KEENE, NH – After months of discussion, the Keene City Council has passed an ordinance that will reduce the minimum lot size from five acres to two in the Rural District.

The measure was originally proposed by the Keene Community Development department last September among numerous amendments to the land development code.

There was a decent amount of opposition to that particular amendment from the public, so it was taken out of the original proposal and handled separately. It went back and forth between committees and went through a couple public hearings.

The ordinance landed on the full council’s agenda Thursday night following a 4-1 vote from the Planning, Licenses, and Development committee last week recommending its passage.

The ordinance prompted a decent amount of discussion within the council. Some councilors were concerned about urban sprawl in the district, while others view it as one of many possible solutions to chip away at the housing crisis the city is facing.

“Not for a second do I think this is going to cure our housing crisis,” said Councilor Catherine Workman, who voted in favor of the ordinance. “I don’t think it’s going to create the housing stock we need right now, but housing is housing. If it’s going to incrementally move that needle to where we need to move it, I’m all for that.”

Meanwhile Councilor Phil Jones, who voted in opposition, recounted a conversation he had with a Keene Planning Director while visiting in the 1980’s, where he asked how the city was protecting from urban sprawl.

“He said in the 1970’s we put this ordinance in making it 5 acres, and that seemed to work.”

The ordinance ultimately passed on a 10-4 vote.