March 2026 Media Scan (Feb 10–Mar 28)
Tracking what's covered, what's missing, and what it means for housing action in Portsmouth.
🔒 SeacoastOnline stories are paywalled. Summaries based on headlines, URL slugs, and available preview text.
Coverage of the city's announcement of the April 22 Draft Plan Open House at Community Campus, 100 Campus Drive, 6–8 PM. Utile (Master Plan consultants) and city staff will present draft recommendations in an informal science-fair format with large-format boards. First local news coverage to frame the Master Plan and housing planning as convergent rather than parallel. The open house is the last practical window for the public — and for advocates — to ensure the Housing Action Plan's production priorities appear in the Master Plan housing chapter before the document moves toward final adoption. The April 22 date is also the deadline for the cross-reference language PP flagged in its March memo to Planning Director Britz, Utile's Zöe Mueller, and City Manager Conard.
Master Plan Housing Action Plan Public inputColumn by Jim Splaine — long-time Portsmouth civic figure, former assistant mayor, police commissioner, school board member, and NH state senator and representative — making the public case that expanding housing options is essential to Portsmouth's future. Splaine's civic standing gives this column broader political reach than a typical advocacy piece: he is not a developer, not a newcomer, and not a partisan. His entering the opinion space on housing signals the issue has moved from fringe advocacy to mainstream civic concern. The specific arguments are behind the paywall, but the URL slug ("housing-options-are-critical") and Splaine's known positions suggest a pro-supply, pro-variety framing consistent with his earlier writing on micro-housing. Fourth opinion piece this period; the volume itself is now a media pattern worth noting.
Civic advocacy OpinionSecond Morgan guest column this period — following the February 26 piece on zoning consultants — this time making the more direct argument that Portsmouth's current zoning is actively erasing affordable housing rather than merely failing to produce it. The slug ("zoning-erasing-affordable-housing") is a significant rhetorical escalation: the Feb 26 column questioned the remedy; this one indicts the existing condition. Directly relevant context: the February 2026 ADU ordinance amended zoning in ways that should, in theory, increase supply, but Morgan's framing suggests displacement-via-upzoning or loss of naturally occurring affordable housing through redevelopment pressure is the actual on-the-ground dynamic. The pattern of two consecutive Morgan columns in four weeks signals a sustained, organized critique — not a one-off letter. Whether city staff or Planning Board members respond publicly is worth tracking. This column also strengthens the case that HAP Item Z-22 (addressing displacement risk) is underweighted in the current triage framework.
Zoning critique Opinion Displacement framingFirst implementation-focused story since the February 19 vote. Councilor Tabor reported that planning staff are "very eager" to take the Housing Action Plan on as the council's primary strategic priority and that discussions are underway about realigning staff capacity to see it through. Tabor met with City Manager Conard and planning staff about potentially reviving the Housing Navigator position. Mayor McEachern praised planning department engagement. Councilor Cook cited the $1M median home price on record in a council context. Tabor's "no silver bullets" framing is the most substantive public acknowledgment yet that the Housing Action Plan requires a portfolio of tools — zoning, land repurposing, and financial incentives — not any single intervention. The story does not name a timeline for the Navigator hire, assign responsibility for specific Housing Action Plan components, or indicate when public hearings will be scheduled. The Navigator position has since been confirmed as unfilled — Planning Department is coordinating via staff reassignment.
Implementation Housing Action Plan Housing NavigatorThe Kane Company's proposal for three six-story buildings totaling 274 market-rate apartments at 150 Portsmouth Blvd. cleared the Technical Advisory Committee on March 3 and heads to the Planning Board. The project is the first major GNOD test case: Kane is seeking the density bonus (up to 120 units/building, six stories) by offering to transfer separate land to the city for workforce housing rather than providing affordable units on-site. Senior VP Kimery Poldrack framed the target tenant as "missing middle" — teachers, firefighters — and cited a mix of unit sizes and rental rates. The land-transfer mechanism is significant and undercovered: the city would receive property but bears the burden of actually developing workforce units. That's a different affordability commitment than on-site set-asides, and the story doesn't examine who controls the transferred land, what gets built on it, or on what timeline. 59% of the 8.4-acre site stays open space.
Development pipeline GNOD Affordability mechanismSeacoast Board of Realtors data shows the January median single-family sale price hit $1,087,500 — a 25.5% jump from January 2025 and the first time the threshold has been exceeded. The high was a Rye property at $3 million. Framed as a market milestone rather than a housing access story — no mention of displacement, workforce impact, or the Housing Action Plan process then underway. The data point has since been cited by Councilor Cook in the council chamber, where it carries more policy weight than the original coverage suggested.
Market data Price recordFirst local news piece to examine specific policy tools following the Feb 19 Housing Action Plan vote. The city is weighing a property tax incentive — likely an abatement or current-use mechanism — to reduce the cost barrier for developers building new housing. Details behind paywall, but the frame is notable: the story treats a supply-side fiscal tool as a live policy option, not a hypothetical. Worth watching whether this connects to the Housing Action Plan implementation process or is a parallel track from City Manager Conard's office. A tax incentive tied to affordability requirements would be meaningfully different from a market-rate stimulus — that distinction hasn't been publicly drawn.
