By DEVON CORMIER
Staff Writer

The master plan for Hooksett’s future is almost completed and the town is turning to residents for further input.

Learn more about the master plan • Informational session – Monday, Nov. 29, 3 to 9 p.m., at the Hooksett Public Library. • Formal public hearing – Saturday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m., at the Hooksett Public Library. For 30 days following the hearing, written comments can be sent to Community Development, 16 Main St., Hooksett, NH 03106.

The Master Plan Steering Committee has been working on the new plan for about three years, and has involved town residents every step of the way. Now an informational session, public hearing and written comment period will take place. Once those are over, the plan will go to the planning board for adoption.

“The master plan is a guide for future development,” Town Planner Charles Watson said. “It does not have the force of law. Although it may recommend many things, each one has to be acted on by the town.”

The master plan basically maps out the future. For instance, in looking at where future residential development may occur, the planning board may decide where future schools, safety centers and bridges may need to be. They aren’t necessarily recommending it be done right away, but that the land be preserved for that use in the future.

This philosophy is exemplified by a bridge the master plan recommends. Watson said a bridge across the Merrimack River near the center of town will become necessary in the future for commuters and particularly for emergency response teams. The land on either side of the future bridge site must remain undeveloped or the future could face quite a predicament.

“The town has changed,” Watson said. “There’s more population, more development has gone on in the last 15 years. The development is fairly major and the master plan reflects that.”

The first master plan was done in 1971 and the last master plan was done in 1989. The process of developing this master plan began in November of 2001 when a community profile was done. The Master Plan Steering Committee was born out of that profile and members held their first meeting in May of 2002. The committee has held dozens of meetings with different departments and the public.

“This is a plan that has been written by the members of the community,” Watson said. “This wasn’t done by an outside consulting firm.”

Watson said it was a massive effort by the community and the steering committee. He said he hopes to eliminate the enormous workload.

“What we would like to do differently than we’ve done in previous years is we would like to make updates to individual chapters much more frequently,” Watson said. “Transportation updates may come annually because of the development.”

The master plan contains 14 chapters, including existing land use, housing and population, roads and transportation, recreation, conservation and natural resources, and many more. Watson said people will see the most change in the transportation chapter.

“Recently, the most significant problem that has occurred as a result of development in the region is that our transportation network has become overloaded,” Watson said. “It is primarily obvious on Route 3.”

The master plan will not be approved until early next year because input will be considered and changes may follow.