Lisa J. Wilson
North Hampton
To the editor,
New Hampshire lawmakers should vote against Senate Bill 306 and Senate Bill 43, bills that
threaten New Hampshire’s resources.
SB 306 will help developers build high density housing throughout New Hampshire, regardless of what citizens of municipalities want.
SB 306 provides the means for developers to overturn decisions of duly elected or appointed local land-use boards in favor of a three person panel to adjudicate and overturn local land-use decisions at the state level.
SB 43 is a bill to study barriers to increased density of land development. It establishes an approximately 21-person panel, including advocates for dense development. Dense development rarely produces a signifiant number of affordable housing units, especially units that will remain permanently affordable. Mechanisms to override responsible planning will strain the state’s infrastructure, subjecting communities to flooding, excessive traffic, and higher service costs.
Rather than study “barriers” to building dense development, legislators need to study and consider all positive reasons that residents want to live in New Hampshire. People come to New Hampshire for its clean air, open space, and natural beauty.
In view of the 2016 report titled “Preparing New Hampshire for Projected Storm Surge, Sea Level Rise, and Extreme Precipitation” by the New Hampshire Coastal Risk and Hazards Commission, legislators must not let history repeat itself by encouraging dense development that will destroy the very reason New Hampshire is one of the most desirable states in the country.
It is not too late to save New Hampshire!
Lisa J. Wilson
North Hampton
Wilson currently serves as chair of the North Hampton Conservation Commission and served on the North Hampton Zoning Board of Adjustment
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