The State of New Hampshire is quickly getting a taste of what this “New Urbanism” movement is all about.
Follow what the Bedford Residents are doing about it.
The State of New Hampshire is quickly getting a taste of what this “New Urbanism” movement is all about.
Follow what the Bedford Residents are doing about it.
The target date to finalize Bedford’s Master Plan is November 2019. You have ONE year.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN EVERY TOWN, EVERY CITY, AND EVERY STATE IN THE NATION. BEDFORD IS ONLY ONE EXAMPLE — YOUR TOWN COULD BE NEXT.
Update: These towns have also been convinced to join the urbanists:
Albany (July 2018)
Bartlett (July 2018)
Conway (July 2018)
Dover (July 2018)
Eaton (July 2018)
Freedom (July 2018)
Goffstown (June 2018)
Jackson (July 2018)
Madison (July 2018)
Portsmouth (June 2018)
If you are reading this article you have likely already been awakened and are aware of the fact that the international/federal “urbanization” agenda has trickled down into local governments in every state in the USA, endangering our ability to maintain local control of our towns.
You can easily see that it is the same agenda being promoted everywhere without exception; evident with the use of the same buzzwords, same stated goals, same methods of gathering “consensus” from limited numbers of people.
You have likely read multiple times on this website about how HUD (EPA and DOT), a federal agency, is imposing Obama’s “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Act” in order to level the playing field for people unable to live in wealthier towns. This is pure social engineering as it would enable them to live in these wealthier towns with assistance from the government, even before they would normally be able to afford it.
You are also aware by now that the influences shaping these ideas are NOT coming from accountable organizations that can be voted out, or from the masses themselves, but from PRIVATE, outside entities, whose “urbanist” philosophies are strikingly similar.
You may also have read about the new fad where local governments are promoting the idea of engaging in “Public-Private-Partnerships” (PPPs).
It is all related.
SOME BACKGROUND ON REGIONAL COUNCILS
In NH, your town council or selectmen are elected, but they work with UNELECTED groups called “Regional Planning Commissions” (RPCs) which then facilitate the connections to PRIVATE GROUPS (some international) This is where most of these urbanist / globalist ideas originate.
NH’s Governor Sununu says he cares about outsiders imposing sales taxes upon NH. But does he care about this? These boondoggles often cause higher taxes and threaten to forever change the rural flavor and bucolic atmosphere of NH’s towns.
Alton, Rindge, and Brookfield have rejected participation in the Regional Planning Commissions, something EVERY TOWN IN NH SHOULD ATTEMPT TO DO.
Here is an accurate account (edited for clarity) of why your town’s voluntary participation in unelected Regional Planning Commissions is a danger to your town’s ability to maintain local control.
“The Regional Planning Commissions creates unintended negative effects upon local planning boards. The commission staff are unelected, highly trained professionals. The local planning boards are comprised of untrained volunteers elected by local residents. The effect has been for the local boards to rely more and more on the commission and effectively transfer responsibilities. If this trend continues all responsibilities and authority for local planning could be transferred to the regional body and eliminate local planning boards. A simple language change in the existing statute that governs Regional Planning Commissions would be all that would be needed to accomplish this. The elimination of local control may or may not be among the Regional Planners’ goals [1], but the negative effect on private property is troublesome. The Regional Planning Commission funding comes in three parts: contracted services, membership dues and Federal funds. The commissions, through the NH Association of Regional Planning Commissions, collectively work to incorporate agreements that were made with the international community. Those agreements are based on social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Why is this a concern relative to local planning boards? Local planning boards leverage their statutory authority against property owners through enforcement of land use ordinances voted by the town legislative body. If local boards are eliminated the international scheme of sustainable development will take center stage. Sustainable Development can only be effective if all land, air, water, energy and their social linkages are regulated and controlled. This effect should concern us all if unelected councils replace our elected planning boards. Many of our local Master Plan documents are prepared by the RPC’s using the American Planning Association templates. Read through your local planning documents and you will see the foot print of the international planning concepts that seek to put in place land use controls created by foreign councils of government. The effects of these controls are prevalent throughout the American system.”
