The Planning Board will soon commence work on the Master Plan’s Future Land Use chapter. The board wants this chapter to reflect the preferences of Northwood residents. For that to happen, we need to hear from you. Please take our electronic survey by clicking here. It will take 5 to 10 minutes of your time.

If you know folks who prefer a paper survey, please let them know that paper surveys are available at the Town Hall, the Post Office, and the Library. The survey will remain open during the month of April 2025. In mid-May, survey results will be published here on this website.

Feel free to join us in person at meetings of the Northwood Planning Board. The meeting schedule is posted on the Town website.

The Future Land Use chapter is the culmination of the Master Plan. All the data, analyses and recommendations from earlier chapters will be integrated into Future Land Use. Among the topics the Planning Board will be exploring are the possibility of establishing one or more additional zoning districts, as is common in other towns. Multiple districts would help to enable the Planning Board to take a more refined and nuanced approach to encouraging the type of development in which Northwood residents have expressed interest. New zoning districts would also reflect the most appropriate parts of town for new development. The Planning Board will be reaching out to residents to help inform the content of this important Master Plan chapter.

Work on the chapter is underway, and early drafts have been reviewed by Northwood’s Master Plan Subcommittee. The Town and its consultants conducted a public opinion survey on economic development issues. The survey was open to the public from October 1, 2024 through December 9, 2024. The survey results may be viewed here. The most recent draft of the Economic Development chapter may be viewed here. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing prior to taking formal action on this chapter..

The Master Plan is a powerful tool that allows local residents to have a say in determining the community’s future. The town’s zoning ordinance and land use regulations rely the master plan for their legitimacy and legal authority. In fact, courts in New Hampshire and elsewhere have ruled that a current and comprehensive plan is a prerequisite for a zoning ordinance. NH RSA 674:3 recommends that the plan be updated every 5 to 10 years.

NH RSA 674:2 provides helpful guidance on the contents of a master plan, both components that are required and those that are optional. NH’s former Office of Energy & Planning published a helpful summary that explains the purpose of a municipal plan and identifies those who are responsible for the plan’s preparation and adoption. NH RSA 674:3 III requires the master plan update to be a public process.

Northwood’s Master Plan Steering Committee is committed to engaging Northwood residents and business owners to the maximum extent possible. 

Northwood’s Master Plan Steering Committee strives to engage residents (both year round and seasonal) and local business owners in a dialog on the town’s future. The committee drafted a Master Plan vision chapter, based on the input of those who joined us in this important discussion that describes the community to which we aspire in the coming years.

The committee engaged Northwood residents by several means. The results of those efforts are documented here.

On January 5, 2023, the Northwood Planning Board adopted the following Master Plan chapters: Introduction, Vision, and Existing Land Use.

On July 15, 2024, the Planning Board adopted the following Master Plan chapters: Housing & Demographics, Community Facilities, Natural Resources and Water Resources, Recreation, and Public Input.

Positioned in the queue are two more chapters: Economic Development and Future Land Use.

We conducted a survey of Northwood residents and stakeholders between January 3, 2024 and February 16. We heard from 169 respondents. Have a look at the results: 1) Community Facilities, 2) Water & Natural Resources, and 3) Recreation.

We had a very public work session on August 29, 2022 at the Northwood School. If you missed it and wish to catch up, the session was recorded, and may be viewed here. Here are some links to the work session agenda, the slides we presented, and the Existing Land Use Map that is based on data from 2015.

The primary purpose of the session was to solicit resident and stakeholder input for the Vision chapter of the Master Plan. The comments and suggestions were many and varied. The verbatim (written) comments from participants may be viewed here.