Affordable housing is top of mind for Keene residents, as highlighted by a recent series of public conversations, and it will likely be a focus as officials reevaluate long-term goals for the city. The city has conducted input sessions with residents this spring and summer as part of the process to update these goals in the Keene Master Plan. Last revamped in 2010, the plan sets priorities for the city to focus on.
The plan’s latest iteration, which is being worked on now, is called Vision Keene 20-Forward. In addition to meeting with residents, the city also received 648 responses to a survey for the initiative. The most recent public input sessions were held last week, and another event, the Vision Keene 20-Forward Future Summit, is planned for Oct.
5 for people to continue to give their thoughts. “It’s really foundational for everything that the city does, and it drives a lot of community decisions,” Community Development Senior Planner Mari Brunner said of the master plan. Housing has emerged as a major issue in Keene and beyond in recent years.
A 2023 housing needs assessment by the Camoin Associates consulting group found that homes and rentals in the Elm City have become increasingly unaffordable. “I hope that addressing the housing crisis will be a central focus” as the city reimagines its long-term goals, Keene Housing Executive Director Joshua Meehan said. The affordable-housing-focused organization runs properties in Keene and Swanzey, and has a hefty waiting list of people hoping to get into an affordable home.
“If [the master plan is] well constructed and actionable, citizens will see their vision for Keene realized as the plan gets implemented in years to come,” said Meehan, who is one of 17 committee members overseeing the updates to the plan. For example, the current master plan places a strong emphasis on improving infrastructure in the city; Brunner cited the upcoming downtown infrastructure project, which will replace aging pipes beneath the city and make some changes to Main Street and Gilbo Avenue, as an example of how the plan can manifest in concrete ways. Some of the other priorities outlined in the 2010 plan will likely carry forward, according to Brunner.
Those include maintaining the outdoor natural beauty and open green space. But she noted that housing has become a bigger concern for the community. Brunner recalled comments from someone who attended one of the input sessions.
“There’s one participant who just really stuck in my mind ...
he’s from a blended family, and has a bunch of kids in his household ...
and he was talking about, you know, what it would take to keep them in the community and ...
housing was top of mind for him.” At the Oct. 5 summit, which is scheduled for the Keene Public Library from 9 a.
m. to noon, city officials intend to establish other key themes to prioritize. Expanding daycare options in Keene also seems to be on the forefront of residents’ minds, according to Brunner.
“This is your chance to tell the city where you think the community should be in the next five to 10 to 15 years,” she said. “And that will impact what the city does.”.