[1] The goals of regionalism/new urbanism were made clear from the recommended readings posted on the http://www.granitestatefuture.org website The following three points were taken from the recommended readings found in the Regional Plan Framework Appendices on Housing and Regionalism: “Restructuring Local Government” (Rusk, David. 1993. Cities without Suburbs. Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press). The words emphasized in bold are the most troubling. (http://cms.mildredwarner.org/summaries/rusk1993)
1. Empowering Urban Counties
The most direct and efficient way to create metropolitan government in the majority of metro areas is to empower urban county government. In this scenario, the county government assumes the functions and responsibilities of the municipal governments within its boundaries, and municipalities are abolished.
2. Consolidating Cities and Counties
This involves creating area-wide governmental units, focusing on consolidating municipal governments with their surrounding county governments. Consolidation brings unification of the tax base and centralization of planning and zoning.
3. Combining Counties into Regional Governments
This involves combining several counties in the same metropolitan area into one regional government. Challenges to these regional approaches include potential loss of power at the local level.
THE PROBLEM – BEDFORD
The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) has teamed up with American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to promote a program that encourages towns to be more “senior friendly”. Three towns have joined; Goffstown and Portsmouth, with Bedford being the latest. We were alerted to the program when the town of Bedford sent email informing people that they were partnering with non-profits and the Regional Planners to survey “seniors” about what improvements they would like to see in the town’s Master Plan.
Exact wording from the assistant town manager:
“The Town is partnering with regional planners and non-profit organizations to help plan for changing demographics and ensure the community is as welcoming as possible to residents and visitors of all ages.”
Since they did not mention who these “non-profits” were, we investigated, and upon further examination we found that they had been approached by the AARP. Further investigation revealed this statement by the AARP about the program:
“The AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities is an affiliate of the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Program, an international effort launched in 2006 to help cities prepare for rapid population aging and the parallel trend of urbanization.”
“The AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities program is a tool that can be used by AARP staff and others to help local leaders prepare and ultimately change their communities to become great places for everyone to live.”
“Members of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities become part of a global network of communities that are committed to giving their older residents the opportunity to live rewarding, productive and safe lives.”
All throughout its website, the AARP more than suggests this is an “international” effort.
So there you have it. AARP is an affilate of the World Health Organization, a subdivision of the United Nations, and it wants to influence your local Master Plan by enabling social engineering and the promotion of “urbanization” (which is not really a trend with people as stated in your Master Plan, but seems to be only a trend with the globalists).
When approached by residents about why they would engage these outside groups when considering making decisions about changes to the town, Bedford officials have offered the usual excuses.
Despite all evidence to the contrary we continually hear:
“It’s a conspiracy theory” (cute but has no effect anymore)
“We did this on our own, there are no outside groups involved” (sorry, we can read)
“We created the Survey at the planning board with no outside help” (AARP’s toolkit shows otherwise…)
“We don’t do anything the same as other towns are doing” (no not much, just every other town across the nation…)
“We thought those groups who are saying these things had gone away” (the only group is residents of the town who you claim to want to involve)
If you’ve read the AARP website, you know it’s NOT a “conspiracy theory”.
You have already been told that non profits are involved and have seen proof.
A quick search of the internet will show that the exact same process is going on all over the country. Clearly there is a chain of NGOs that are involved, including but not limited to UN, WHO, American Planning Assn (APA), AARP, all enabled by the RPCs.
You can read about Aspen Co., where residents are not happy with decisions made by regional councils regarding “high density” growth. Residents of rural towns are NOT beating down the doors of the town offices demanding low income housing, mixed-used development, or overlay districts: Midvalley board, citizens at odds over density designation at The Fields
Finally, this Master Plan Manipulation is not being questioned by any “group” but by the taxpaying citizens of the town…the very same people the town claims they want involved.
