Lyndeborough residents weigh in on town’s future growth and housing options

Lyndeborough residents joined two members from the planning board Tuesday to discuss the land use chapter of the town’s master plan.

The meeting included conversations about affordable housing, business development, property taxes and how to get more Lyndeborough residents involved.

Predictions from 2002

After finishing the master plan’s vision statement in August, the town is now undertaking one of the seven chapters in the plan.

Last updated in 2002, the master plan, facilitated by the planning board, outlines the goals of the town and future development aspirations. The state expects these long-term documents to be redone every 10 to 20 years.

The vision statement, located on the town website, was created by a working group similar to the one that will produce the land use chapter. While addressing the conservation of the rural character in town, the statement says residents of Lyndeborough will work to grow the town at a “fair and sustainable rate, balancing progress with preservation.”

The 2002 master plan established broad expectations for the future, including “the provision of affordable housing,” and attempted to predict the town’s future growth.

In 2000, the population of Lyndeborough was 1,585. The plan predicted the population would reach 2,427 by 2020, a 53% increase, and prepared for a diverse need for housing options.

In reality, the total population was 1,709 in 2024, according to the N.H. Economy and Labor Market Information Bureau.

In 24 years, housing units increased from 587 in 2000 to 696 in 2024.

These are among the issues the working group will attempt to address.

Brainstorm

Bob Newton, chair of the planning board, opened the discussion by raising the question of broadening the tax base to decrease property taxes and what that development might look like, whether residential or commercial.

Louis Rota, a fellow planning board member, said based on his experience living in Massachusetts, more development does not equal lower taxes. Newton agreed.

“The wrong kind of development could increase the need for town services,” Newton said.

Anna Meigs, a Wilton-Lyndeborough school board member, and Asra Zahn, a Lyndeborough resident, raised concerns about affordable housing and opportunities for younger generations and tradespeople in the area.

Zahn presented proposed wording for the land use section of the master plan, influenced by state legal expectations for workforce and affordable housing.

“The town of Lyndeborough will encourage and support the maintenance and development of a variety of housing options in a way which protects the historic rural character of the town,” her proposal reads. The proposed language also cites state laws RSA 674:59 and RSA 672.

“It’s the people who are less privileged that we need to ask for, and that’s what I’m here to advocate for,” Zahn said.

Tim Sullivan, a budget committee member, raised concerns about the difficulty of building in town. He recommended updating zoning ordinances to ease construction and setting standards for housing and development levels in the master plan through growth ordinances.

“There are ways growth can be done respectively and responsibly, that we’re not going to lose this, what we have here,” Sullivan said.

He argued that Lyndeborough is a residential town and will continue to grow that way.

“I love living here, but I still think there needs to be a little bit of growth,” Sullivan said.

Survey

Throughout the meeting, Rota referenced data from a town survey completed in January that is available on the town website.

“There was an overriding theme. The reason people continue to stay here, and the reason people come here, is because they’re in search of that rural character we have,” Rota said.

With 226 participants, 85% of respondents said rural character is what they like best about the town.

When asked about the current amount of housing, 72% said it is adequate, while 51% said there is not an adequate amount of workforce housing and said they support zoning ordinance amendments to increase affordable housing opportunities.

The majority reported that property taxes were a “very important” issue.

On business growth, 68% said they support zoning amendments to allow more small businesses.

Newton said the results present clear limitations on the development goals for the master plan and reflect the opinion of the town.

Next steps

With only four residents attending in addition to Newton and Rota, increasing turnout was the top concern.

“We’re hoping to have a process of addressing the issue with multiple minds and multiple voices will come up with the best possible ideas to lay out a plan for the future,” Newton said.

Discussion from Tuesday’s meeting will be published by the town, and the working group will continue to meet monthly. Conversations will remain brainstorms until the town’s questions and needs are better defined, at which point the group will begin outlining key points for the plan.

Two master plan drafts will be shared with the public, and the second will be presented at a public hearing before the planning board. The board will vote on the final product based on public input.

The planning board hopes to have 12 to 15 working group members for future meetings. Any Lyndeborough resident is invited to participate.

“This is a project that is owned by the townspeople,” Newton said.

Residents can sign up for meeting notifications on the town website.