Nottingham panel approves consolidated natural-resources survey for public release

The Nottingham master-plan steering committee voted to finalize a consolidated natural-resources survey and authorized SRPC staff to publish and distribute it to the community ahead of the Nov. 8 workshop. The draft survey contains about 12 questions covering ecosystem services, locations residents value, and definitions of local "rural character." The motion was made, seconded and approved with one abstention; no individual mover or seconder was recorded on the audio.

Blair Haney of SRPC told the group the consolidated survey was produced after internal edits and had not yet been posted publicly in order to ensure committee agreement on the questions. Committee members agreed the survey should be distributed via SurveyMonkey, promoted in the town newsletter and at the Nov. 8 workshop using QR codes. Haney said SRPC and town staff will post the link and share it to local distribution lists and social media.

The committee also discussed timing: survey responses are expected to be collected before the Nov. 8 community workshop so staff can fold results into the meeting and subsequent chapter drafting. The committee noted that the finalized survey draft came from contributions made after the August meeting and that at least three members had input on the consolidated questions. One member said they had not received the September 15 draft and was recorded as abstaining from the vote.

The committee asked staff to ensure the survey language includes both map-based prompts and ranking questions (for example, ranking water quality, biodiversity and flood mitigation) so the results can be used directly in the natural-resources chapter of the master plan. The motion to finalize the survey passed and members directed staff to proceed with publication and promotion ahead of the November workshop.