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Merrimack Planning Board adopts updated fee schedule after public hearing
Summary
The Planning Board held a public hearing Jan. 21 on proposed fee schedule changes requested by the town manager, reviewed a comparison study of peer towns and voted to adopt the updated schedule. Board members asked staff to consider a periodic schedule for future reviews.
The Merrimack Planning Board voted Jan. 21 to adopt an updated planning-board fee schedule proposed by the town manager and recommended by planning staff.
Staff told the board the changes were based on an analysis of fees in comparable towns and included modest increases, a new fee for conceptual plan reviews, and clarifications to some existing line items. Planning and zoning administrator Robert (last name not specified in the hearing record) provided a written memo dated Jan. 17 describing the specific fee adjustments and the staff rationale.
The board opened the required public hearing under RSA 675:7 and received no in-person testimony on the fee changes. One board member recommended that staff schedule a regular calendar review (for example, every two years) to prevent fees from becoming outdated; the board agreed that would be a reasonable administrative practice.
A board member moved to adopt the proposed fee schedule; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The board chair said staff would notify town council and update the public materials to reflect the new fees.
No changes were made to abutter-notice fees, and several other fees were adjusted to better match the workload documented by staff. The action was procedural and does not change land-use approvals already granted.
