Aitken: The Governor's Disastrous New Plan

We warned you this was coming.

Lately NH has been swarming with NGOs; outside, private special interest groups who are influencing the legislature, attempting to change the direction of your state without your approval. And the number of proposed bills on this subject proves it.

First, it was (SB 306) the Housing Appeals Board, twice soundly defeated, (the Governor had requested this provision in 2018 with HB 557 but that failed as did HB 104 in 2019) but since then was secreted into the budget by the Senate and now set to override any decision made by your town meeting vote. A bill has been submitted for its repeal.

Next it was the commuter rail bill (SB 241), which the Governor failed to veto, once again in contradiction with his own party's position. This bill is not merely a study of costs, but a full-on planning bill. NH DOT has already done several studies which prove that in order to implement commuter rail in NH we'd need a sales tax, income tax or both.

On October 30, just a few days after a "casual lunch" with developers, the Governor unveiled a bipartisan "plan" to mitigate the phony housing crisis which would only benefit developers. Among the provisions are mandates for certain types of housing, mandatory training for zoning boards in the language of "new urbanism", and more perks for developers who will flood NH with low-income, high-density apartment buildings.

This is the Bolshevik-style nightmare that is about to hit NH.

What has the influx of high-density contributed to other towns in NH? Consider Conway, NH a small town, and favorite vacation destination in the White Mountains. It is often included along with bigger cities in the 10 most dangerous towns in NH, at one time earning the #1 slot. In 2015 it was #3. This writer once owned a home in North Conway but decided to sell after having her home broken into twice. A recent overnight stay in a hotel on the now-barely recognizable main road in Conway was interrupted by the sound of sirens all through the night. Fact is, with trains and high-density comes more crime.

What about the constitutionality of allowing the State to mitigate what many see as a manufactured housing crisis? What right does the State have to impose a Bolshevik-style "plan" to eviscerate local control over land use and put that control into the hands of appointed regional bureaucrats?

For all the talk about fighting taxes, why is the Governor working with Hassan and other Democrats to promote what many think is an egregious violation of the constitution that will raise the taxes of the single-family homeowners? Why would he endanger his re-election this way?