Hillsborough Sun

The Charrette is just two months away! Keep reading to learn more about what to expect and how you can participate. All Temple residents are welcome to participate!

What is a Charrette?

A charrette is a focused brainstorming session that brings together diverse professionals to brainstorm recommendations to address challenges a community faces. Over a two-day period, the team visits the “target area” (eg, downtown or significant neighborhood), talks with community leaders and members, and develops recommendations based on what they have seen and heard and also on their own professional knowledge of ideas and trends that could contribute to healthy and vibrant communities.

What is Temple’s Target Area?

The Charrette will focus on three key areas:

1. Addressing the parking challenges in the village center and enhancing the usability of the area for community gatherings, civic engagement, historic preservation, and economic development. This includes a recommendation on the optimum location for our Town Highway Department facilities, based on residents’ desires for the village center.
2. Re-imagining the town properties (especially the Holt and Skladany properties), with sustainable recreational and social opportunities that will invite all residents to gather and participate in community life. 
3. Creating an affordable housing neighborhood with agriculture and sustainability in mind, that will encourage diverse multi-generational housing options. The town is seeking creative zoning and development incentives to present to town residents.

What are the opportunities to participate?

The Charrette weekend will include sessions with the Select Board and Planning Board, as well as public sessions. Save the dates for these opportunities for public participation.

Friday, October 14th - Public Listening Sessions

• 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
• 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Each Listening Session will be conducted in a small group discussion format, with Plan NH Team members acting as facilitators and scribes. The small group format gives every citizen an opportunity to speak and be heard. This will all take place in-person in the Temple Town Hall. A Zoom option will be available.

At the end of each session, there is time allotted for general discussion.

Saturday, October 15th, 3:00 p.m. - Public Presentation of Recommendations

There will be a public presentation (a “reveal”) of what the Plan NH Team recommends. This presentation will summarize what the charrette program is all about and what recommendations the Plan NH team is proposing.  A Zoom option will be available.

Who is part of the Charrette team?

Charrettes are coordinated by Plan NH, a membership-based 501c3 that includes architects, builders, planners, designers and more. A Plan NH member volunteers to be the leader for a charrette, and pulls together a team of other volunteers according to the project. These volunteers are all professionals within their industry. They donate their time because they believe in the process, in the importance of community, and see this as a way to “give back” to the Granite State.

What is this costing the Town?

Nothing! The cost for the Charrette was covered 100% by a grant from the NH Housing Finance Authority. Members of the community have volunteered to provide meals and lodging for the Charrette volunteers.

What happens after the Charrette?

The Town will evaluate the recommendations provided by the Charrette team. We do not HAVE TO implement any of the recommendations. If the town decides to implement recommendations, it may require warrant articles to be presented at Town Meeting.

Please direct any questions to the Community Advisory Committee.

Original source can be found here.