The surveys that are being sent around to Bedford residents are not just about seniors. They also contain suggestions that did NOT come from the residents as claimed, but from the unelected RPCs and the NGOs they have committed to partnering with. Did any of you remember voting for this international agenda?
Take a look to see what Bedford’s Survey is all about, but do not fill it out if you don’t live in Bedford. Note the social implications? Do you think you needed the WHO to help you connect with socially with other people? Look over the questions, because chances are your town could be doing the same thing soon.
Please note that despite the fact that town officials are making a pretense of surveying residents, nearly all of the items in the Survey are already built into Bedford’s Master Plan, which includes such outlandish statements as there is “excitement” over a possible COMMUTER RAIL STATION for Bedford. Many other proclamations, such as “Bedford lacks a walkable downtown or village center and there is growing demand for more community gathering places” are simply NOT TRUE. People would just be happy if Bedford fixed its roads.
Note the buzzwords: Sustainable, livable, walkable, mixed-used, affordable, urbanism,community, public-private, consensus, regional, etc.
The most concerning dictates have been underlined in RED. Many of the conclusions (underlined sections) should be challenged vigorously.
Bedford NH Master Plan Update Proposal (Annotated Version)
THE SOLUTION
What you should do now is to spread this information around with the intention of educating people.
– Ask them to look at the Bedford survey, take it if they live in Bedford.
– Ask them if their town participates in Regional Councils.
– Find out what programs those councils are promoting.
– Get a copy of their own town’s Master Plan and question all of it.
Everyone should have “eyes wide open” to what is going on in their towns and should watch for things that are happening or have the potential to happen.
Knowledge is power.
Update: Goffstown, Portsmouth, and Bedford are participating. If you live in Bedford, your survey is here: tiny.cc/PlanBedford
The World Health Organization, an NGO associated with the United Nations, is soliciting towns in NH to sign up for their AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities program, we have learned.
While we understand the growing need for towns and cities to be ‘senior’ friendly, we don’t understand why the UN or the WHO should have to be involved. They are after all, NGOs.
So far, no NH towns have signed on, but “226 communities (and counting), from Texas to Michigan, from Honolulu to Washington, D.C.” have, the site boasts.
“Participation in the network involves following a multi-step process of improvement. A link to the community’s age-friendly action plan has been added to this list if the town or city has reached Step 2 of the improvement process.”
It’s hard to keep up with these folks… they are relentlessly working to influence US towns and cities toward accepting the UN’s agenda, while at first glance appearing to be helpful advocates for your well being.
What gives the right for these NGOs; the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the American Planning Association, and AARP to influence your town’s Master Plan via unelected Regional Councils?
The town of Bedford NH has just ‘approved’ a 29,000-square-foot building that will house 133 rental units…
As reported in the Union Leader, “…the town’s master plan supports bringing residential and mixed-use development…”
Trouble is, the town’s master plan was NOT created or approved by the residents, but concocted by the (unelected) Regional Planning Commission, which takes its orders from the American Planning Association (merely an NGO), which in turn follows the United Nations (unelected NGO) “urbanism” agenda — a plan for every country.
Did you vote for this? I know I didn’t. What happens in your town is being determined by a little-known program called ‘Granite State Future’, all based on ‘sustainability’ due to the climate HOAX.
Residents of every town should object to what these cryptic quasi-governmental agencies are doing to determine their town’s fate.
UPDATE:
Bedford residents are distressed over the urbanization of their town.
Please watch these videos – we are adding them as they come online:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/AemuI29lC-g
Part 2: https://youtu.be/WLruzODmhFU
Part 3: https://youtu.be/oUfAZ4IUWj8
Part 4: https://youtu.be/N4qkxHWwp0M
Part 5: https://youtu.be/W44JAz2gBRU
Then, grab a copy of the latest Master Plan and you will see all the buzzwords and plans, in the blatant attempt to ‘urbanize’ Bedford, thanks to the influence of the Regional Planning Commission and their importance on cities (Granite State Future program) and regional government over elected, local government.
