Planning staff announces outreach for comprehensive plan, grant for parking study and two moratoriums to be addressed by task force

During the director’s report at the July 1 meeting planning staff announced community outreach tied to the comprehensive‑plan update: a staffed table at an upcoming community gathering at Number One Pond where consultant Barry Dunn and planning staff will collect public input on vision statements and policy options.

Staff also said the city secured a grant to begin a parking study and to support rewriting parking ordinance sections; planning staff will seek city council approval to hire a consultant to start that work. The director noted an impending state statutory change requiring municipalities to limit parking in growth zones to one space per residential unit by July 1, 2027 and said the study will help bring local rules into compliance.

The director reported that city council has enacted two citizen petitions into six‑month moratoriums on data centers and waste treatment facilities; an industrial development task‑force review team (including the planning board representative Tom Morgan and a third‑party environmental engineer) will begin reviewing ordinance gaps and preparing proposed amendments for both the planning board and council.

Staff encouraged public participation in outreach on the comprehensive plan and said steering‑committee work has moved the project into drafting the inventory and vision chapters, with public comment to follow. No formal votes were taken on these items during the meeting.