This article has been updated to correct a meeting time.
In the not-too-distant future, Concord residents could see the transformation of vehicle thoroughfares into walkable commercial districts and livable mixed-use neighborhoods, adding sorely needed housing.
This week, as part of the next phase of the city’s zoning code update, Concord residents will have their first chance to weigh in on what the future of areas like Fisherville Road and Loudon Road could look like for years to come.
Residents can chime in on Zoom on March 29 from 12-1:30 p.m. or from 7-8:30 p.m. and March 31 from 7-8:30 p.m. The webinars will also be recorded and posted online. Although the meetings will have similar content, Monday’s meeting will be directed toward development professionals, the session on Tuesday will focus on Fisherville Road and other Penacook areas and Thursday will be concentrated on Loudon Road.
This phase of the zoning redo will include the area along Storrs Street, near Steeplegate Mall and along Loudon Road, some office park areas along Hall Street and Manchester Road, the gateway performance district where the 1-93 exit 17 development is taking place and along Fisherville Road near Dunkin’ Donuts. The new rules that can shape the emergence of these neighborhoods and districts will be created over the next few months, with more meetings and workshops planned for the summer and early fall.
Beginning in 2018, Concord planning staff and consultants from Code Studio held community meetings to inform the first phase of the zoning code redo. The latest draft of that code is still undergoing legal review, but there will be more opportunities for feedback later this year before the full set of rules is adopted. Phase 1 represents 90% of the new code, City Planner Heather Shank said.
The goal of the project, which was originally slated to take two years, is to update zoning regulations that are more than 20 years old. The new document is meant to be visually appealing and easy to read, reduce the bureaucratic hurdles required for new development and bring the zoning code in line with how Concord actually looks today.
The new code will focus on the form and character of areas instead of focusing on use. So far, the proposed new code has several components that will address the city’s lack of housing. It lessens restrictions on multi-family housing, making it easier to add an additional unit in a duplex or triplex without getting rid of requirements for large apartment buildings. It also reduces parking requirements, which can impede the building of new housing.
The areas targeted in this next phase are ones where the city does not yet have a vision laid out in the master plan or other documents – and that’s where the public will contribute.
“This last piece is kind of the frosting on the cake, so it’s looking at specific areas that could be improved functionally and aesthetically for neighborhoods and to accommodate housing,” Shank said.
These pockets of the city that went unaddressed in the first phase fall within the city’s urban growth boundary, in areas where Concord has the infrastructure to support more housing and commercial growth. They are also areas that were made for cars, and their development history reflects that: Picture drive-through stores, isolated office buildings, strip malls with big parking lots and other less-pedestrian friendly construction.
Code Studio and Shank selected a few parcels and will create development models in order to show how similar areas in other communities have been successfully retrofitted to use land more efficiently and lessen sprawl. Residents will be able to see different options and offer feedback on which are most appealing in this week’s webinars and future meetings.
A new vision for these areas could require designs that are meant for pedestrians.
“A lot of times when people tackle this type of development, they’re not thinking of people walking at all. They’re not thinking that this is a space for people; they’re thinking this is a space to shunt people through to the next community,” Shank said.
Making underused areas of the city into ones that can accommodate housing alongside businesses is another possibility. That doesn’t mean every part of Concord will resemble downtown, Shank said, but that the city will be set up to handle future growth.
“We like our green space, but we need somehow to have a new plan for development that allows for growth, because we are feeling that pressure right now,” Shank said.
Although transportation infrastructure is not the focus of the zoning update, the code fits into a larger picture of development and city planning that could make it easier to drive less in Concord.
Last week, the City Council voted to appropriate $88,500 for bump-out construction on sidewalks for intersections along S. State Street and South Street. Bump-outs or curb extensions shorten the street distance that pedestrians need to cross, which makes walking safer.
A code that makes new housing development simpler could also cut down on the number of commuters coming into Concord, although Shank believes that people will always drive from Concord to other cities like Portsmouth to work. “We’re not going to dramatically change people’s habits or patterns under that scenario,” she said.
What would change movement around the city would be better infrastructure for walking and biking, she said. Although Concord doesn’t have the density for public transit, it is small enough that biking around the city is not out of the question.
Shank has encountered issues with the city’s cycling infrastructure first-hand while biking with her now-10-year-old son.
“A few years ago, he said, ‘Why do you make me bike everywhere? It’s dangerous,’ ” she said. “It broke my heart, as a planner, that my son would be like, ‘It’s too dangerous to bike.’ ”