On May 9 I will be voting for Article 2 on the Peterborough ballot, which is the Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone II.
The town website describes this zoning as follows:
To create a new section §245-15.4 “Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone II” to the Peterborough Zoning Ordinance, the purposes of which are to allow for higher density infilling of lots and additional residential housing in close proximity to the currently developed areas of Town where there are established subdivided neighborhoods, to allow for the creation of additional housing opportunities adjacent to the developed core of Peterborough, and to allow certain small-scale businesses as accessory uses to a residence. If this amendment passes, all references to §245-15.3 Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone will be renamed to the “Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone I”.
I support this zoning for many reasons. One, as a member and sometime chair of the Master Plan Steering Committee in Peterborough for the past 15 years, I have heard for years that our housing stock is not meeting the needs of our townspeople. There are not enough small homes on small lots which would make them more affordable. Why? Because our current zoning does not allow such building.
Building the necessary housing for young families and singles has become an issue for the town of Peterborough’s economic vitality. I have heard from our major employers that young people and people of modest means cannot afford to live in town, therefore making hiring more difficult. Our hospital, businesses, retirement homes and schools are finding that our lack of more affordable homes is resulting in increasing difficulty finding workers to fill their jobs.
The ability to build homes close to downtown on existing water and sewer infrastructure will provide an alternative to building in our rural areas. Preserving open space has been valued highly over and over in our master planning surveys. This TNOZ II zoning is an attempt to address the open space concerns.
I have also heard concerns that too much building close to town will stress our water resources. I don’t believe that overbuilding will happen. The problem is more likely to be that builders will not be interested in building small homes, and so the zoning will not actually increase the number of small homes and rentals in town. While TNOZ II will not guarantee more smaller homes, it will make it more likely than is possible under the current zoning.
The real issue being faced today, not just by Peterborough, but by many towns in New Hampshire, is not the threat that an accommodating zoning ordinance will bring in a flood of developers to build; rather, New Hampshire is aging rapidly and losing its younger and workforce populations – the very people who would typically occupy the existing housing stock. If towns do not create opportunities for the kinds of housing that people need and want, they will be left with a very unbalanced and therefore economically unhealthy community.
I sincerely hope that Article 2 will pass. We should give this kind of zoning a chance. TNOZ I did not result in overbuilding. I believe that TNOZ II will result in the kind of housing that is desperately needed in town.
Sue Chollet lives in Peterborough.