“HUD plans to take local zoning out of the hands of local governments. This violates the NYS Constitution and is a big power grab by the Federal government.”
“HUD wants to change the laws to force integration in your neighborhood. Shouldn’t people have the right to live where they want? What about the potential of increasing crime in every neighborhood? Also, how will it affect property values?”
Indeed it violates the NH Constitution as well.
Here is a recent document from NH House on Community Planning Grants, Round 2 Awards – Project Summaries:
Is Your Town Subject to a Federal Grant?
We have summarized what to watch for. Note, these federal grants in all cases mean more regulation, and in some cases, more taxes, even in towns that have rejected the Granite State Future program.
Alton – Workforce Housing Assessment and Ordinance –“…will result in the drafting of new regulatory language to be presented for ballot vote in 2014.”
Amherst – Water Resource Protection – “…water resource related ordinances and regulations, to combine, simplify and update with best management practices…”
Bedford – Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity Master Plan – “…long range master plan for all pedestrians and bicycle routes, to develop a priority implementation schedule, and to recommend changes to the zoning ordinance and land development control regulations to require the installation of these important features during development and redevelopment projects.”
Bow – Density Transfer Credit / Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance – “The town will identify “sending” and “receiving” areas to concurrently protect important natural resources and increase the density of residential and commercial development elsewhere to utilize infrastructure capacity.”
Claremont – Business Corridor Project – (will continue, unless stopped)
Concord – Penacook Mixed-Use Village District. – “The city will establish a mixed-use village center district for downtown Penacook.” and “Ideally the district will be a hybrid form based code which will still allow the city to define appropriate land uses for the village center”
Deerfield – Village Zoning District – “…new zoning district will be proposed for the 2014 March town meeting.”
Dover – Inclusionary Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) – “…promote inclusionary housing development close to the city’s mass transit options. The redevelopment should include creating mixed use buildings…”
Farmington – Route 11 High Density Development Plan and RSA 79-E District – “The town will develop a high density development plan for locations along the NH Route 11 corridor…”
Greenfield – Neighborhood Heritage District – “…the town will now embark on the creation of a neighborhood heritage district with the assistance of the NH Preservation Alliance…”
Lancaster – “The town will develop changes for its zoning ordinance in the commercial district of Main Street for adoption at the March 2014 town meeting. The changes are based on recommendations listed in a recently completed regulation and policy audit, including form based codes, increased multi-family housing densities and other alternative techniques to maintain and enhance the existing commercial vibrancy and village character of the area.”
Lebanon – Form Based Code and Multi-Family Housing – “The city will examine regulations related to mixed residential and commercial uses and performance area zoning to allow greater sensitivity in existing land use zones and to clarify and refine areas designed as mixed use in the existing master plan future land use map.”
Litchfield – Commercial Zoning and Agricultural Preservation Project. – “…the planning board will revise the zoning map to reflect those preferred development outcomes, update zoning for commercial and industrial uses, and develop an agricultural preservation ordinance to ensure balanced opportunities for growth and agricultural preservation.”
Milford – Inclusionary Housing Cluster Development Ordinance. – “The town will develop a comprehensive cluster residential development regulation incorporating master plan goals for inclusionary zoning and affordable housing choice…”
Northfield – Mixed Use Zoning and Village Design Guidelines – “The project involves conducting a planning and visioning program for the purpose of preparing a village area / mixed use zoning district along with design guidelines for the village area.”
Pelham – Mixed Use Zoning and Low Impact Development – “This project will implement low impact development provisions and regulations and facilitate a mixed-use district zoning change to be prepared for the 2014 March town meeting.”
Rindge – West Rindge Village Mixed Use Project – “The town’s recent Plan NH Charrette and CPG Round 1 regulatory review recommended the adoption of design guidelines or regulations.”
Salisbury – Village Center Visioning Project – “The town will assemble residents to sketch out what its village retail district (the “Crossroads”) might look like in 10 or 20 years.”
