A Community Discussion About Our Future

Key Issue #8 Planning/Zoning/Growth

Facilitator: Kerry LaPointe Recorder: Mike Powell Spokesperson: not noted
Participants: Jay Marson, Deborah Vlass-Scammell, Shawn Fish, David Ely, Brenda Robinson, John Wawrzyniak, Brandy Mitroff, Eric Scouillar, Brad Johnson, Dave Craig, John Royce, David Elliott, Gene Kelly, Bonnie Koch, Willard O’Dodge, Travis Daniels, Mark Siemiesz, Nancy Scopa, Tammi Wood, Peter Maloney

Clarification of the problem/issue to be addressed:

• leadership
- town needed to get fiscal “house in order”
- need vision for growth – next 5-10-20 years
- tools and methods to guide town
• housing affordability
- isolation - transportation
- life long residents/priced out
- property tax
- SB2 impacts (lack of town meeting)
- Elderly feel alienated
- Cluster housing/convenient
• zoning
- difficult/impractical
- set asides of land in subdivision
- linked green space
- minimum lot size
- economic vitality
o accommodate growth/balance/manage
• be open to commercial uses (limited in R-A spaces)
- little Peterborough vs. manufacturing – good businesses that serve people of all ages
- people moved here to avoid industry
o need to be careful
- Rt. 114 area available – owners frustrated by zoning
- mixing farm with commercial
• aesthetic ordinances for commercial businesses
- avoid Mast Road, yellow atrocity
• better planning/control
- don’t like builders coming to town – doing what they want to without accountability (enforcement)
- held hostage by regulatory authorities
o state vs. town
o timely
o builder’s deep pockets
• proactive vs. reactive
• planning guidelines don’t fit
- overburdened
- professional assistance
- large scale accelerated
- not geared for it
• method to control
- no trees cut prior to approval
- make it more difficult
- don’t blow in, put up 30 lots
- communal lands
- tighten up regulations
• can they be slowed down
is it possible? (time limits, state rules, deep pockets, lawyers)
• ordinances need to be looked at
- we need professional assistance
- Master Plan perhaps total rewrite (comprehensive) vs. piecemeal change
- Internet as resource/examples from other towns easier than it was 5-7 years ago
• building permit quotas?
- must prove (with professional help) regionally an emergency situation
- infrastructure
• hard to do – we have a volunteer phasing new
- could be ordinance to force “phasing”
• control maximum size of development
- perhaps with increasing lot size
- prohibit use of “marginal” land
- prevent use of marginal (wet) areas as lot size
• works for and against us – how wetlands issues managed
• variety of methods available
- green space corridor through town
- flow requirements to builders
- avoid “snob zoning”/balance affordability (lot size problem Mass legal case) may be able to work “graduated lot size”
• overall density in area
- another view – types of land and its best use
- look regionally at proper density for development
- geography, what land supports soil is key
• large single lot size encouraged – sprawl
- density issue
o topography
o soil types/drainage
o soil specific lot sizing
• how does this affect multi-family
- wetlands/buffer – difficult for planning to understand rationale – went with ordinance
- examples of multi-family 8 units in 1 building

Potential Solutions:

• require new subdivisions to provide land to the town for recreational/conservation and town facilities (fire station/schools…)
• take comprehensive look at Master Plan and rewrite planning/zoning ordinance, to better accomplish long term purpose/goals
• encourage cluster housing that may share resources and preserve open space/review rewrite regulations
• encourage open space through tax and financial incentives
• better educate large parcel owners on benefits of conservation easements and charitable remainders trusts
- town not a “land baron”
• better communicate “build-out plan” vision of our future under current and possible changes to planning/zoning
• institute “land-bank tax” as component of property tax (consider as volunteer participation)
• seek professional in a timely manner help to assess our situation/information and provide recommendations to revise or rewrite regulations/ordinances to support better land use
• use specific committees to support planning/zoning with volunteers (less commitment) to work specific issues
• form specific long range planning committee as town or subcommittee level
• project: realign zoning/planning ordinances with Master Plan
• develop methods to identify recurring issues that “don’t make sense” (or conflict with objectives) so we can target revision to regulations
• stiffer enforcement and penalties for law violations
• innovative planning/land use controls – soil density, land corridors

Project Evaluations:

High Impact/High Feasibility
• seek professional help in a timely manner to assess our situation/information and provide recommendations to revise or rewrite regulations/ordinances to support better land use
• take comprehensive look at Master Plan and rewrite planning/zoning ordinance to beter
accomplish long term purpose/goals
• require sub-division to provide land to the town for recreation/conservation and town
facilities/fire station, schools
• better communicate “build-out plan” vision of our future under current and possible changes to planning and zoning
• project: realign zoning/planning ordinances with Master Plan
• develop methods to identify recurring issues that “don’t make sense” (or conflict with
objectives) so we can target revisions to regulations
• innovative planning/land use controls (soil density, land corridors)

High Impact/Moderate Feasibility
• institute “land bank tax” as component of property tax. As a component of property tax
consider as volunteer participation

High Impact/Low Feasibility
• use specific committees to support planning with volunteers (less commitment) to work
specific issues
• form specific long range planning committee at town or subcommittee level

Moderate Impact/High Feasibility
• encourage cluster housing that may share resources and preserve open space/review
rewrite regulations

Moderate Impact/Moderate Feasibility
• encourage open spaces through tax and financial industries
• stiffen enforcement and penalties for law violations
• better educate land owners on benefits of conservation easements and charitable
remainder trusts – town not a “land baron”

Moderate Impact/Low Feasibility
not noted

Low Impact/High Feasibility
not noted

Low Impact/Moderate Feasibility
not noted

Low Impact/Low Feasibility
not noted