GRA: Rewriting The Master Plan


Dedicated to Securing A Truly Perfect Location for Goffstown's Future Kindergarten & Elementary Schools

EDITORIAL

Rewriting The Master Plan

On June 30^th of this year, the Planning Board held a workshop to meet with the consultant who has been retained to assist with the rewrite of the 1997 Master Plan. At that meeting, members of the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Economic Development Council all agreed on a basic central concept. Specifically, at some point in the not-to-distant future, Goffstown will be fully developed and that full build out will be primarily residential developments. If that is to be the case, then Goffstown should endeavor to attract high-end residential developments.

With that understanding, those in attendance deemed it of primary importance that Goffstown retain town-owned land and secure additional lands so as to be able to provide additional municipal infrastructure to meet the inevitable demands of that high-end residential population. Certainly the DPW parcel should be considered in this light making it an even stronger candidate for a new kindergarten and elementary school location. GRA believes that the town should aggressively negotiate with abutters to the DPW parcel, most notably Pare and Barnard, to expand the opportunities for municipal infrastructure.

This begs the question; why, then, would Goffstown consider selling a portion of the town owned DPW parcel to a developer for commercial or industrial development as some have suggested?

GRA believes that the Glen Lake parcel should remain available for passive recreational activities consistent with current uses there and to meet the public’s demand for these types of activities. GRA also believes that the town should restrict use of the Glen Lake facilities to Goffstown residents only, just as it does with it’s other recreational areas.