Overdeveloped Alton (Laconia, Gilford: houses, salaries, tax rates)

[GraniteStater]

I took another drive this past weekend because I was intrigued by the fast level of growth of Alton, a town on the southeast shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in Belknap County. This town is growing especially fast because it has one of the lowest equalized tax rates in Belknap County, and rather lax zoning regulations because of its mostly rural nature. However, it seems like the big developers have started to make headway. Google Earth shows a very large tract of land clearcut for development on Propsect Mountain. I am not at all against development, but to clearcut huge amounts of land for housing development seems like a big waste of natural resources in my honest opinion. I also feel that the low equalized tax rates are encouraging a much bigger in-migration rate from all over, and the natural resources in the said area are becoming more stressed. I think more stringent zoning and landuse patterns will become more commonplace in the future as these towns in the Lakes Region continue to explode in population.

[nicolem]

Unfortunately this is happening all over the Lakes region. There are a few huge projects in Laconia and Gilford that are in the works. A few miles from us they cleared huge parcels of land and with the economy the projects-in some cases- are now sitting there, no further work is being done and it looks pathetic. There are at least 4 or 5 large projects within 5 miles from me either started or proposed.

The Prospect Mountain development is very disturbing.

While I too am very disturbed at a lot of the building that is going on not only in the Lakes Region but in NH as well, we are very fortunate to have real good conservation groups in this state that also work well together. The SPNHF (NH Forest society) is great. They are non-partisian and non-political unlike other national so called conservation groups. They have no hidden agenda-their only purpose is to preserve open space and keep a "NH Everlasting" as they like to call it. We have been members for over 10 years and they are a group that spends their $$ wisely and most of your contribution goes to actually preserving open space not on ridiculous salaries and expenses. The president is a forrester who believes in a balance of growth and preservation as well as how important the timber industry is to NH. They consistently get one of the best ratings for a "charity" who uses most of the money for the actual purpose of the charity. They work in conjunction with other groups such as Audubon, Nature Conservancy and county and town conservation boards as well. They have been responsible-because of contributions -for preserving many important open spaces in NH. We as residents of NH are extremely lucky to have them.

It is a shame that Alton does not have more of a local concern with conserving open space like a lot of towns in NH do.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by nicolem

Unfortunately this is happening all over the Lakes region. There are a few huge projects in Laconia and Gilford that are in the works. A few miles from us they cleared huge parcels of land and with the economy the projects-in some cases- are now sitting there, no further work is being done and it looks pathetic. There are at least 4 or 5 large projects within 5 miles from me either started or proposed.

The Prospect Mountain development is very disturbing.

While I too am very disturbed at a lot of the building that is going on not only in the Lakes Region but in NH as well, we are very fortunate to have real good conservation groups in this state that also work well together. The SPNHF (NH Forest society) is great. They are non-partisian and non-political unlike other national so called conservation groups. They have no hidden agenda-their only purpose is to preserve open space and keep a "NH Everlasting" as they like to call it. We have been members for over 10 years and they are a group that spends their $$ wisely and most of your contribution goes to actually preserving open space not on ridiculous salaries and expenses. The president is a forrester who believes in a balance of growth and preservation as well as how important the timber industry is to NH. They consistently get one of the best ratings for a "charity" who uses most of the money for the actual purpose of the charity. They work in conjunction with other groups such as Audubon, Nature Conservancy and county and town conservation boards as well. They have been responsible-because of contributions -for preserving many important open spaces in NH. We as residents of NH are extremely lucky to have them.

It is a shame that Alton does not have more of a local concern with conserving open space like a lot of towns in NH do.

I agree with most of your points.
I am a big NH conservation supporter/contributor (Nature Conservancy), and was just shocked as I was trying to find driving directions and spotted the huge clearcut tract on Prospect Mountain in Alton via GE. Google Earth shows the small mountaintop on its map, but only cleared land exists for miles around the supposed mountain. I find this type of development egregious. I think commonplace zoning regulations will have to become standard in most Lakes Region communities given the population growth rates over the past few decades along with the increasing footprint size of the developments in general that consume ever greater amounts of land.

[GregW]

“Live Free or Die" is frequently interpreted to mean let the developers live free while we watch what makes New Hampshire desirable die. Building a Auto Race track in an old gravel pit (they actually kept the small patch of woods they had) is one thing but stripping a mountain because it is cheaper than building houses in the woods quite another. I do not yet know how to legislate good taste and appropriate use but I am working on the problem.

[vter]

GregW...take a look at Vermont's ACT 250, which is a state level land use review. Lots of good things about it, but lots of not so good things (biggest argument is that it stifles business growth). Of course nothing can be perfect.
The 2 biggest triggers for whether or not a project needs ACT 250 are acerage (if the project encompasses 10 + acres it needs ACT 250 review), and elevation (if the development is occurring at or above 2500' it needs review).
Has NH ever considered adopting something similar? It just seems that projects go through little review in NH and get built very quickly (from growing up on the VT/NH border).

Vermont Act 250

[GregW]

vter - I'll pass this on to my Republican House delegates. These guys are worse than useless. They actually take up space and emit CO2. Thanks anyway, GregW

[nicolem]

I am not really sure why this has to be made into a political bash republican thread-can we please stay on topic?

[njguy]

I've never been to the Lakes Region - however I can say that it hurts to see Nature destroyed.

[nicolem]

Originally Posted by njguy

I've never been to the Lakes Region - however I can say that it hurts to see Nature destroyed.

You should try and visit sometime NJGuy-it is a beautiful place. I too hate to see open space and nature ruined all in the name of greed and so-called "progress".

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by nicolem

I am not really sure why this has to be made into a political bash republican thread-can we please stay on topic?

The thing with most leftists is that they HATE conservaties more than anything in the world. It's an overpowering HATE, and no matter how many times they are told to act civilized, or stop the behavior......within several days or weeks they are back at it. It's pathological. It's partly a status thing also. They have a deep need to get on a moral high-horse and claim that they are superior to conservatives. There can be no reasoning with them, ever, on this issue. Lol, we could be at the gates of hell fighting Nazis and Communists who have killed millions in the 20th century and they will be saying: you know that Reagan & Bush That's just the way it is. This person you are complaing about is never going to be rational on this subject....I've seen this behavior too much over the years to expext a change of heart.