Formed by the Executive Order of then Governor John Lynch in 2011, the NH Water Sustainability Commission is getting ready to accept funding to realize some of the goals in the report it created, on the premise that the public requested them to do so.
Apparently they have found funding to support the 7 goals in this report:
http://www.nh.gov/water-sustainability/publications/documents/wsc-final-report.pdf
Read about the project here:
WSC Project RFP Final 11-25-2013
Posted by NH Listens: (see new URL on our “About” page for all NH Listens content)
We are so looking forward to the conversation tomorrow evening. Thank you to the over 400 granite staters who are registered to attend…
http://www.nhlistens.org/events/behavioral-health
400 people? We hope that’s because they want to question what business these unelected regional planning commissions have to do with this subject?
Since when does a regional planning commission have anything to do with YOUR MENTAL HEALTH?
(The NH Listens website has now been moved to http://carsey.unh.edu/nhlistens/)
The Rockingham Regional Planning Commission has planned a session for State Representatives on November 13. They are using your tax dollars to pay a lobbyist. Is this even legal?
Rockingham Planning Commission Legislative Forum
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 6:00—9:00 PM
Unitil Headquarters 6 Liberty Lane West Hampton, NH
AGENDA
Refreshments, Meet and Greet (6:00 PM)
Welcoming Remarks (7:00 PM)
RPC Project Updates
RPC Legislative Priorities < -- no authority, but want laws made?
FOCUS TOPICS
With Background Information & Discussion
1. Transportation Funding
2. Flood Hazards & Coastal Vulnerability Assessment
Adjourn (9:00 PM)
To RSVP: Contact Roxanne Rines at rrines@rpc-nh.org or 778-0885
NH State Rep Jane Cormier held an informational meeting for NH State Reps to educate them on what NH’s 9 Regional Planning Commissions are up to. During the meeting activist Ken Eyring presented the problems towns are having with the RPCs.
Direct Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S5VjV3KzlU&feature=share&list=UUWBhb-HIWaEdRa1xb_-IyVg
Also please read this editorial by Rep Jane Cormier which contains information on how the money is funneled to these groups.
Ken Eyring Presentation for NH Representatives on October 22 – 2013
Cormier authors bill to eliminate regional planning commissions
CONCORD — Representative Jane Cormier (R-Alton) has introduced legislation that would do away with the state’s nine regional planning commissions by 2015. The intent of the bill, she said, is not only to repeal but also to replace the commissions by authorizing cities and towns to enter cooperative and collaborative arrangements at their discretion.
The regional planning commissions have been a frequent target of Cormier’s weekly column in “The Weirs Times” since the advent of the Granite State Future initiative, a three-year project aimed at developing regional master plans that would be melded into a statewide plan. The project is funded by a $3.37-million grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
NH Listens, the PR firm for the RPCs “Granite State Future” program has published the “results” of their listening sessions.
You can read their reports online here: http://carsey.unh.edu/nhlistens/reports or download the PDF file: Granite State Future Summary Report Standalone file.
Many who attended noted that much of the feedback they gave at these sessions was NOT recorded.
Also, they note that over 600 people from 115 different NH towns were involved in these conversations.
That means that there was an average turnout of ~5.25 people per community. Not what we would call a “public consensus” by any means.
The majority of the people that showed up at the “Listening Sessions” are “stakeholders”. Perhaps a more accurate term would be “beneficiaries”.
A very small number of people from the general public attended these meetings.
Strafford Regional Planning Commission
Press Release
September 25, 2013
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE for New Hampshire coastal watershed communities
The Green Infrastructure Program will create a framework of technical and educational resources to build resilience and municipal capacity in coastal watershed communities.
More information can be found at the Green Infrastructure website.
Hello Coastal Watershed Municipalities and Stakeholders:
The Green Infrastructure Project Team is seeking applications from Coastal Watershed communities that have recognized the importance of local stormwater control, and are interested in being community leaders in Green Infrastructure implementation. The project team will work with selected communities towards achieving a comprehensive municipal strategy that will aid in federal and state permit compliance, improve water quality, and reduce local flooding.
In Phase II of this project, we will work with several communities to implement a variety of Green Infrastructure strategies including a combination of high impact, high-visibility demonstration projects; and non-structural elements such as preparation of new/revised stormwater ordinances or regulations; and community outreach and engagement.
If your community is interested in applying for the Phase II implementation cycle, please complete the attached Application Form. Additional information is included in the attached Instructions document.
Applications must be received by November 5, 2013.
Submissions may be mailed or emailed.
Mail: Julie LaBranche, Rockingham Planning Commission,
156 Water Street, Exeter, NH 03833
Email: jlabranche@rpc-nh.org
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your project or preparation of your application, please contact the Project Team, and we would be happy to assist you. Email: James.houle@unh.edu or jlabranche@rpc-nh.org
Thank you on behalf of the Green Infrastructure Project Team.
###
More taxes coming your way… Strafford County!
“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.”