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NEW BOSTON
Steep slope stir

By Devon Cormier
Staff Writer

Petition aims to change vote needed for amendment

A New Boston resident group has filed a protest petition with the town that will force a zoning amendment to be passed with a two-thirds vote instead of a majority vote on March 8.

More than 20 percent of landowners who could be affected by the amendments signed the petition. Articles 2 and 3 ask that the entire town be made into a steep slope conservation area. Those who want the change in voting percentage believe the amendments will make it harder to sell and develop land.

The amendment was originally brought forth by the planning board and would make land with a slope steeper than 15 percent in most cases, and 25 percent in others unsuitable for subdivision, said resident Stephen Dunbar.

However, Town Administrator Burton Reynolds said the amendment will only force people to go through a tougher process before they are allowed to build on a slope that is greater than 15 percent. The amendment will not ultimately stop them from building.

Regardless, residents in the group, dubbed Concerned Landowners of New Boston, say that the amendment would be too strict and potentially halt development in town.

“People buy land for an investment in the future,” said Dunbar. “People have land for retirement, for a college fund, and this is going to scare everybody and everybody is going to want to get rid of their land.”

Dunbar said many people were unaware of the amendment until it was too late to attend hearings and change the slope percentage designation.

The slope allowed now is 35 percent, which Dunbar concedes is too high.

“I’d like to see about 28 to 30 percent like other towns have,” Dunbar said. “New Boston is a unique town with elevations from 500 feet at the river to 1,750 feet.”

The Steep Slopes Committee is a subcommittee that arose out of the community profile survey few years ago.

“Various committees were formed out of that community profile,” said Reynolds. “One was for planning-related issues. We acted on this because people told us at the community profile that they thought building on steep slopes should be limited.”

The planning board then included the amendments in this year’s town warrant.

The land owned by New Boston homeowners who signed the petition adds up to more than 7,000 acres, said Ursula Gordon, a member of Concerned Landowners of New Boston.

The group estimates that about 8,000 acres will be affected by the amendment. New Boston has a little more than 28,000 acres total.

Gordon and other members sent a flier to each home in New Boston asking residents to vote no on articles 2 and 3. The flier said that if the proposed amendment had been in effect earlier, about 20 to 40 percent of all homes would not have been built.

However, Reynolds said the amendment is aimed at keeping the environment healthy and homeowners safe.

Homes built on slopes that are too steep are difficult for emergency personnel to traverse and often cause erosion and water problems, he said.

Reynolds said the petition changing the amount of votes looks in order, and the change will most likely appear on the ballot.

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