The Town of Hudson, the Nashua Regional Planning Commission (NRPC), and engineering partner Fuss & O’Neill held their first public outreach meeting on Aug. 22 to review proposed updates to Hudson’s land-use regulations.
The session marked the beginning of a months long effort to modernize the town’s development rules, clarify outdated language, and align local standards with state and regional requirements.
NRPC Executive Director Jay Minkarah opened the meeting with an overview of the project. “What we are working on is a comprehensive update of all of the town’s land-use regulations,” he said. “These include subdivision regulations, site plan regulations, and all of the associated regulations that the Planning Board administers like driveways, engineering standards, and zoning amendments. We want to look at whether things flow logically, whether things make sense, if things are in the right place, if they’re intuitive.”
Minkarah emphasized that the goal is to remove redundancies, improve clarity, and ensure Hudson’s regulations remain consistent with recent legislative changes. Drafts of the updated regulations have already been circulated for review.
Fuss & O’Neill Engineer Steve Reichert highlighted several state mandated updates, including a new law eliminating minimum culdesac lengths. “The town regulation says 1,100 feet,” Reichert said. “That’s one of the changes we’re going to be making in the technical guidelines.” He added that the meeting was also an opportunity to hear directly from residents about issues they encounter with the current regulations.
Several “grey areas” were discussed, including when the Planning Board can require traffic or noise studies. Town Engineer Elvis Dhima noted that affordable housing is another major topic under review. “That’s going to be a separate warrant article,” Dhima said.
Minkarah pointed to the proposed cottage court concept as one of the few substantive changes not related to minor zoning adjustments or language cleanup. Cottage courts are small clusters of compact homes designed to provide more affordable housing options. “The concept of a cottage court is something a few communities have adopted,” Minkarah said. “Typically, the way they work is that you can build at higher densities or a smaller lot, but there are restrictions on the size of the home.” Under Hudson’s draft proposal, cottage court homes would be limited to 1,200 square feet, with density determined by the underlying zoning district.
Environmental concerns also surfaced during the meeting. Conservation Commissioner Marge Badois asked whether the availability of clean water had been factored into the town’s growth planning. “We’ve had two wells that have been corrupted with PFAS and had to be shut down,” she said, warning that utilities must be considered alongside development.
Dhima responded that water and sewer capacity remain central to all development reviews. “All new developments must come through the town, and if they do not have enough water or sewer capacity, they’re not getting approved,” he said. “These decisions are not made in the back room; they’re out there in public.”
He added that town staff typically flag infeasible projects early in the process.
One resident asked whether notification requirements could be expanded for zoning changes or large projects that affect more than just abutters. Minkarah explained that state law limits formal notification to “legal abutters,” though any project requiring approval must be heard at a public meeting. He encouraged residents to stay engaged. “What they’re looking for is that input on if there’s a specific regulation someone thinks the town needs,” said Planning Board Chair Tim Malley.
The meeting served as the first step in a broader public process, with additional sessions expected as Hudson continues refining its land-use regulations.
