An amendment to the Town’s Zoning Ordinance related to workforce housing would address issues concerning large-scale, multi-family developments.
Those large-scale workforce housing developments have been a concern to residents who consider them to be incompatible with the surrounding single-family residential neighborhood, as well as generating a high level of traffic, limiting the provisions for ensuring project feasibility and failing to effectively promote more diverse and innovative types of workforce housing that are in character with neighborhoods, Jonathan Edwards of Arnett Development Group explained in a report to the Planning Board during their March 11 meeting.
“There are a variety of ways to do multi-family workforce housing and workforce housing in general,” he said, explaining the amendment would prevent further large-scale multifamily housing developments in single-family neighborhoods.
Additionally, the amendment would merge workforce housing and general standards and procedures for Conditional Use Permits, abolish the Town’s responsibility to administer workforce housing income verification requirements and procedures, and extend opportunities for more diversified elderly housing and assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
Geographic Information Systems Manager John Vogl told the Board that the Town offers 6 percent affordable housing for seniors in town, which satisfies State requirements.
About 20 percent of the Town’s population are seniors.
The amendment proposed would add to conditional uses permitted under Elderly Housing “small lot elderly housing or assisted living.”
“This seemed a good opportunity to provide for small-scale elderly residential dwellings, given they have residential qualities, size and scale,” Edwards said. “The elderly don’t tend to attract a lot of traffic and noise.”
Vogl said the thought behind the amendment is to take higher intensity uses and put them in commercial sectors that will absorb them better.
“This fosters more mixed-use in those districts and higher intensity land use, as well as a potentially higher tax base from those uses,” he said.
To facilitate workforce housing projects that would better fit into the character of the Town, the amendment would broaden the type of accessory dwelling units permitted, increasing the allowable square feet from 750 to 1,000 square feet, according to Edwards.
A half-acre of land would be required for each unit.
Additionally, the amendment includes various stipulations related to an accessory dwelling unit being compatible with the existing neighborhood.
Edwards noted that under the amended ordinance, accessory dwelling units must be a self-contained unit, but don’t necessarily have to be attached.
“There could be an addition to a building, provided residential characteristics are maintained so that it’s not obvious and the additional unit appears to be an extension of the house,” he said. “And at least one of the units must be owner occupied.”
An example of such an addition may be a detached barn behind the home converted into a few workforce housing units, Edwards explained, noting if the Board wishes to reduce the height limit for workforce housing developments, the proposed amendment offers a good opportunity to do so.
“The purpose of this amendment is to foster more options for smaller developments,” Vogl said. “It will address the RSA (statute) of permitting workforce housing in the majority of residential areas and fill up some of the smaller lots in town.”
The change would have the effect of providing larger diversity of housing than currently allowed, and having workforce housing in diverse areas of town, satisfying that statute, Edwards agreed.
Planning Board Chairman Art Rugg said it’s the board’s intention to post the amendment for a public hearing as soon as possible, which would preclude all future workforce developments from basing their projects on the Zoning Ordinance as it stands.
But Deb Paul of 118 Hardy Road, publisher of the Londonderry Times, expressed concern the amendment may be “too little, too late.”
Between the expansion of Interstate 93, proposed workforce housing projects, and the proposed Woodmont Commons development, there will be a substantial burden placed on residents living in a two-mile radius, according to Paul.
“How do we fix that moving forward so only so many projects can only go into one area at a given time?” she asked.
Rugg explained that according to New Hampshire law, the Board can limit growth but not control it through the Town’s Growth Management Plan.
“What if I put a two-mile circle around your home and put in 700-plus apartments, plus the I-93 construction, all happening within three years? Think about it, it’s a problem. It needs to be looked at,” Paul said. “What I see on one side of town is all this conservation land being purchased, and nothing is being purchased where we live.”
Vogl said the purpose of the amendment is to try to address concerns like Paul’s.
Rugg said by posting notice of the amendment as soon as possible and beginning the process of public hearings, the Board and town staff hope to prevent any additional burden on residential neighborhoods.
The recommendations for a series of revisions to the ordinance are extensive, and Rugg noted the Board will have to hold several meetings to finalize an amendment that will satisfy the Board and the community.
The Board plans to host their first public hearing on the proposed amendment related to housing opportunities in Londonderry, including workforce housing, elderly housing, inclusionary zoning, multi-family housing, assisted living residence, village plan alternative, and accessory dwelling units, at their next meeting on April 8 at 7 p.m.