Sanbornton committee reviews 135-response housing survey, plans outreach and chapter draft

The Master Plan Housing Committee of Sanbornton reviewed results of an online housing survey on Feb. 2, 2026, that drew 135 responses and largely mirrored answers collected at an earlier open house, Danielle Scadova-Vose of the Lakes Region Planning Commission said.

Danielle Scadova-Vose, the committee’s LRPC consultant, said the online survey was open for one month and showed respondents were split between preferring traditional single-family subdivisions and cluster subdivisions. She said many respondents indicated the town does not adequately address the housing needs of young families and seniors, and that some residents support multi-family housing only if it is designed to look like traditional one-family houses.

Committee members discussed how the survey should inform zoning and the housing chapter of the Master Plan. Mark Ledgard said the previous MPHC chair, Donna Ledgard, had advised the Planning Board to delay proposing zoning changes related to duplexes until the committee completed its work. Planning Board Chair Andy Sanborn said the Planning Board’s draft changes had been developed before the survey results were complete.

Selectman Brandon Deacon said he was "less concerned about getting the Housing chapter update done quickly than making sure it is complete so that the Planning Board can then make informed decisions about zoning if they choose to." He and other members discussed conducting a mailing to residents to invite them to a results-and-education session and presenting the survey findings to the Planning Board with an explanation of where the current ordinance is deficient relative to state statute.

Danielle Scadova-Vose told members she expects to have a rough draft of the housing chapter in two months. The committee scheduled a review meeting for Monday, April 6 at 6 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.