LACONIA — The crowd was optimistic as city staff, volunteer board and commission members, and residents met to discuss a rewrite to the municipal master plan on Monday evening.

In the 2025-26 municipal budget, councilors appropriated $100,000 to update the city’s master plan, a long-range document meant to inform decision-making among staff, elected leaders and volunteers for the next 10 to 15 years.

Resilience Planning & Design, a Granite State consulting firm which specializes in assisting communities with comprehensive master planning and land use policy, was tapped by the city to navigate the process, expected to take about a year to complete. They’ve worked in other municipalities in New England, including Dover and Bar Harbor, Maine, and most recently in Meredith.

By the end, the

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