City Hosts Master Plan Public Information Meeting on Monday, September 15

The City's Planning & Sustainability Department will host a Master Plan Public Information Meeting on Monday, September 15, 2025 at 5:30 pm in the Levenson Community Room at the Portsmouth Public Library. The meeting will consist of a presentation by the consultant firm Utile, an opportunity for public comment and a question and answer session with the consultants and City staff. 

Updating the Master Plan is expected to be an 18-month-long Citywide process, begun in April 2025 and continuing, designed to engage the community in exploring issues such as transportation and mobility, housing, historic preservation, economic development, climate, urban design, land use, arts and culture, environmental protection, and City policies and objectives. The Master Plan builds on City values and principles as well as a number of recent public planning initiatives and incorporates the recommendations each planning team put forward in the Climate Action Plan, the Cultural Plan, the Community Health Improvement Plan, Recreational Needs Study, the Market Square Master Plan, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, and others. 

“The goal of the project is to generate a long-range plan that knits together past, present, and future initiatives covering the entire City and all its neighborhoods, including the downtown,” said Peter Britz, Planning & Sustainability Director. “The Master Plan provides the City with an intentional roadmap for future development, guiding the evolution of the City, and establishing a framework for more detailed studies in the future. It is not meant to be a granular study of every issue or a static one. It is an evolutionary document.”

Expected to conclude in early 2027 the City of Portsmouth Master Plan process intends to deliver a plan that is comprehensive, actionable, and supported by the community. The process is divided into four phases: 

• Phase 1: Learning (April 2025 – Fall 2025). As part of this all-important phase the planning team invites the public to participate in this Master Plan survey: portsnh.co/masterplan
• Phase 2: Visioning (September 2025 – February 2026)
• Phase 3: Developing the Plan (March 2026 – August 2026)
• Phase 4: Documenting (September 2026 – December 2026) 

The City has hired Utile as the professional consultant. Portsmouth resident Anne Weidman is the local Master Plan Community Organizer, tasked with engaging a wide range of community input and collecting feedback that will be incorporated in the Plan. The City has also appointed a 16-member Master Plan Advisory Group. 

In New Hampshire, a Master Plan serves “to guide the overall character, physical form and development of a community,” as defined by NH RSA 674. While the Master Plan is not a legal document and is not explicitly required by State law, municipalities cannot legally adopt a zoning ordinance or other land use regulations without a Master Plan in place. Communities update their Master Plans every five to ten years. The current City of Portsmouth NH Master Plan was adopted in 2017 and now the City is engaged in updating that plan. 

For more information about the Master Plan process and to take the survey, visit: portsnh.co/masterplan.