Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Development Regulations Amendments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning board advances multiple development-regulation amendments; tables conceptual-notification rewrite
Summary
At a public hearing the Hooksett Planning Board approved amendments covering sewer manhole placement, residential parking minimums and occupancy-review language, and tabled a broader rewrite of the town’s conceptual-discussion and abutter-notification rules for further drafting.
The Hooksett Planning Board held a public hearing on proposed changes to the town’s development regulations and took action on several amendments.
Sewer manhole placement: The board approved an amendment (Part 1, Section 11.14) that clarifies sewer manholes and related infrastructure are to be located within the paved roadway/right-of-way rather than outside the traveled way. Supporters said placing manholes within the roadway eases maintenance and location by municipal crews; the board voted to approve the change.
Parking standards: The board approved proposed edits to parking standards that implement a state-law change limiting residential-parking regulation to a minimum of one parking space per dwelling unit. That amendment (Part 1, Section 15.01, subsection 12) reduces the town’s prior minimums to the new statutory baseline for residential units; the board approved the change in public hearing.
Residential site-plan parking: The board also approved changes to the residential site-plan parking subsection (Part 1, Section 15.01, subsection 27) consistent with the statutory change and staff recommendations.
Occupancy review and landscape standards: The board approved language intended to clarify when a change of occupancy or a “land use proposal” triggers full compliance with the performance-zone landscape standards. The amendment ties the planning board’s review authority to the state standard requiring a substantial change in use or structural dimensional modification before applying current zoning requirements. The board approved the change after discussion; one member registered opposition on the record.
Conceptual-discussion rules tabled: The board chose to table and rework a more extensive rewrite of the section governing preliminary conceptual discussions (Part 1, Section 8). Members debated whether abutter notification should be mandatory for conceptual meetings, how detailed conceptual review should be, and whether applicants should be allowed to waive a preliminary conceptual meeting and proceed directly to design review. The board voted to postpone the conceptual-notification rewrite and to return with revised language that more clearly defines the two-stage conceptual/design-review approach and abutter-notification triggers.
Why it matters: The approved changes update the town’s development regulations to reflect recent state law on residential parking and clarify technical standards for utilities, occupancy review and landscaping in the performance zone. The tabled conceptual-notification rewrite addresses public-notice and process clarity for developers and abutters, and the board will reopen that item for additional public hearing once revised language is posted.
What’s next: Staff will post revised draft language for the conceptual-discussion section and schedule a new public hearing. Approved language will be transmitted to appropriate town records; occupancy- and parking-related changes are effective according to the town’s rule-adoption schedule and state timing noted in the statute.