Bedford residents probably do not want Bedford to be turned into a city even though they foolishly voted for the zoning down by the river (overlay district) in 2012 by a wide margin. Did they know what they were doing? No we do NOT want the river area to be a mini-Portsmouth!
Master Plan: http://projects.vhb.com/bedfordmasterplan/masterplan.asp
Zoning Board Minutes November 2016
Please attend your planners meeting on January 23, 2017
The biggest reason to attend town meetings which are coming up in your town soon!
National Review author Stanley Kurtz has mentioned some of our best NH activists in his latest article about Obamazone and the “Affirmatively Fair Housing Act” and the reason why towns should reject HUD grant funds.
To all our volunteers, those mentioned and those not mentioned, your work may be anonymous but it is not going unrecognized.
We haven’t always been able to get the numbers of people to town meetings as we would like. As you might know, in NH, town meetings (running anywhere from January – June each year) is where residents vote up or down on zoning changes. It is less clear how much say they have in these HUD grants, which are facilitated by ‘Regional Planning Commissions’, boards of unelected bureaucrats who operate just outside of public control and with specially selected NGOs. In our case it’s the Carsey Institute of UNH which actually employs a PR firm (NH Listens) and actors to steer public opinion at under advertised, under attended Delphi sessions.
We are grateful that Kurtz has given this issue of regionalism some mainstream attention. We who fight regionalism can no longer to be considered ‘conspiracy theorists’.
UPDATED: Here is a more extensive video on how deserted this rapid transit station is. Money wasted! Take note NH!
https://youtu.be/W-eZcImhopU
If the above video does not appear on your device, use this direct link:
https://youtu.be/W-eZcImhopU
This video shows you what the City of Annaheim, CA looks like after the failed ‘compact city’ philosophy was instituted. Loft apartments are empty and train stations remain unused.
The program there in Orange County is called America 2050
https://youtu.be/1AMZD1Br0vM
If the above video does not appear on your device, use this direct link:
https://youtu.be/1AMZD1Br0vM
The Town of Bedford NH voted for an ‘overlay district’ in 2012. Stay tuned for more information on what that vote means for the rural town of Bedford.
Remember, most of these people serve as UNELECTED bureaucrats fueled by federal and local dollars and who are working for the federal government on soviet-style regional commissions, and may have a greater say in what goes on in YOUR town than the average taxpayer. They will work to create “Public-Private Partnerships” taking direction from private interests that may not serve the ideas of the general population.
Notice that the Chamber of Commerce praises the raise in the gas tax.
In Bedford, voters overwhelmingly approved an “overlay district” on River Road, apparently missing the fact that this will only serve to turn Bedford into a city.
“Inward migration” is the key word here, as that is the master plan of the federal government — to get residents to reject rural and suburban living in favor of the car-less, close quarters of the new urbanism’s “compact housing”.
If the above video does not appear on your device, use this direct link:
http://vimeo.com/96273244
Update: Girard at Large weighs in on the SNHRPC [AUDIO]
First let’s look at this notice from the SNHPC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 16, 2014
Jack Munn, AICP, Chief Planner
Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission
Phone: (603) 669-4664
Email: jmunn@snhpc.org
Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission Seeks Public Review of DRAFT Regional Comprehensive Plan 2015
Between July 23 and August 21, 2014, the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC) is seeking public review and input on the DRAFT Regional Comprehensive Plan 2015: Moving Southern NH Forward.
This plan is advisory only and applies to the SNHPC Planning Commission Region which includes 14 municipalities located within portions of Merrimack, Hillsborough and Rockingham counties. These municipalities include the City of Manchester and the towns of Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Chester, Derry, Deerfield, Goffstown, Hooksett, Londonderry, New Boston, Raymond, Weare and Windham.
This DRAFT Comprehensive Plan is the result of a major two-year effort involving extensive public outreach through public visioning workshops; community events; social media; and public surveys. The development of the plan also reflects the hard work of a volunteer Project Leadership Team made up of planning commissioners, town planners and community representatives, including residents and businesses from around the region.
