Master Plan FAQs
What is the Portsmouth Master Plan Citywide Plan?
The Portsmouth Master Plan is an eighteen-month-long Citywide planning process that will engage the community in exploring issues such as transportation and mobility, housing, economic development, climate, urban form, and land use, among many others.
The project will generate a long-range plan that knits together past, present, and future initiatives covering the entire City, from downtown to all its neighborhoods. The plan will provide a coordinated roadmap for the future development and evolution of the City, and will establish a framework for more detailed studies down the road, but is not meant to be a granular study of every issue.
What topics will the Master Plan Citywide Plan address?
The Portsmouth Master Plan will explore topics such as land use, housing, economic opportunity, natural resources, arts and culture, open space, recreation, services and facilities, and transportation and mobility. Explore the topic areas.
What can’t the Master Plan do/address?
Master plans like the Portsmouth Master Plan are not meant to be a granular study of every issue, but rather a framework plan that sets the City up to conduct further studies that go into more detail on specific topics or focus on smaller areas. While the Master Plan will cover a broad range of topics, building off the specifics of many recent planning initiatives like the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update, the Market Square Master Plan, the Climate Action Plan, the Parking Utilization Study, the Community Health Improvement Plan, the Cultural Plan, the Open Space Plan and many others. It may also delve deeper into certain areas and identify areas that need further in-depth study.
How can I get involved?
Thanks for your interest! Check out the Get Involved section. Additionally, more information will be added to the website as the plan progresses. Sign up to our email list to stay informed.
Who is part of the planning team?
The City’s Planning and Sustainability Department is working with an interdisciplinary team of consultants, led by planning firm, Utile. The consultant team includes:
- Utile (Urban Planning and Design)
- Landwise (Economic Analysis and Strategy)
- Nelson Nygaard (Transportation Planning)
- Nitsch Engineering (Civil Engineering)
- Anne Weidman (Community Organizer)
What is the timeline for this process?
The City will undertake an 18-month long process guided by equitable community engagement. The process began in April 2025 and is anticipated to conclude in late 2026/early 2027. The proposed process intends to deliver a plan that is comprehensive, actionable, and supported by the community.
- Phase 1: Learning (April 2025 – August 2025)
- Phase 2: Visioning (September 2025 – February 2026)
- Phase 3: Developing the Plan (March 2026 – August 2026)
- Phase 4: Documenting (September 2026 – December 2026)
For a complete description of each of the four phases, check out the schedule.
This effort will be conducted in collaboration with other ongoing plans and projects to ensure alignment and enable other efforts to respond to and integrate interim findings of the Master Plan prior to its completion.
How will the Master Plan be structured?
Portsmouth Master Plan will be a guiding document that stitches together policy, recommendations, and goals based on previous and on-going planning efforts and community goals and vision. This plan will serve as a long-range plan that knits together past, present, and future initiatives across the entire City.
The Master Plan is intended to include sections such as:
- Shared Vision — Community goals and visions for the City of Portsmouth
- Guiding Values — Principles that will guide decisions around investment and development across Portsmouth
- Roadmap — A clear path towards implementation of key priorities, actions, and recommendations within the plan