On Saturday, June 10, nine Andover citizens met to find out more about the process for updating Andover’s Master Plan. Attendees included members of the Planning Board, Select Board, Zoning Board, and Conservation Commission, as well as members of the general public.
Planning Board chair Ken Wells opened the meeting by explaining that NH RSA 674:2 authorizes planning boards to undertake master planning for their towns and recommends that master plans be updated every decade. A Master Planning subcommittee, chaired by Planning Board vice-chair Jacob Gilman, is being formed, and its membership should include all Andover townspeople who wish to participate. Gilman would be delighted to see more participation from business operators, employers, farmers, foresters, and landlords. All people whose homes and livelihoods are linked to Andover are welcome to take part.
This year’s Master Plan will be the fourth such effort. Previous Master Plans were approved in 1974, 1992, and 2013. The most recent Master Plan was thorough, and the feeling is that the new 2023 Master Plan can build upon that previous work by updating and adding to it, rather than starting over with a blank page.
Some changes are needed because, for example, new communication technologies affecting the town have become available. Other adjustments must be made due to changes, unforeseen a decade ago, to Andover’s infrastructure (both positive and negative), involving locally-sourced energy, transportation infrastructure, and the Andover Water District.
Some recommendations made in the 2013 Master Plan were implemented very recently, such as, changes to zoning ordinances intended to open up more options for housing construction. Other 2013 recommendations, for example, the creation of a business zone, have been largely ignored.
If you would like to know more, please read the current Master Plan, found at: andover-nh.gov/planning-board/pages/master-plan
The next Master Planning meeting will be held Saturday, July 15, at 10 AM, downstairs in the Town Office Building.