SNHPC is interested in hearing from all residents and businesses within the SNHPC Region. The DRAFT Plan can be viewed on the SNHPC website and CDs of the plan will also be made available at all local libraries in the region.
Links to the Draft Regional Master Plan:
Volume 1
Volume 2
A public presentation and hearing on the DRAFT Comprehensive Plan is also scheduled with the SNHPC Planning Commission on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 11:30 AM in the SNHPC Conference Room at 438 Dubuque Street, Manchester, NH. This Public Hearing is open to the public. Individuals requesting assistance or special arrangements to attend the meeting should contact Linda Moore, Office Administrator at (603) 669-4664 or at lmoore@snhpc.org
—
EXPLANATION
This Regional “Master” Plan has been developed with very little public input. Out of the 600 or so participants, perhaps only as few as 100 were actual citizens who were NOT connected to planning organizations or other special interest NGOs who influence the process.
The effort to create a Regional Master Plan for 2015 was done under the Granite State Future program. If one explores the link from the SNHPC‘s website to Granite State Future, one arrives at a page with this explanation:
MOVING SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE FORWARD
The Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission is facilitating A Granite State Future for the communities in the Southern New Hampshire Region. A Leadership Team and a Public Outreach and Engagement Subcommittee serve as advisory bodies for guiding the project. These advisory bodies are made up of citizen representatives from the different communities in the region, as well as representatives from businesses, organizations and local government.
An extensive public outreach campaign is being undertaken to reach all sectors of our region in every community. SNHPC encourages input and involvement from everyone in the region. The ultimate goal for this project is to develop a regional plan and vision for the future that addresses everyone’s individual interests and shared interests and identifies actions and recommendations that work to save taxpayers money, create better communities and to promote working together with neighboring towns and cities.
We’ve already proven that it is not community-based program, but a top down program devised by the RPCs, with input mostly from American Planning Association, local planners and NGOs and business, all enabled by grants from HUD, EPA, DOT.
We’ve shown how there were fewer participants from the true public sector partaking in the visioning sessions.
We’ve shown how these plans seek to cover every aspect of one’s life from housing and the prevention of sprawl through urbanization, land use, farming, health, education (Annenberg), healthy eating (children in schools), mental health, broadband, energy usage, gasoline, cars, water (including your private well), bike, transit, and more — while remaining a layer of government that is often unseen and therefore uncontrolled by the voters.
And we have shown that once the RPCs convince a town to accept the money from the federal government, it is NO LONGER AN ADVISORY PLAN. In order to benefit from the federal funds, HUD requires mandatory changes in the zoning and planning of each town in question. Sometimes these changes are voted on at the once-yearly town meetings and sometimes not. Further, legislation filed that the RPCs support would take the right to vote on zoning changes away from the townspeople.
Please examine these files to see what they have in store for the region covered by the SNHPC for 2015. Keep in mind that it is usually thought to be a ‘done deal’ unless opposition is mounted, so if you don’t like what you see, it is imperative to attend the public meeting and presentation on August 26, 2014.
“Sustainability” is the hot new buzzword on the left.
It’s the kind of word that sounds nice when you first stumble into it, but like everything else in the world of the eco-left, it really means control.
It’s what United Nation’s Agenda 21 is all about.
What might surprise you is that controversy over Agenda 21 tends to arise not from the dramatics imposition of its principles from above (like global warming), but from attempts to quietly insert UN dogma into local cities and towns.
Take a look at CFACT senior policy analyst Bonner Cohen’s article on CFACT.org
Bonner reports that, “planning commissions, which have spread like wildfire over the past couple of decades and whose members are unelected, produce an endless array of schemes designed to micro-manage every aspect of commercial, residential, and recreational life. No town, no matter how small, is safe from the meddling of planners in and outside of government.”
Are there plans to bring Agenda 21 to your town?
Is it already there?
You and your neighbors need to know.