Policy tool Housing Action Plan follow-onColumn making the case that HB 1786 — which would impose a semi-annual assessment on non-primary-residence luxury properties valued over $1 million to fund statewide housing programs — represents Republicans engaging with substantive affordability policy rather than procedural reform. HB 1786 would generate direct revenue for the Affordable Housing Fund, which the Ayotte budget cut from $25M to near zero. The column is notable for the bipartisan framing in an election year. No local outlet has connected HB 1786 to Portsmouth's situation: the city holds Housing Champion status and lost access to those funds; the Housing Action Plan is being built without that infrastructure.
State legislation OpinionGuest column by Morgan, appearing one week after the Housing Action Plan vote, arguing that hiring outside consultants to address zoning will not solve Portsmouth's housing production problem. Directly relevant context: the Planning Department has signaled it plans to hire a consultant to "modernize" the zoning ordinance — likely following the Utile Master Plan update. The column's critique aligns with a real risk: a technical zoning modernization that doesn't explicitly incorporate the Housing Action Plan's production targets could undo years of advocacy work. Whether Morgan proposes an alternative approach or simply opposes the consultant model is behind the paywall — but the framing alone puts this issue into the public debate at a strategically useful moment. This is the first of two consecutive Morgan guest columns; see Mar 20 entry.
Zoning reform OpinionA proposed 72-apartment project at 581 Lafayette Road — the Tour restaurant site, formerly Tuscan Kitchen and Jerry Lewis Cinemas — is on hold. McNabb has suggested co-living as a potential alternative. Co-living is permitted by Conditional Use Permit in Gateway districts under Section 10.815 of the Zoning Ordinance, so the use itself is not the barrier at 581 Lafayette. The problem is parking. The ordinance waives parking entirely for co-living facilities within 600 feet of a public parking garage — but requires 1 space per every 4 units otherwise. There is no public garage near the Route 1 corridor. The Planning Board has discretion under Section 10.815.41 to modify that standard, but exercising that discretion on a gateway corridor site is a different ask than waiving parking downtown.
On hold Zoning barrierFeature published the day after the Housing Action Plan vote, profiling McNabb's co-living strategy. Active projects: 1–15 Congress St. (40 units approved) and proposed 55 units at 134 Pleasant St. (former Citizens Bank). McNabb frames co-living as normalizing how workers already live — pooling rent to afford downtown. Published alongside the new Housing Action Plan mandate without connecting the two.
Developer profile Co-living pipelineCoverage of the 9–0 vote to create a Housing Action Plan by July 2026 and hire a Housing Navigator. First mainstream story to use "housing crisis" in connection with a Portsmouth Council vote. Reported the vote but not what the plan must contain, when public hearings occur, or who the Navigator will be.
Local action Housing Action Plan voteGuest column one week before the Feb 17 vote, making the public case for the Housing Action Plan. The headline framing — "not more drift" — directly named the pattern of procedural delay from the prior two years. Contributed to the pre-vote pressure environment. Full arguments behind paywall; byline is Duffy.
Pre-vote advocacy OpinionNH House voted 185–166 to repeal Housing Champions (HB 1196). Gov. Ayotte opposes. Full repeal could claw back $2.6M in unspent grants. Portsmouth holds the designation. No local outlet connected this to the new Housing Action Plan mandate.
State politics Legislative riskNH issued 5,800+ permits in 2025 — highest since 2006. But only ~80% of the five-year production goal needed to stabilize the market by 2040. Portsmouth among top permit-issuing cities. Framed as progress, not a gap analysis.
State data Volume framingHousing affordability cited as central to her campaign. Portsmouth Mayor reportedly weighing a gubernatorial bid. Housing as electoral backdrop — no policy specifics, no connection to Portsmouth's Housing Action Plan process.
State politics Electoral framingTwo hearings required. Dates not set. No coverage of the process or what residents can actually shape.
The city confirmed it will not hire a Navigator. Planning Department staff are coordinating via reassignment, with no dedicated lead identified. This decision is unreported.
The Mar 3 tax relief story raises the right question. The follow-up: does any proposed incentive require affordable units in return, or is it an unattached market-rate stimulus?
Morgan's two columns have now made this a sustained public debate. The missing story: will the Housing Action Plan's production targets be written into the consultant RFP before it's published — and who decides that?
No story has asked: do co-living units at market rates address the affordability problem the Housing Action Plan is meant to solve? The 20% set-aside at 581 Lafayette deserves scrutiny as a potential model.
$1M+ Seacoast median home price. $2,300–$3,500/mo Portsmouth rents (up from March 6). Morgan's Mar 20 column names the displacement pattern. No news story has followed it.
Five opinion pieces in seven weeks — including two consecutive Morgan columns and Splaine's debut on the topic — show the policy debate intensifying on the opinion pages while news coverage remains episodic.
The Mar 20 Morgan column is the most substantively significant new piece: framing existing zoning as actively erasing affordable housing is a displacement argument, not just a supply argument. If it goes unanswered by city staff or the Planning Board, it sets a public framing that will be hard to dislodge.
The April 22 Master Plan open house is the next high-stakes public moment. It is now on the media radar. Whether reporters connect it to the Housing Action Plan — and whether the Housing Action Plan's priorities appear in the draft Master Plan housing chapter — is the question this period's coverage has set up but not yet answered.
The question is no longer "will Portsmouth act?" It's "who's watching to make sure the action matches the scale of the problem?"