Keene committee sends Adam Wright rezoning petition to public hearing after heavy neighborhood opposition

The Keene Planning, Licenses and Development Committee on the evening of the meeting voted unanimously to ask the mayor to set a public hearing on Ordinance O-2025-28, a petition from Adam Wright to rezone five parcels on Winchester and Pearl streets from low-density residential to commerce.

At a public workshop portion of the meeting the petitioner’s agent, John Noonan of Fieldstone Land Consultants, and property owner Adam Wright described a revised application that retains three Pearl Street lots as low-density while proposing commerce zoning for other parcels. Planner Megan Fortson told the committee staff would evaluate the application against the newly adopted 2025 master plan and that PLD would vote on whether to set the required public hearing.

The change would affect five parcels (305 Winchester St., 0 Winchester St., 291 Winchester St., 371 Pearl St., 363 Pearl St.; TMP numbers provided to staff) and roughly two acres, according to the petitioner’s presentation. Fortson said the updated future land-use map treats the area as a transition between downtown neighborhoods and a corridor-oriented commerce character and that a commerce designation would allow a broader and potentially more intense set of commercial uses than the current low-density zoning.

Neighborhood speakers opposed the rezoning in forceful terms. Julie Rose of 315 Pearl Street said, "This neighborhood ... should not be moved," and urged the committee to prioritize affordable housing while preserving the street's long-standing character. Lori Whibbey, who lives on the riverbend near the affected parcels, detailed repeated flooding and erosion on her property and warned that more impervious surfaces could worsen flood and water-quality risks. "If this were to be developed into a commercial space ... there's no telling what could be put there," Whibbey said, citing concerns about runoff, light and noise pollution, truck deliveries and traffic safety.

Other residents described heightened traffic since nearby construction and new rotaries, worry about blind spots at roundabouts near a school bus stop, and the potential for increased late-night loitering. Several speakers asked whether the city had floodplain studies for the parcels; staff replied that FEMA has released preliminary flood maps and that new construction in the floodway is not allowed without compensatory storage and other engineering work.

Committee members acknowledged the neighborhood's concerns, particularly around flood risk and impervious surface, but several said the reduced scope of the petition compared with earlier versions and the pending public hearing at full council made a hearing appropriate. Councilor Jones moved that PLD request the mayor set a public hearing; the motion, seconded by Councilor Williams, passed unanimously. Separately, the planning board moved and voted unanimously that the application "follows the spirit of the 2025 master plan," a consistency finding staff said is part of the required review process.

Next steps: the mayor will set the public hearing date (staff estimated roughly four weeks for noticing). The full city council will hold the noticed public hearing and then refer the matter back to PLD for a recommendation before the council takes a final vote.