Claremont Planning Board Meeting - March 9, 2026
Claremont Planning Board Meeting
The Claremont Planning Board convened on March 9, 2026, for a regular meeting. Key agenda items included updates on the Master Plan, representation on the Upper Valley Regional Planning Commission, and the status of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) committee.
Consent Calendar
- The board unanimously approved the minutes from the February 23, 2026 meeting.
Discussion Items
Master Plan Update
Planning Director Austin reported progress on forming a steering committee, drafting bylaws, researching options for an education chapter, and consulting with regional planners and potential consultants. Board discussion covered meeting logistics, broadcasting meetings, and whether to create a standalone education chapter. Member Richards expressed support for televising meetings to increase public awareness, while Member Nicholas cautioned that televising could reduce in-person participation and strain CCTV resources. The board agreed to consider recording meetings or using the CCTV studio. Austin recommended folding the education chapter into another chapter to avoid an additional subcommittee. The timeline for launching the steering committee is within the next few weeks.
Upper Valley Regional Planning Commission Representation
Austin requested to serve as an alternate for the vacant third seat on the Upper Valley Regional Planning Commission. Although he is not a Claremont resident, he confirmed with the commission that he could serve as an alternate. Board members discussed residency requirements and expressed support. A motion to recommend Austin to the City Council as an alternate was seconded and passed unanimously. The board also encouraged finding a third full commissioner from the community.
Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Committee Status
Member Nick raised concerns that the CIP process has not started, with budget deadlines approximately five weeks away. He noted that department heads may have prepared materials but that the board had not yet established updated ranking criteria. Nick offered to coordinate and lead the CIP effort, with Austin focusing on the Master Plan. The board agreed to have Nick take the lead to restart the CIP process.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous approval of the February 23, 2026 meeting minutes.
- Motion passed to recommend Austin as an alternate for the Upper Valley Regional Planning Commission (all in favor).
- Direction given to Member Nick to spearhead the CIP committee work.
- No further business; the meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
All right, welcome to the planning board meeting. Monday, March 9th, 2026. Can I have a roll call, please? Stephen Verde? Jonathan Nelson? Yeah. G. Michael Sandborn. Here. Yeah. Maximum in all de France. Yeah. Nancy Beats? Here. Here. Nicholas Kalaski. Here. I didn't even hear you say name, so I'm here. All right. Um review of minutes, previous meeting, February 23rd, 2026. Do I have a motion? Motion to approve as percentage. Second. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. And the minutes pass. And it looks like we're right down to reading and communications directed to the board. Awesome. And they're all from me. Yes. So first I just wanted to chat about the master plan given update. I've been working on putting together the steering committee, creating the bylaws, um, and looking into some of the things that we talked about at our last meeting, like about the education chapter. Um, I've been reading other communities master plans and uh getting some feedback together to bring back to the board. I've also been talking to people who've approached me who are interested in joining the steering committee, so we're already before we even start the application process getting addressed. Um also kind of scout it out talking to people talking to some other planners around the state, some potential consultants to work with, and also have been talking to the regional planning commission about past master plan outdates and uh their work that you're doing this summer. So all good progress. And then I wanted to ask if anyone had any additional requests for me to work on uh between now and our next meeting regarding the master plan. Um so what's the timeline with when we think this is gonna kick off? I'm hoping the next couple of weeks to start sending out things. Um that would be I'm reaching the end of the preparation period and uh the point where I'm like anxious to start sending out applications and stuff or communications rather. And who will what body will be appointing the committee? They'll be coming back to you on a planning board. Planning board. Will we make the appointment or will we make a recommendation to council? I believe based on our last discussion, then would be the appointment. Yeah, can you start at 5 30? Now it's 6 31. We've got a quarter of the meeting done already.
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