A Peterborough petition zoning amendment now has to pass by a two-thirds majority when it comes before voters next week, after landowners in the impacted district filed a protest petition with the town.
Amendment 15, submitted by a group of citizens, would repeal the Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone II, and amend the Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone I to require larger lot sizes and longer road frontage than currently required in the general residence portion of the zone.
On Tuesday, the Select Board received two petitions requesting the proposed amendment require a super-majority, two-thirds of the vote, to pass. (Read our editorial about the meeting.)
The petitions are following the guidelines laid out by state RSA 675:5. According to the law, if owners of 20 percent of the landmass which will be impacted by a zoning repeal or regulation change request, the requirement to pass that amendment increases from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority. The super-majority can also be triggered by owners of 20 percent of the area within 100 feet adjacent to the impacted district.
The two petitions cover both requirements, one for owners of 20 percent of land within the Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone I, and one for a single landowner who owns 20 percent of the property adjacent to it.
Kate Coon of Peterborough gathered the petition signatures. She said she’s become more aware of zoning after attending meetings about a proposed zoning change last year failed at the polls.
“As I’ve seen the zoning wars from last year continue, I’ve been watching it, and I felt I was maybe not as active last year as I could have been,” Coon said. “This year, I really don’t like the direction [the proposed zoning amendment 15] was going. I consider the repeal to be a radical overreach.”
The petitions were submitted by Planning Board Vice Chair Ivy Vann – who also signed the petition as a landowner – to the town on Monday, and the board acknowledged receipt of the petitions at the end of its meeting on Tuesday.
The Planning Board took a unanimous vote to not support Amendment 15. Vann said a lot of the opposition to the Traditional Neighborhood districts is “misunderstanding” about what the neighborhoods really allow. While the purpose of the districts is to increase the amount of buildable lots in the center of town, where there is access to water and sewer, it was created to reflect what already exists in the area – much of which was built before Peterborough had a zoning code.
“In order to remain vital, we have to build on what we have now,” Vann said. “If (Amendment 15) passes, we’ll never have another Vine Street, never have these streets people love, and the only choice for development will be on a three-acre parcel in the rural district.”
The petition must be posted at the polls on Tuesday, and the town moderator must announce the two-thirds majority requirement for Amendment 15 at the opening of the polls, but there are no other public noticing requirements, said town administrator Rodney Bartlett on Wednesday. The town will also post the petition on the town’s website.
Libby Reinhardt, a Cheney Avenue resident who is part of the group that submitted Amendment 15, was present at Tuesday’s meeting, but she and about 15 other audience members who were attending to discuss the finalization of a plan for the department of public works garage had all left before the petition, which was not listed on the agenda, was brought before the board.
Reinhardt said the group that submitted the petition is currently looking into whether the petition submitted on Tuesday is valid and meets all the requirements needed to force a two-thirds majority.
One issue, Reinhardt said, is that neither petition addresses landowners in the Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone II, which is also impacted by proposed Amendment 15.
Peterborough Deputy Town Administrator Nicole MacStay said Wednesday that because Amendment 15 would adjust the regulations pertaining to Traditional Neighborhood Overlay Zone I, that’s where the 20 percent landowner requirement must be met.
Vann said if the amendment fails, the Planning Board has already made a commitment to work towards a zoning amendment to “recalibrate” a zoning amendment which failed at the polls in 2018, which she said addresses some of the issues that have been raised with the Traditional Neighborhood districts. The Planning Board also has allocated funds to hold meetings in neighborhoods to receive feedback.
Vann said the board does not have any plans for what it will do if the amendment passes.
The town is scheduled to vote on zoning amendments during ballot voting on Tuesday at the Peterborough Community Center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.