It should come as no surprise that Londonderry has been going through quite a growth spurt as of late. With many companies seeing the town’s unutilized landscapes as great business opportunities, whether for housing facilities or distribution centers, monumental changes have been made to the layout of Londonderry, earning it the title of the fastest growing community in New Hampshire by the U.S. Census.
However, a growing community does not always yield positive outcomes. Residents can attest to this, with recent concerns over traffic issues arising on roads such as Stonehenge Road. Threats to local water supplies have also stemmed from the increased presence of these companies, as several are now using water from local bodies of water for commercial use. Such concerns have led to numerous community disputes with the town council over whether their interests lie with the residents of Londonderry or the companies contributing to its growth.
The town council realizes that action needs to be taken in order to prevent Londonderry’s land from being pushed to its breaking point. Chairman Tom Dolan recently announced that the town will be working out plans to put together a series of growth management workshops, available to all members of the public, wherein a possible solution to the perpetual growth may be found.
During a recent interview, Dolan noted that state law prevents most efforts to implement ordinances that would prevent or mitigate the purchasing of land in the town. However, that does not mean that Londonderry is forbidden from purchasing land in town and then selling it to developers at the town’s discretion. These purchases are expected to come out of citizen’s pocketbooks, to an extent, meaning that the source of growth management “depends on the will of the people.”
Dolan hopes that during the growth management workshops, he will “tap into community knowledge and history” of Londonderry to give the people a sense that the council is listening to what they have to say, soliciting them for their thoughts and managing growth into something more desirable.
The workshops will be split into two different meetings, with the first informing those in attendance about Londonderry’s growth management efforts over the past 25 years and introducing ideas on moving forward. The second will include more public involvement, featuring a “mix of elected officials, town employees and citizens,” allowing attendees to break off into smaller groups and develop their own solutions for the workshop to discuss as a whole.
Dolan also emphasized that the town will be working closely with the Conservation Commission to determine what patches of land should be purchased by the town, given their concern for how Londonderry’s ecosystem is treated. Anyone who wants permission to build in the town must first go before the commission.
Alternate commission member Michael Speltz said that “although [he is] all in favor of managing growth,” he feels that when analyzing the town in these circumstances, we need to look at the bigger picture, saying that growth management is only “one arrow in the quiver.” One of his chief concerns with the town actually comes from what he feels is an imbalance between the number of jobs and the number of workers, feeling that if this balance was improved, it would “improve the situation.”
The workshops do not yet have an official date, but Dolan noted they will most likely take place sometime in the summer or fall, giving residents and officials time to digest various ideas before voting season begins.