City Council that a proposed rezoning for the Islington Creek/Hanover Street area was improperly delayed by the Planning Board, asking the council to add the matter to a future agenda.
Several residents told the City Council on April 21 that the Planning Board had shelved a proposed zoning map amendment affecting the Islington Creek neighborhood and urged the council to take up the rezoning.
Nicole (44 Rock Street), Elizabeth Bratter (property owner, 159 McDonough Street), and Robin Husslage (27 Rock Street) all described years of neighborhood work on a rezoning aimed at creating a transitional buffer between taller, denser development on Islington Street and the older single-family blocks of the Islington Creek neighborhood. Speakers told the council that the Planning Board discussed the amendment in multiple work sessions and had previously signaled support, but on April 17 the Planning Board tabled the item and deferred it to the city master-planning process, which residents said could take years.
"Not recommending to correct the zoning is a gross neglect of the seven years of hard work by the neighborhood," Nicole said in public comment. Robin Husslage recited a timeline of work sessions and said the neighborhood had repeatedly sought a public hearing and action.
What residents asked the council to do
Speakers asked the council to put the rezoning matter back on the council's agenda so the neighborhood's zoning concerns could be addressed without waiting for a multi-year master-plan update. They said recent approvals of nearby projects — cited in public comment — increased urgency because new developments could be built under current zoning.
Council response and next steps
The April 21 meeting recorded public comment on the topic; the council did not take a formal vote or make a referral on the rezoning during the meeting. Councilors and staff were asked to review the written materials and the planning-department record. Residents said the request dated to early 2018 and that prior planning-board actions in 2020 and 2022 had created expectations the zoning amendment would proceed.
