Plan NH is pleased to announce that the towns of Boscawen, Franconia, Hinsdale, and Peterborough have been selected to each receive a grant for technical assistance in reviewing, rewriting or creating new zoning regulations to increase options for places to live for households with changing and/or diverse needs and income levels.
The Municipal Technical Assistance Grant (MTAG) program is a partnership between Plan NH and New Hampshire Housing, who provided the funding.
- In Boscawen, funds will be used for technical assistance to combine several zoning districts into a single, multi-use (including places to live) zoning district in its major travel corridor.
- In Franconia, funds will be used for technical assistance to guide the process of developing consensus-based zoning amendments that support increased choices in places to live in and round the town’s center – while addressing the physical and infrastructure challenges that are often barriers to providing more homes and businesses.
- Hinsdale‘s grant will be used to remove regulatory barriers to provide more options for its residents for places to live, employment opportunities and transportation choices.
- Peterborough will use its funding to create regulations for a new village node, which will include workforce housing and other additional types of places to live.
A key component to the MTAG program is community outreach and engagement: outreach to those who will not or can not come to traditional meetings, but who have a stake in the outcomes; and engagement of anyone interested in the discussions and development of policies. Molly Donovan, of UNH Cooperative Extension, conducted a workshop about this to representatives from the four towns, giving them new ways to think about approaching their constituents and this project as a whole.
This is an important effort, and Plan NH is proud to be a part of it with NH Housing.
