Eighteen neon orange cones line a quiet neighborhood street in Bow, standing out against the snowy front yards of eight houses.
The signs went up last week and ban parking along several hundred feet of Stack Drive. They are a temporary, albeit “unsightly,” attempt by the town to limit the impact of a new state facility in the neighborhood, said select board chair Kip McDaniel.
Residents who spoke at Tuesday’s select board meeting didn’t receive the cones well. In Pete Brady’s opinion, the cones’ garish glory and the nature of the facility beyond them made for “a perfect storm of crud.”
“You have a miserable corner. You have a facility that is not controllable by the town,” said Brady, who lives on Stack Drive.
Local police issued a parking ban near that tight corner of Stack Drive. Having cars lining that corner creates safety concerns around sight lines and snowplow operations, selectmen said. Even so, multiple people employed by the facility, who had initially agreed to park in the facility’s driveway, have begun parking on the street again.
The facility, operated by a third-party company brought in by the state, provides housing and intensive care for people with a dual diagnosis of a developmental disability and mental health needs — something New Hampshire has historically struggled to provide and that disability rights advocates say is essential.
But its opening in Bow sowed discontent among residents who live near the facility at 14 Stack Drive, igniting a tug-of-war over local control. The state planted the facility in a rural zoning district, where a clinical treatment facility would typically require a variance from the zoning board, and it did so without seeking input from or notifying neighbors.
The attorney general’s office told Bow’s Zoning Board of Adjustment in a letter this spring that “zoning restrictions are inapplicable to the state or its agencies specifically carrying out a state function.”
Residents like Brady said they’re upset that the state brought the facility into their neighborhood and worry the street is not as safe as it used to be.
Since Oct. 1, the Bow Police Department has received 14 emergency calls at 14 Stack Drive. Police Chief Ken Miller said his officers responded to 10 of them; the others were handled over the phone.
“Since they’ve been there, there has been an increase” in calls to that area, Miller said.
Shannon Girard lives next door to the facility. She and her late husband, Concord firefighter CJ Girard, bought their home in Bow in 2019 after dealing with fast-paced traffic in their old neighborhood in Concord. They wanted a quiet street where they could raise their kids.
These days, Girard said, the facility has brought increased traffic, and cars frequently turn around right in front of her home at the elbow of Stack Drive. Girard said when her kids ask about the police cars and ambulances next door, she tries to calm their anxieties without knowing what’s going on herself.
Like many residents, she never expected her serene corner of Bow to change.
“I want my children to play freely and safely,” Girard said. “I want to come home without feeling like I need to monitor traffic or who’s pulling another U-turn in front of my house. I did not sign up to be on constant alert.”
Selectman Christopher Nicolopoulos said he hopes to work with A.W. Holdings, the Indiana-based company contracted by the state to run the facility, on a solution. In the meantime, the select board voted to remove two cones from the far end of the corner. All the others will remain.
Some Stack Drive residents like Harry Judd, who serves on the local zoning board, said the onus to deal with the parking issue should rest on the state.
“I think there are avenues to deal with this from the state because, let’s face it, the state has the contract,” Judd said. “They are going to have more influence than you are in getting these folks to respect the neighbors.”
If negotiation is unsuccessful, the town will consider an ordinance to erect more official metal parking signs along that stretch. Some commenters suggested resident-only parking or time limits. Nicolopoulos floated a special permit for homeowners who want to host large gatherings.
Chris Keef, who lives at the edge of the parking ban, said he wouldn’t rule out a permit system, “weird as it may be.”
“That this is further inconveniencing residents is unconscionable,” Keef said, “but we are where we are.”
Even if the town does take action, officials said they’re unsure about their enforcement authority when it comes to the state’s property.
“The state has said to the town of Bow, your rules are meaningless. Your problem is with the state,” McDaniel told residents at Tuesday’s meeting. “We’re trying to figure out how to mitigate the safety issue, but we are not in a position to be telling the state what to do. They’ve made very clear, our lawyer has told us, you really don’t have a leg to stand on when the state claims they have the right to do that.”