What does “rural character” mean to Temple?

That was one of the questions posed to those who attended a forum at the Temple Planning Board on Tuesday night. The forum was aimed at gathering the first set of feedback before the board sets out on updating several sections of the town’s master plan, particularly sections relating to land use and housing, as part of a comprehensive review of the town’s zoning being done this year.

The master plan isn’t a regulatory document, but rather a guide post, explained Planning Board member Murray Collette. The plan can be updated by a vote of the Planning Board following a public hearing, and the board intends to make at least some updates this year.

Among the sections to be updated are the master plan’s sections on population and housing, existing land use, future land use and the vision statement.

The town’s vision statement includes maintaining Temple’s “rural character,” and Collette asked for feedback on what that looked like to those who live there.

Resident Lillian Lebel said to her, it meant open space, farms, room for wildlife, “keeping the town and roads looking the way they did 100 years ago” and limiting the amount of development.

Resident Connie Kieley turned the question on its head, asking, “What it urban? What is suburban? That’s what I don’t want to be,” and added that she agreed “low density” was among those definitions.

Resident Olivia Holmes questioned whether certain aspects of that rural character were sustainable today, mentioning the Connolly Brothers dairy farm and noting that the farmers all have other means of support.

“We love our farms, but are we thinking about a future where those farms might not exist?” Holmes asked.

Sean Radcliffe asked if the master plan could include a section to establish some concrete goals for the town.

“If we don’t get a little more aggressive about what we want that vision to be, we could slowly lose what we want rural character to be,” Radcliffe said.

In a presentation on some of the new data which will be added to the master plan, Collette said the population in Temple has been nearly stagnant for the last 10 years, and its population has aged significantly.

In 2000, the median age in Temple was 37. In 2017, the median age was nearly 50. In 2000, about 30 percent of residents were under the age of 18. Now, the number of children is only about 19 percent, Collette said.

Growth in Temple has been very small, Collette said, with the 2000 census recording 1,297 people and 1,377 recorded in the census in 2020. 

When discussing the affordability of housing in Temple, Collette said that the current average income for a family in Temple is about $94,000. Using the recommended 30 percent of income, that puts the purchase price of an home, using a 30-year mortgage, at about $323,000. For someone earning half of the average income, the affordable price would be considered $148,000.

Currently, there are five properties for sale in Temple, Collette said, and they are all priced outside of the “affordable” range for the average Temple earner, ranging from $660,000 to $799,000.

When discussing land use, Collette said that of the land still undeveloped in Temple, not all of it is suitable for building, between steep slopes, poorly drained soils, wetland, aquifers and land that is only shallowly covering bedrock or water.

The Temple Planning Board expects to have another community forum next month, but will also be appointing a steering committee with residents to look at particular aspects of the town’s zoning and master plan in the coming year.

Ashley Saari can be  reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

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