On March 10, Gilmanton’s residents will be asked to vote on a number of zoning warrant articles that loosen zoning rules. These relate to everything from light industrial facilities, summer camps becoming year-round camps, more RVs, restaurants, storage buildings, senior living centers, excavation and more.
At the recent deliberative session, a member of the zoning board, speaking as a resident, indicated that members of the zoning board objected to having some of their responsibilities taken away by the planning board. Their concerns were apparently ignored. Town administration has done a nice job explaining the “what” of the proposed changes but no one has explained the “why.” Further, we were informed that, by law, zoning warrant articles couldn’t be modified at the deliberative session; all we could do was vote yes or no on March 10.
What’s going on?
Gilmanton is a wonderful community. We have beautiful landscapes, farms, lakes and ponds. Specifically, what do we want to maintain and what do we want to change? Why does this far-ranging collection of warrant articles move us in the right direction? Until someone can help me better understand the answers to these questions, I will be voting against all of them. I do this with reluctance since I do not like to stop progress. However, once zoning is liberalized, it’s often impossible to move back. Let’s have a healthy discussion about where we are going before changing the rules.
Fellow residents, please consider zoning warrant articles No. 2-8 very carefully when you vote on March 10.
STEPHEN HOPKINS
Gilmanton