The Planning Board would like to say a huge “Thank you!” to everyone who turned out on Town Meeting Day to vote on the zoning amendments. No matter how you voted, your participation helped to shape Andover’s future.

Now that we have a good, up-to-date building permit process on the books, the Board plans to get to work on some of the ideas and recommendations in the recently adopted Master Plan. (You can read it online at AndoverBeacon.com/Master-Plan.) Revising the Special Exception process and exploring ways to encourage appropriate commercial and light industrial uses while maintaining Andover’s rural character are high priorities for the coming year.

The Planning Board needs help! We need volunteers to join the Planning Board. The Board is supposed to have seven regular members and five alternates. Right now we have only six members and one alternate.

The Board meets twice a month, at 7 PM on the second and fourth Tuesdays. Sometimes there is a little homework, and Board members and alternates need to be somewhat familiar with Town ordinances and state land use planning statutes, but you can learn that on the job. Alternate members can fully participate in Board activities, but they only vote if they are filling in for a member who is absent at a particular meeting.

Would you be interested in serving? If you’d be willing to be appointed to the Planning Board, please contact me at 735-5280 or PCurrier@nulltds.net.

We also need input from all interested Andover residents as we move forward – we expect to keep you informed with Beacon articles and public discussion meetings. Stay tuned!