Bea Smith

To the editor,

Regarding the Land's Trust's promise that the Boynton Road development will just be "workforce housing", I must chuckle. I heard them promise the Meredith ZBA that, "These apartments will not be rented to people on welfare. They will be for Meredith's firemen and policemen to rent as the town grows."

Poppycock!. Has anyone on the Land Trust ever been a landlord in New Hampshire? Has anyone on the Land Trust ever read N.H.'s Fair Housing Law? As a former landlord, I know that once a low-rent apartment becomes available, every effort must be made to offer it to all, including the very people that the neighbors are trying to avoid. If not, Legal Aid will come down on the landlord (the town) in full force. Offering the apartments only to town employees is illegal discrimination. Fines are steep. Telling an applicant that she is not eligible because she is on welfare or SSI Disability or has eight kids by different, unknown fathers is highly illegal and will just bring huge financial penalties on the landlord (the town's taxpayers...ironically, including the same neighbors trying to avoid the problem in the first place).

And do the people of Meredith really want to get into the business of running a low income housing project? Do they really understand what they are getting themselves into here?

While the moniker of "workforce housing" makes it all sound so inert and well-meaning, the people of Meredith better wake up and recognize that they are a few steps away from having a real problem on their hands. Low income housing brings in the wrong element; drugs, crime, services, expense, and the need to start hiring spanish-speaking teachers and police. Do you know how much more it costs to educate a crack baby?

Our Planning Board seems to be making a habit of ignoring what its residents want and just doing as it feels. Continuous battles with its own constituents is a clear sign that it might be time for some changes. The people of Meredith do not seem to share the same desire for rapid growth and urbanization that the Planning Board does. Maybe its time for a few board members, including the chairman, to step down.

Bea Smith

Meredith