Master Plan Steering Committee

The Master Plan Steering Subcommittee met on July 1, 2021, at 6:36pm, at City Hall room 200A. Meeting called to order at 6:36pm. Present were: Planning Board members Peter Brunette, Rich MacNeill and Stacy Soucy, City Council member Bruce Cheney and citizen representatives Mike Foote and Gail Ober. Also, present Planning Director Dean Trefethen and Assistant Planner Rob Mora. Absent were City Councilors Henry Lipman and Mayor Andrew Hosmer, and citizen representative Gary Dionne. Minutes of the March 4, 2021, meeting was approved as presented. Motion to approve from Foot, second from Ober. Unanimous vote. The group had a discussion about the use of Zoom going forward, both pro’s and con’s. There has never been a desire from the general public to listen to the meetings, so the need for Zoom going forward is lessened considering that meeting restrictions have largely been lifted. Also discussed was the use of technology to be part of the Master Plan updates, perhaps using social media to convey concepts to a broader audience and to solicit input. There was discussion about the State School property and Performance Zoning. The property is covered by the Performance Zoning overlay, and it is the intention of the redevelopment commission to take full advantage of the concept. It also covers other parcels in the area. Discussed was the idea of expanding the area covered by Performance Zoning or creating an additional overlay area in the Hilliard Rd. area or even Endicott St. N. area. This led to exploring ideas of how to expand the availability of water and sewer in the Hilliard Rd, Parade Rd., or Turner Way areas. The Water Dept. could provide more water but would need help financially to expand the water network. And sewer would need to go with any expansion of water. With water and sewer expansion there could be opportunities to create housing with increased density than would be allowed now. The concept of having a consultant study the existing areas of water and how to expand the network was discussed. Next meeting is scheduled for July 15, 2021, at 6:30pm at City Hall. Adjournment was declared at 8:01pm.