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Littleton Master Plan Approved, Amendment Discussion Already in the Works
November 16, 2004
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Following a public hearing on November 16, 2004, the Littleton Planning Board approved a new Master Plan for the town (draft version viewable at http://www.townoflittleton.org), subject to a few technical corrections. In its motion to approve the plan, the board expressed a commitment to review language that addressed the future of commercial development and, in particular, land adjacent to Exit 43 of Interstate 93. The board vote was unanimous.
The public hearing and approval represented the culmination of more than 15 months of work by the board, members of the public, and representatives from Jeffrey H. Taylor & Associates, New Hampshire-based professional planners. Costs for the plan development was covered under the TCSP grant awarded to the town to prepare for the reconstruction of Main Street and to look at how other parts of town play a role on how Main Street is used. The grant also supported planning initiatives in other New Hampshire towns and training for transportation and planning officials.
Jeff Taylor, former director of the NH Office of State Planning and now president of the firm that bears his name, opened the hearing with an overview of planning and master plans. “A master plan is a policy document, not a regulatory document,” he said. “It identifies trends in a community,” he added, and discusses where other regulatory actions might take place.
Taylor explained that the proposed plan sets the tone for the town’s future. “What we found [through surveys and community meetings] is that people pretty much like Littleton the way it is,” he said.
Much discussion at the hearing focused on language in the master plan that referred to commercial development and where and when it might occur. The Planning Board agreed to reexamine such sections of the plan, gather more public input, and decide whether and how to amend that language.
Other public comments focused around safety issues and pedestrian friendliness – or unfriendliness – on the Meadow and in residential areas north of Main Street in the town center. Projected development in each area could make matters worse, the public believed. Taylor explained that work done as part of the Project for Public Spaces placemaking exercises included ideas on how to boost safety on Route 302. Planning Board Chairman Bob May noted that traffic-calming techniques, also explored during the PPS sessions, might be possible as further development occurs in town.
Truck traffic and how it is routed around or through Littleton – another issue covered in the TCSP-funded placemaking process -- also was discussed.
The meeting was covered by reporters from The Courier and The Caledonian-Record, as well as Littleton's Channel 2 and Lyndon State College's LSC-TV 7.
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