EDAC members said they recommended to the Town Council a change to the town's current development-tax-exemption schedule — increasing the maximum exemption from five years at 25% to seven years at 30% — and discussed which properties to add or remove from the town's exemption list.

"EDAC's recommendation... was to propose to the council increasing the current 5 year 25% at a maximum exemption to 7 years and 30%, at a maximum," a staff member reported during the meeting, describing a packet of properties provided by town staff and noting that some built-out sites were removed from the proposed list.

Meeting participants said the proposal will be presented to the Town Council in November; the first hearing will occur at the Council's first November meeting, followed by a second hearing and then a third meeting where the Council could vote, per the town's adoption procedures and state law requirements.

Why it matters: A longer or larger exemption would change the financial incentive for developers to pursue new residential or mixed-use development in Hooksett and could alter which properties are prioritized for redevelopment.

Details and schedule: Committee members said staff will provide the committee with a map and a detailed list of the properties proposed for the exemption. They identified a property on Thames Road, a hotel near the Holiday Inn and small parcels on Londonderry Turnpike among sites being considered. Committee members set a timeline: staff to send property lists and maps and the council to hold the initial hearing in early November.

Ending: EDAC members said they will follow the council hearings and requested that staff circulate maps and the proposed property list to committee members ahead of the council's first November meeting. No council vote was recorded at the EDAC meeting.