The Peterborough Community Task Force on Housing met for the first time on Friday.
The first two group sessions took place on Friday night and Saturday morning in the Town House. Hatcher said the group learned the restorative conversation model that would guide all continuing discussions and engaged in group conversations and activities aimed at developing a sense of trust. Next month, the group will delve into “Housing 101” to gain a baseline knowledge of various housing topics.
The purpose of the group, according to Selectwoman Karen Hatcher, is to “create a community-wide process for gaining input on housing wants, needs, and values.”
The Planning Board received 32 task force applications this summer. Hatcher described the applicants as “a good mix,” diverse in age, location in town, and homeownership and socioeconomic status. Hatcher said all applicants were invited to the first meetings, and it would be up to the individual to decide whether to continue with the process.
“Community is the first word,” Hatcher said, and that it describes the primary focus of the group: to learn how to conduct effective conversations about complicated or contentious issues like housing.
Hatcher said she saw the need for respectful communication and collect a baseline knowledge of housing issues as essential prerequisite steps for any eventual community decisions.
In July, Hatcher said that ultimately, the task force will use the methods and knowledge they learn to engage the greater community in the writing an updated chapter on housing for the town’s Master Plan.
Hatcher said it was important to her to give the community an understanding on what the task force is, and is not.
“We absolutely are not” exploring more zoning ordinances, as resident Christopher Maidment claimed in a recent interview.
“Our work is to build our community,” she said.