Sanbornton – Workforce Housing Regulations – “The town will amend its existing land use regulations to facilitate the construction of workforce housing.”
Seabrook – Route 107 Land Use and Resource Protection Plan – “… long-range plan including zoning, access management, land development standards,…”
Springfield – Town-wide Wetlands Regulation Project – “The town will amend its wetland regulations to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between sustaining the town’s identity as a rural community, including its water resources and natural habitat, and maintaining property owners’ reasonable use of their land.”
Only the PEOPLE can stop this madness by attending their town meetings starting in January of 2014.
Listen to Rich Girard’s on-air read about how federal grants are being slipped in under the noses of local officials in Manchester and other towns.
“The Southern New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission will hold a public workshop on a proposed Corridor Access and Mixed Use Zoning Overlay Project for Second Street on Manchester’s West Side. It will be held tonight from six to eight at St. Raphael Parish on Walker Street in Granite Square. Planners say “the purpose of this project is to develop access management strategies and a mixed use overlay zoning district for Second Street between the Manchester Bedford town line and Granite Street at Exit 5. In conjunction with this project, Southern New Hampshire Planning will be conducting a Health Impact Assessment on the goals and proposed zoning and access management strategies developed for Second Street to ensure health and health inequities are considered in the decision making.” Frankly, given what Pinardville just went through, we have our doubts about what’s being done here, doubts that were turned into concerns after speaking with Manchester Planning Director Leon LaFreniere, the regional planning commission’s executive director David Preece and Ward 10 Alderman Phil Greazzo. LaFreniere said his department pursued the grant at Greazzo’s request. Greazzo said Pam Gaucher from the Planning Department made him aware of quote “a state grant to help with traffic and businesses on Second Street” and asked him to support it. Preece admitted the grant comes from the same federal sustainability program that just tortured Pinardville and denied there was any proposal for a mixed use zoning overlay district, despite it being in the headline of his press release and all over the Web site referenced in that release, a Web site he claimed no knowledge of. Folks, it just gets better from there. We’ve linked to the release and will have something to say about this this morning.
Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority announced another round of grant awards using these federal HUD sustainability funds. Communities in our listening area with something to worry about include: Amherst, Milford, Litchfield, Deerfield, Bow and Bedford. We’ve posted the awards with the grant summaries with this newscast. Lots of communities about to unwittingly surrender themselves to HUD’s vision for their future.”
Under the guise of ‘sustainability’ HUD is being used to reconfigure our cities and towns via zoning changes and new laws.
Obama is taking advantage of this, as he said, he would use the EPA and other agencies to force his policies upon us without congressional approval.
This is what your Regional Planning Commissions are now being used for right here in NH, with their plan called ‘Granite State Future’…
See this piece about former ACORN employee Bertha Lewis.
HUD claims zoning is discrimination… and aims to use zoning to change that..
Listen to Girard at Large talk about the plan for an area in Manchester, paid for by a federal grant, but of which an Alderman knew very little.
And so it goes… the local boards and state legislature have little oversight over the Regional Planning Commissions and this is proof.
The Story of Liberty Farm
from our friend Tom DeWeese
Martha Bonata bought 64 acres of beautiful farm land in Fauquier County seven years ago. The barn was in disrepair and the land hadn’t been well taken care of. She set out to change that, spending thousands to turn the barn into a quaint little store. She brought in over 150 rescued animals, including goats, ducks, turkeys, even an emus.
She used the store to sell items grown on the property, including tomatoes and eggs. In addition, Martha is incredibly talented in crafting decorative and useful items from her farm sources. For example, her emu’s feathers, which it drops on the ground, are turned into jewelry. She created a wooden item that contains small slits on each of its four sides. In the slits she stuffs bits of wool discarded by her sheep. The item’s purpose was to hang in the yard so birds can use the bits of wool to make their nests. Above all, Martha turned the farm into a classic organic farm of naturally grown produce.
