Chester begins Town Plan update; ‘all boards’ public meeting on June 9 to coordinate effort

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

In a couple of weeks, Chester will hold an “all boards” meeting, bringing together many of the boards, committees and commissions that work on issues facing the town. That Tuesday, June 9 public meeting will be held from 5  to 8:30 p.m. at Town Hall and remotely via Zoom.

Its goal is for each board to understand what the others are doing so they can work together and not at cross-purposes as Chester begins an update to its town plan.

The meeting will also give the public an opportunity to hear what’s going on in the early stages of the work. There will be opportunities for public comment, but Town Manager Julie Hance told The Telegraph that “this is a workshop and we want the boards to have time to discuss the direction of the town over the next eight to 10 years.”

These groups are made up of volunteers appointed by the Select Board. At the center of the activity (aside from the Select Board) is the Planning Commission, which is beginning work on the latest version of the Town Plan. This document is required by state law, if a town wants to have land use regulations and zoning or receive certain state funds. If a town has a plan, it must be updated and re-adopted by the select board every eight years. The last iteration of the Chester Town Plan was adopted in 2020 and the new one must be finished by May 2028.

A Town Plan is a legal document; and what it contains and how it’s written can influence court cases involving the town’s zoning regulations. It can also be used in grant applications to show that a town has thought-out and committed to a set of actions. Among the required chapters of a Town Plan are housing and economic development. Since the 2020 version of the Town Plan, Chester has created two commissions: Housing and  Economic Development.

This past Monday night, the Planning Commission met to discuss results of a SWOT  — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats — analysis. It also heard a presentation from member Carl Henshaw, who used an AI platform to review of the current Town Plan, then offer ideas for the direction of the revision process.

AI suggested a project-based plan with deadlines and funding sources spelled out, like one might find in the project planning of a large corporation. Town Planner Preston Bristow noted that municipal plans are often based on immediate opportunities such as state and federal grant money for projects like sidewalks and energy upgrades. Henshaw noted that not everything that comes through AI is correct or on target, but thought it presented good ideas.

The Chester Economic Development Commission met on Wednesday, May 13 to look at concepts for a website and for a series of surveys to collect information about the town’s business climate.

The next meeting of the Chester Housing Commission will be happening Tuesday, as this article is being prepared for publishing, but the agenda includes Zoom discussion with Scott Graves of SM Graves Associates and Paul Simon of Park Architecture. The Housing Commission recently received the OK to spend funds on market studies and appraisals of several properties with an eye toward attracting a developer to build housing.

So there’s a lot happening that will impact residents and property owners in Chester. Attending the meetings in person can be difficult for people with busy schedules, but all are conducted via Zoom and the recordings of the meetings are available on the town’s Youtube page. 

Here is the schedule for the meetings of the Planning, Housing and Economic Development commissions with their Zoom link:

• Planning Commission: 1st and 3rd Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall and remotely via Zoom
• Housing Commission: 3rd Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Town Hall and remotely via Zoom
• Economic Development Commission: 4th Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Town Hall and remotely via Zoom

Besides the Select Board, those expected to participate in the June 9 meeting are the Cannabis Control Commission, Chester Housing Commission, Chester Economic Development Commission, the Citizens Advisory Committee, Development Review Board and the Planning Commission.  An agenda is expected to follow soon.