Keene council amends Sunset Ridge PD to include fiber-cement in masonry definition, 4–2

Keene City Council voted 4–2 on Jan. 15 to amend Planned Development Ordinance 2023-665 for the Sunset Ridge subdivision so the ordinance’s requirement for exterior "masonry" explicitly includes fiber-cement (commonly sold as Hardie board) and other materials recognized by the International Building Code.

The change followed a public hearing in which residents warned that allowing fiber-cement could lower property values and reduce fire safety. "I would be opposed to taking that masonry away because we gave up something that ultimately will make our community a rental community," resident Gary Heinrich said during the hearing. Several others urged that masonry be defined as brick, stone or rock.

City staff and the city attorney said the council was constrained by state law and the IBC. "Our ordinance states masonry but didn’t define what masonry is," the city attorney explained, noting that recent building-code cycles treat certain fiber-cement siding as an acceptable exterior material. Attorney remarks and staff slides showed the city had to reconcile the PD text with the statewide building-code standards to avoid a conflict.

Developer Adley Pennington told the council the revision would allow a mix of materials — some homes could be brick or stone and others use fiber-cement — and that the change would not require all houses in the subdivision to use the same siding. "It means that now just by definition some can be hardiplank, some can be brick, some can be stone," he said.

Opponents, including several longtime residents, said the original PD had been negotiated to obtain smaller lot sizes in exchange for a high-masonry appearance and worried the change would erode the bargain. "The spirit of the law was that it would be brick or stone or rock on 80% of it," one resident said.

Council members who supported the amendment pointed to the legal advice that excluding IBC-acceptable materials risked invalidating the PD or exposing the city to legal challenges; those who opposed cited durability and neighborhood character concerns. After debate the motion to revise the PD passed on a 4–2 vote.

The amendment applies specifically to the Sunset Ridge PD language where "masonry" was previously undefined; staff said other PDs continue to be governed by their text and development agreements. The council directed staff to update the PD language to match the IBC definitions and return any implementation details to a future agenda if necessary.