Don’t “Mass Up” NH!
Please Oppose Bills That Put Community Character at Risk
To Governor Ayotte,
We are writing to you again on behalf of the 800 members of CNHT and NHTPC, and 1,300 Bedford Residents Assn members, and their partners in Amherst, Barrington, Candia, Francestown, Hampton, Hollis, Jefferson, Londonderry, Merrimack, N. Hampton, N. Swanzey, Peterborough, Rindge, Rochester, Sugar Hill, Swanzey, and Windham.
Please read this very important article by Durham Town Manager Todd Selig: “Selig: Proposed NH zoning law changes put community character at risk”
We agree with him that the bills he cites in the article are NOT the way to mitigate a shortfall in housing.
Here are the problems we see …
1) A special standing Housing Committee was created in the House of Reps to fast-track bills that would otherwise fail. The committee is usually made up of the sponsors of the very bills they want to pass. Is this fair?
2) There are several proposals to create other special ‘study commissions’ (see HB 471 and HB 399) which are set up to further the agenda of the state takeover of zoning. This is purely taxpayer-funded lobbying and should be considered corrupt. It should not be allowed.
3) There are several proposals to give tax incentives to builders to encourage them to build apartment buildings. The results of these actions have been seen to have passed the added cost of taxes onto the single-family homeowners.
4) As to the effort to mitigate housing shortages, or preserve property rights, these bills do NEITHER. They will simply chip away at local control and the ability to meet the vastly varied needs of towns, leaving towns unable to control their own development.
5) The ultimate goal of these bills is to eradicate single-family zones STATEWIDE. That means eradicating the choice of almost 70% of all homeowners.
YOU CAN STOP THIS WITH YOUR VETO PEN.
We hope you will take this information to heart and rethink your pledge to solve the non-existent ‘housing crisis’ in this manner and veto these bills should they arrive at your desk.
Most House bills have been assigned to a specially stacked “Housing Committee” and in the Senate they are being heard in their Commerce Committee. There are many that should be opposed.
Don’t “Mass Up” NH!