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North Country Council to audit Campton zoning, update master plan; planning board forms committee
Summary
The Campton Planning Board heard a North Country Council presentation on a Housing Opportunity Grant‑funded zoning ordinance audit and a concurrent roughly 18‑month master plan revision, agreed to form a Master Plan Committee, and set a tentative mid‑June kickoff pending a contract with the selectboard.
On March 13, 2025, the Campton Planning Board heard representatives from the North Country Council outline a grant‑funded audit of the town's zoning ordinances and a concurrent revision of the town's Master Plan, and the board agreed to form a Master Plan Committee to oversee the update.
Liz Emmerson, representing the North Country Council, told the board that the audit is funded through the Housing Opportunity Grant Program (HOP) and will focus on affordable housing. "This project is funded by grant money secured through the Housing Opportunity Grant Program (HOP)," Emmerson said. She described a scope that includes short‑term rental research, interviews with community members, focus groups and open houses, a review of zoning ordinances and site‑plan review regulations, and recommended ordinance amendments grounded in community feedback and NCC's housing‑stock research.
Michelle Moren‑Grey, also from the North Country Council, described a separate but related Master Plan revision that will run concurrently with the ordinance audit. "The revision will take roughly 18 months to complete and will include adding/revising data, adding chapters, and garnering feedback from the community to better reflect Campton's desired direction for future development," Moren‑Grey said. She said some audit research will inform elements of the updated Master Plan.
Board members agreed it would be beneficial to form a Master Plan Committee to oversee the process; the board discussed committee membership that would include a Planning Board member, a Zoning Board of Adjustment member, several community members, and suggested representatives from the Village Precinct and Waterville Estates. The board noted that a contract must be drafted by the North Country Council and signed by the selectboard before work begins; contingent on that signature, members suggested a mid‑June kickoff date.
Earlier in the meeting, Chair Jake Tuck moved to amend typographical errors in the draft minutes and then moved to approve the minutes as amended; Sherrill Howard seconded and the motion passed unanimously among members present. Stuart Pitts was recorded as absent for that vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. after a motion by Tuck seconded by Ted Davis that also passed unanimously.
The board's next procedural step on the audit and plan revision is to await a contract drafted by NCC and its formal signing by the selectboard, after which the Master Plan Committee will be assembled and the public engagement and research work will proceed.
