Does Bedford NH, a rural town, really need or want bike paths? Same goes for ‘overlay zoning’ to create mixed use neighborhoods, as well as ‘workforce housing’. What workforce are we serving? (section 8?)
And the grants for all these projects seem to come from the NH Housing Finance Authority but where do THEY get the money? We suspect it’s HUD.
From the article:
Bedford adopts master plan for bicycle-pedestrian paths
By SUSAN CLARK
Union Leader Correspondent
February 14. 2014
“The town was awarded a $30,000 Community Planning Grant from the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority to complete the Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity Master Plan, which follows through on several recommendations of the 2010 Master Plan.
At the hearing, the consultants, planner Jeff Taylor, landscape architect Karen Fitzgerald, and planner Grace Wu of the Resource Systems Group, outlined the project results and recommendations for zoning changes.”
Perhaps now we have the reason why the Town Council wants to remove your right to vote on zoning!
More info about zoning changes: Bedford Zoning Articles for March 11, 2014
Bedford Master Plan
Bedford’s Latest Planning Minutes
Smart Growth Areas in Bedford [Video promoting ‘walkable’ communities]
Update: We have been told this is the same thing going on as with Rindge: “your town is missing a center.”
In Rindge, that is exactly what they said. Their grant came from NHHFA, and NHHFA got it from HUD. It was community planning grant to change zoning. It is important to point out that Rindge belongs to SWRPC, but the selectmen said NO to GSF. Rindge’s proposed plan contains sidewalks and bike paths too.