Concord City Council will hold a public hearing at its August 12 meeting, 7:00 pm in City Council Chambers, 37 Green Street, regarding a zoning amendment that would give the Planning Board authority with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow new buildings up to 90' tall (about 8 stories) in and around Main Street in downtown Concord. The current regulation of an 80 foot height limit for Concord's downtown buildings was put in place so as to not obstruct views of the State House dome from the highway, and has also served indirectly as a protection for the historic buildings.
This same zoning regulation applies to the historic buildings in Penacook's village center, and it will be confirmed that the amendment ordinance language will exclude Penacook.
The City's April 17, 2024, report to the Planning Board states at page 5 that the "impact to historic buildings is difficult to predict." The goal is for the new ordinance to remove unpredictability and not incentivize demolition of historic, architectural, or culturally significant buildings. You can send your thoughts to the City Clerk, cityclerk@concordnh.gov, or attend the meeting on August 12. The proposed ordinance and other related documents can be found here.