Newmarket Form-Based Code

One outcome of the Master Plan updates in 2024-2025 has been a draft form-based code for some parts of downtown Newmarket. In contrast to a traditional zoning ordinance, Form-Based Code is meant to provide a community with a more context-sensitive approach to land use regulations and is intended to elevate a community’s idea of its own character. Sometimes, a developer with good intentions may leave a community with a sour taste after misinterpreting the more open-ended use and dimension standards. A robust community engagement effort, such as the one completed for Newmarket, ensures the aesthetic choices are ultimately community-led, with a potential bonus for opportunities for naturally occurring affordable housing typologies and mixed-use concepts.

As part of the major Master Plan updates in 2024-2025, the town of Newmarket obtained InvestNH Housing Opportunity Planning (HOP) funding for the purpose of updating the Housing chapter and producing a draft form-based code for key areas of downtown Newmarket. SRPC subcontracted the Form-Based Code with Ivy Vann Town Planning & Urban Design of Peterborough. Ivy Vann conducted outreach at a series of workshops in April 2024 dedicated to the form-based code effort and drafted maps with the proposed zoning changes for this area of Newmarket. Her final deliverable, the full proposed Code, is found here.

Find more of Ivy’s work at her website: ivyvanntownplanning.com