Next Planning Focus: The Village
By Gregory T. Federspiel
June 7, 2025
To plagiarize Danial Webster who is said to have told the Supreme Court in a famous case involving my Alma Mater: “It is, Sir, . . . a small college (insert village). And yet, there are those who love it.” No doubt many residents genuinely feel this way about Manchester’s village with its historic buildings and harbor views. Indeed, it is a charming New England village that the community enjoys and wants to see maintained. Discussions on how best to maintain the core commercial area of the village are planned for this Monday, June 9, at the High School cafeteria beginning at 6:30. Members of the community are encouraged to attend.
The Town’s Master Plan calls for maintaining a “dynamic downtown.” Survey results revealed a high favorable rating for the core village area with 67% of responders saying they patronize local shops regularly and another 32% at least occasionally. Master Plan survey respondents went on to flag the town center as an important asset AND an important challenge to address. Maintaining a vibrant village will mean different things to different people and it requires active measures to ensure vibrancy. Right now, there are empty storefronts that need new businesses, and with uncertain economic conditions brewing concerns exist about the remaining commercial enterprises.
Both the Downtown Improvement Program (DIP) committee and the Planning Board are focusing on new initiatives aimed at maintaining the village core as a vital center of the Town. DIP is pursuing a new partnership with the Cape Ann Chamber aimed at filling vacant storefronts. The Planning Board has hired a consultant expert in small town economic development to help create a more specific vision for the village center and action steps that can be taken to realize the vision.
Monday’s meeting in the cafeteria of the High School is designed to generate ideas from the public. The Planning Board wants to hear from residents about what they like about the village and what concerns they have for its future. One area of interest is to re-examine the current zoning for the village center to see what changes might be beneficial.
The General District that encompasses the village center extends approximately from the far end of Bennet Street to Sweeney Park. It may make sense to create a sub-district that is focused on thse core area containing most of today’s shops and restaurants. What might some of the new provisions be for this new sub-district? Monday’s workshop aims to solicit ideas.
Suggestions might include requiring commercial space on the first floor of buildings in this area, eliminating front and side-yard setbacks, and expanding the table of possible uses (e.g.: Bed and Breakfast accommodations).
Are there non-regulatory initiatives that could contribute to a thriving village center? Buy local campaigns can give a needed boost to our merchants. So can special events that draw people to the village center. The annual Festival by the Sea is an annual event we have. Are there others that could be established? What public improvements are needed to the streetscape to make the center more welcoming? Providing public restrooms and an information spot for visitors has been discussed but has yet to be created. More space for transient boaters is in the works – should more be done to make Manchester a destination for boaters or do residents prefer to keep the harbor and town center quieter? If the preference is for quieter, how does this mesh with the desire to keep the town center economically viable?
The Planning Board is hoping residents will take time to voice their opinions on these types of questions. Such input will be important as efforts get underway to propose new approaches ensuring the dynamic downtown that residents have said they want.