Over the next couple months, the Lyme Planning Board will hold a series of public forums. The Board has invited experts from several organizations to talk on various aspects of housing.
10 October: Upper Valley/Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, to discuss the methodology used to determine the housing needs for Lyme and the region.
24 October: Sandwich NH Planning Office, to speak to their efforts with housing, and their application to get a HOP Invest grant to pay for a consultant to give technical expertise. (Tentative)
7 November: Andrew Winter, Twin Pines Housing to speak about the opportunities and barriers to developing affordable housing. (Tentative)
14 November: Jonah Richard – a developer from Fairlee VT will speak about small-scale development, and Jamie Rogers – Margaret Pratt Community will discuss the unique characteristics of developing senior housing/continuing care. (Tentative.)
Here is the announcement from the Lyme Planning Board site for the first session:
For October 10, 2024
Dear Lyme Residents:
The Planning Board is unanimous in wanting to maintain the characteristics of Lyme that residents find so attractive. As we can all agree there is a shortage of housing in the Upper Valley.
The Planning Board is considering how Lyme might participate in solving this regional problem. We know that local employers have difficulty finding staff to fill open positions in all types of jobs. Within Lyme we are reminded that our stores, restaurants, businesses, schools and Town offices have vacancies. It is often cited that the lack of housing is an impediment to attracting workers. The Planning Board is looking at options that might help address the housing crisis.
The Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission (RPC) is our regional planning commission. They completed a recent study that suggests that the region needs 5671 housing units between 2020 and 2040. The RPC has allocated new housing units for the Upper Valley towns and figures that Lyme’s fair share goal is 145 new housing units by 2040. This represents a rate of growth at least double that which has been happening over the past 15 years.
As the Planning Board embarks on this exercise, we would like to share what we have learned and find out from you whether or how we should actively pursue incentivizing housing opportunities. As a means of introducing the subject we have invited the RPC to a public meeting to discuss the housing shortage and allocations that they have suggested. We plan to organize other opportunities to have public dialog with other experts who can help guide us in a responsible manner.
We have scheduled our first meeting with a representative of the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission for October 10 at 7PM at the Town Office meeting room. We would very much like for Town residents to come and learn with us. Please mark your calendar so we can work together in addressing the housing issue as a community.
Individuals may also attend via zoom at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6808321113?pwd=K01JYjhFbVBRQ0luNDhmbjIyZEp5QT09&omn=83977525177
Pass Code : LymeZone
Sincerely,
Lyme Planning Board
Feel free to share this post on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or email. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own, and not those of any public body, such as the Lyme Planning Board, Budget Committee, or Trustees of the Trust Funds where I volunteer. I would be interested to hear your thoughts – you can reach me at richb.lyme@gmail.com.