Everything was looking great for a lady anxious to get her hands in the dirt. Oh yes, there was just one small detail brought up during the negotiation for the purchase of the property. The Piedmont Environmental Council slipped in a conservation easement on the property. This specific easement did not pay any cash to Martha nor did it provide any tax credits. All the benefits went to PEC. Martha signed the document because she had been told conservation easements were a way to protect the farm from being developed. She was for that.
But there is one major aspect of Martha’s value system that doesn’t fit the PEC profile for the perfect small farmer. She believes in private property rights. And that’s when the trouble started. Space does not allow a full description of the battles Martha has faced over her attempts to farm her land. Here is the “Cliff notes” version:
Martha does not live on the farm, she owns a home in another location. The conservation easement she signed said she could have a small 1600 square foot residence on the property. She never used the facility as a residence.
The Fauquier County planning board suddenly issued notice that Martha would be fined for selling items that were not produced on her farm, something she never actually did. And they warned that she needed another permit in order to use the facility for events.
She was immediately threatened with fines of $5,000 a day for each violation brought by the County. The evidence used against her by the county was a photo of a children’s birthday party that Martha had posted on her face book page, allegedly proving that she had rented out the barn for a party. in fact, it was a private party for personal friends. No money exchanged hands for the facility. But the battle was on.
Martha began to learn what a powerful weapon conservation easements can be in the hands of those who wanted to control her actions. The easement gave the PEC the right to occasionally inspect the property for “violations’ of the easement. Suddenly Martha was informed that PEC inspectors would visit the farm to investigate the “living quarters.” Rather than a random, occasional, or annual visit, PEC came back again and again; demanding to look into her private closets; even banning her right to video tape the inspections on her own property.
The PEC found fault with a simple water nozzle Martha had purchased to use in washing her animals. Somehow that was a violation. There is an old cemetery on the property dating back to 1832. In it are buried the families of former residents of the area and black slaves. To keep the farm animals from walking though the cemetery, Martha installed a simple fence. “Violation,” said PEC, “It damages the view shed.” On and on went the harassment over such idiotic claims. Along with it came thousands of dollars of legal expenses as Martha fought to defend herself.
Eventually, as a result of non-stop pressure and the threat of fines from the County, plus the pressure from PEC, not to mention a “coincidental” IRS audit, Martha was forced to close her little store, seriously damaging a major part of her ability to earn income from the farm.
Worse, county officials have made outrageous claims in attempts to justify their actions. They claim that Martha’s small store, and others like it on local farms, will lead to the establishment of Walmarts in rural areas. And most recently one official has made the claim on local television that her store is the pathway to junk yards and car lots.
What was her real crime? She had challenged county planning restrictions. And in doing so, she had become a threat to their authority and that of the PEC, which is the driving force behind county controls over private property.
These are the results of the implementation of Sustainable Development policy and why the American Policy Center is dedicated to stopping it. For more information about Sustainable Development, Agenda 21 and how to stop it, go to APC’s web site, www.americanpolicy.org and join the fight to end this tyranny over American citizens and your property rights.
Related Links:
Sustainable Development Financing Committee Holds First Meeting
A scheme called “Complete Streets” is coming to Manchester.
Please listen to this clip from Girard at Large to find out what Rich has discovered so far.
Apparently the folks in Florida are not so happy with the Seven50 bureaucrats.
Seven50 is the plan that is comparable to NH’s Granite State Future. Same funding, same goals; rezoning and new urbanism. As Andres Duany, lead planner stated, “It’s fascism…”
“Seven50 is growing desperate as local residents become aware and educate themselves.”
As in NH they are also using the phony ‘sea level rise’ issue as well… (Our Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan just created a sea level commission)
This is good news. Help your friends get educated as to what is going on in NH, Florida, and every other state.
Rob Astorino of Westchester discusses HUD’s plan to ‘correct’ racially imbalanced neighborhoods or neighborhoods that are too economically homogeneous via mandated zoning changes.
From our friends over at the NHTPC we learn about the public meeting concerning workforce housing with Alton residents.