The Concord city council has taken a step toward simplifying the planning board process for developers and property owners.
On Monday night, the group raised the bar for a project to trigger a minor site plan review and approval from the Concord planning board. City officials said the change will avoid unnecessary cost and time for a developer who might be working on an otherwise simple project.
“We’re trying to make it easier, to not put people through the process when what they’re doing doesn’t really warrant the extent of planning board review,” Assistant City Planner Heather Shank said.
Shank is part of a relatively new staff in Concord’s planning department; the three members have all been working for the city fewer than three years. She said more changes are warranted, but they might take time.
“As we look at the process and move through it, we’re just making the changes as they occur to us,” Shank said. “Both the regulations and the ordinance need a bit of an overhaul to make things easier.”
“We have our work cut out for us,” she added.
Previously, any change in use that might add to traffic volume or the number of required parking spaces would prompt minor site plan review and a planning board hearing. The challenge, Shank said, has been that a review is triggered even when no site work is proposed, when the increase in car traffic is minimal and when the increase of parking demand doesn’t require any construction because those spaces already exist.
So a hearing for a simple project can be onerous and expensive. Shank recalled a developer who recently wanted to re-purpose a warehouse, but did not because of this requirement.
In contrast, the new ordinance only requires minor site plan review if five to 20 new parking spaces are being built, or if traffic would increase by a more significant margin. The planning board unanimously supported the change at its February meeting.
On Monday night, the council voted the same.
“This goes along with your request to make development easier for the community, typically on small projects,” City Manager Tom Aspell said.
Concord’s July 4 fireworks aren’t going anywhere – for now.
This year, the city renewed a push to shoot the annual display off from the cornfields behind the Loudon Road strip mall that includes the post office. Spectators could watch the show from downtown and the Everett Arena, officials said.
However, the fields in question are leased by Green Gold Farm until 2019. In a report to the council Monday night, Parks and Recreation Director David Gill said owner Keith Richard is not interested in letting the city use his property at this time.
So, as is tradition, Concord will host fireworks at Memorial Field.
Also Monday night, the city council finalized the schedule to approve a budget for fiscal year 2017.
Aspell delivered his proposed budget last week. On Saturday, the group will meet for an overview of his proposal at 8 a.m. They will also discuss and hear public comment on the budgets for individual city departments.
On Monday, the councilors will reconvene at 7 p.m. to consider special revenue funds and enterprise funds.
On May 23, they will meet at 6:30 p.m. to discuss bonded debt and the capital budget.
On June 6, the councilors will meet at 7 p.m. for a committee work session, a last public hearing on the budget and a final vote.
All meetings will be held in the council chambers. The budget proposal is available online at concordnh.gov
(Megan Doyle can be reached at 369-3321, mdoyle@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @megan_e_doyle.)