Friends!
A fellow RC (republican committee) Chair, Jim Avallon of North Hampton RC, has written a great piece regarding three Bills which are in process in our legislature. Please read Jim’s LTE shown below and if in agreement, please submit testimony on these Bills so that the Senate knows how you feel about government overreach vs. local control.
Best Regards,
Lilli
It is extremely important to urge the Senate to not enable and force urbanization and fiddle with single-family zoning. Tell them to oppose SB538, HB1291 & HB1399!
Eradicating single-family zoning takes away one of our living condition choices and is NOT necessary to mitigate a housing shortage. In fact, those promoting these bills admit it will not help.
The State shouldn’t force urbanization with zoning, lot size and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) mandates against the will of local citizens (who vote!) by dictate or incentivization,
NH lawmakers want to destroy our neighborhoods: Letters (seacoastonline.com)
NH lawmakers want to destroy our neighborhoods
April 2 − To the Editor:
The Senate takes up SB538 on April 5th and HB1291 & HB1399 on April 8th. These bills substantially alter if not eliminate single-family zoning as we know it.
There are compelling reasons why concerned citizens should firmly oppose these bills:
∎ The State shouldn’t usurp local control to solve a problem that has always existed for everyone at some point in their lives,
∎ The State shouldn’t force urbanization with zoning, lot size and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) mandates against the will of local citizens (who vote!) by dictate or incentivization,
∎ The State doesn’t have the experience and knowledge to dictate local single-family residential use. I can name a few attacks on our neighborhoods: SB538 Section 7, appropriates local control of lot size, HB1399, Section 1, expands single family residences to 2 residential units and HB1291 allows TWO ADUs….did you expect a major change like this with rental units being allowed next door when you bought into your single-family neighborhood?
∎ The State’s claws on local zoning leads to corruption and bad decisions. I witnessed this personally with 40B and “Smart Communities” in MA. Developers learned the ropes and used them to extort towns into high density projects in single-family neighborhoods that were always peaceful, safe, and family-friendly.
∎ Home ownership, especially single-family, promotes a vested interest in the Town and a sense of responsibility and freedom. It also incentivizes having a family.
∎ Eradicating single-family zoning takes away one of our living condition choices and is NOT necessary to mitigate a housing shortage.
In fact, those promoting these bills admit it will not help.
It is extremely important to urge the Senate to not enable and force urbanization and fiddle with single-family zoning. Tell them to oppose SB538, HB1291 & HB1399!
Jim Avallon
North Hampton
