DEEP RIVER

The Deep River Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) is inviting town residents to attend its first community informational session on its update of the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

According to John Guszkowski of Tyche Planning and Policy Group, this year, the ad-hoc committee “started from scratch” to create the first “comprehensive reenvisioning of what Deep River has wanted” in the plan for the last 20 years, given that the plans introduced in 2005 and 2015 were mostly similar in their goals.

In a press release, the PZC stated the new POCD, which is currently in its draft form, is the result of “conversations with local stakeholders, data analysis, community surveys, and monthly meetings” of the plan’s ad-hoc committee. It contains new overall goals and plans which present “the progress it has made in setting a vision and actionable goals for the town’s future.”

Complementary results from surveys by the PZC and the Economic Development Commission (EDC) concluded that residents preferred development in the areas of commercial, hospitality, and higher-density housing in the downtown portion of town, while favoring efforts in conservation and protected forests, farming, and low-density, traditional-family housing in the rural Winthrop portion of town.

Guszkowski said the results were unsurprising and were perceived as “largely to confirm the direction that the Planning and Zoning Commission had been heading or were assuming that the community’s opinion was,” partly based on the results of the EDC survey.

The general themes of “balancing housing desires and economic development desires with also the desire to protect [and] enhance natural resources and open space,” as summarized by Tyche planner Zoe Chatfield, will be the focus of the Dec. 4 informational session.

Connected to the two general themes, there are six focus areas which include: municipal facilities and services, housing, transportation and infrastructure, economic development, natural resources and conservation, and climate change and resiliency.

Regarding the latter area, Chatfield said that they are “calling out climate change more directly,” by letting it shape conservation and development goals.

The work of municipal facilities and services was a significant point of interest among members of the POCD’s ad-hoc committee, said Chatfield. Conversations turned toward questions about the management of services, as well as possible new partnerships and the exchanging of information and resources with the state and neighboring towns.

In order to meet goals in housing, the POCD considers regional population data trends compiled by the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments and the 2020 United States census.

According to Chatfield, “the current projection is for a decrease in population,” in Deep River as the current population is aging. Simultaneously, data is also determining an overall increase in the Lower Connecticut River Valley region. These trends present new challenges for new housing and retail options in Deep River, as well as for maintaining the current population and planning on how to “take advantage of the overall population increase that we are expecting,” said Chatfield.

PZC member Marian Staye gave the Valley Courier two specific examples of existing structures in Deep River which are up for possible redevelopment in Mount Saint John and the soon-to-be closed Smith & Wesson facility, the latter of which will close in December.

The informational session will be held at Deep River Town Hall on Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. Townspeople will be presented with the broader goals of the plan and have the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions pertinent to goals, and offer other forms of feedback.

Staye said the PZC is interested in the community’s thoughts on affordable housing development, redevelopment of the Deep River Landing, and, crucially, the future of Mount Saint John.