Proposed Warrant Articles

These were the notes I prepared and read from for deliberative 2022.

2 Acre Minimum
A warrant article was passed in 1976 that forbid subdividing land into lots smaller than two acres
for residential use.
Your land, do what you want
Afforable
-not forced to buy more land than you need
-fewer roads and utilities
-People should not have to choose between home and food, medicine, education, etc
-People should not have to live enslaved to housing debts
-Spend money and time with loved ones or life goals
Walkable - good for some people
-More social interactions
-Better health
-Less time on commute if work locally
Rural
-2 acre min not necessarily make rural. If ownership pop increases, sprawl
-Allowing cluster means otherwise more rural
-Conseve land for nature and animals
-Can rent anyway, but removing owneship option bad for renter and community
-Rent: need compatable personalities, can’t do what you want with land, threat of eviction
-Ownership = more invested in property and community
-Can create agreements with neighbors to keep the character of a place
Septic can be dealt with
-Communal
-Privy
-Compost
-$ non leaching
Tax revenues:
-Shouldn’t have to plan life around arbitrary tax system
-If tax = 5%, town needs $5k, town tries to make people pay $100k + $5k
Could have paid $5k for services, and $50k for affordable house




Subdivision Regulations
Subdividing is dividing your own land into different lots. Example: developing a neighborhood
The regulations deal with street design, septic design, utilities, errosion, open spaces
-Town does not offer water, electric, or internet, so these sections do not currently apply.
-Septic is already a part of state law
These regulations can raise the cost of housing considerably
Cost of subdividing includes:
-Legal expenses understanding laws
-SubReg 5:04 - Applicant pays for engineer’s cost assessment of streets, public improvement,
drainage structures, and other utilities,
-SubRed 5:04 - Applicant pays for all recording fees.
-SubReg 5:04 - Applicant pays for street maintenance and utilities as the planning board
requires
-SubReg 8.01 d) - soil tests
-SubReg 8.02 - engineer or licensed land surveyor’s detailed plan
-SubReg 8.02 (a) 21) - drainage analysis
-SubReg 8.03 (a) 17) - liabilities of injuries or damages of land given to town until town assumes
-SubReg 8.03 (a) 27) - describe as required economic impact to town for next 5 years
-SubReg C - Street standards per planning board’s requirements
-SubRegs etc
-RSA 676:4(d)(1) - Applicant pays for hearing notices and other fees required
-RSA 676:4-b II - Applicant pays for third party consultants for the planning board
-RSA 676:4(2)(d) - Applicant pays for investigative studies
-RSA 676:5 IV - Applicant pays for appeal investigation
-RSA 676:5 V - Applicant pays for appeal expert consultants
-RSA 676:7 IV - Applicant pays for the cost of hearing notices for the appeal
Already an exemption
In 6.35
“The following shall not be considered a regulated subdivision for the purpose of these
Regulations and shall not be required to conform to the procedures set forth herein:
…
5. The first transfer, conveyance or sale of a single parcel of land five (5) or more acres in area,
providing that the remaining parcel shall be at least five (5) acres in area, and further providing
that no new streets, utilities or other public improvements are required.”
Requirements for exemption:
-First sale
-5 sold 5 kept
-no new streets, utilities or other public improvements
The last requirement to be exempt makes sense.
Why the first two requirements?
It’s your land, you should be albe to do with it what you want
If you aren’t bothering the town, the town doesn’t need to bother you.




Building Notification
*bring
Law needs to be just, accessible, comprehendible, doable, enforceable
Just
-Double jeopardy
-$100/day could ruin people. Discretion, could be abused at any time
-What exactly deserves punishment? How are neighbors bothered?
Accessible
-Buried in office.
-People would not expect the terms. Chicken coop? RV?
Comprehensible. Some recent confusion:
-Moving trailer = erecting a structure?
-Property owner signs? Of land or structure?
-Prove you signed? Signed letter? Notarized? Phone call? In person meeting? Called before
selectboard?
Doable
-Revewied for compliance with state law?
Enforceable
-Legal risk, may admit guilt when filling out form
-Visibility to selectboard and questions entails more risk
-Must be enforced uniformly. Realistic? Worth it?
Goals
-Inform the tax assessor
So inform him: Why involve the selectboard? Sue can put a note on your file.
If they know you are in violation, they already know to tell the tax auditor
$25 so they know one more thing to tax? What private company makes it this much of a
pain to pay them?
-Septic
Already state law, process, and punishment.
If really want compliance, advertise steps
-Wetland setback: already state law. Good to advertise state law.