Diane Lewis: Growth comes to the city, but at what cost?

To The Daily Sun,

Thanks for Gilford's Everett McLaughlin's thoughtful article. This issue has been on my mind, also about overpopulation of a finite area, and the costs. How many people would live in 2,800 homes?

How many children would increase the school population? How many owners would live here year-round? How much would the new builds increase the tax base? Property assessments? Taxes?

How many more firefighters, police, public workers would we need? And vehicles for each of those departments?

Would schools need to be expanded, or, more built? How many teachers are there now, and what is the current school population? What are the objective, measurable outcomes of this "education"? Isn't there room for improvement?

Laconia's population has been fairly stable for decades. Increases were small, and until recently, Laconia was an affordable place to live. I've lived here since 1981, and have memories of how things used to be. I don't mind thoughtful changes; unmanaged growth for the sake of growth, or greed, isn't good for people, employment, or the quality of life.

Is the goal to cram as many structures and condos into every square inch of space? There's already limited parking in downtown Laconia. The quality of life will be impacted with more homes, traffic, "growth."

Laconia has problems due to unaffordable housing, including rents too expensive for local wages. Taxes are already beyond many seniors' limited, fixed incomes. Who will buy these new properties? Only people from other expensive places who think these McMansions are bargains. Gentrification has the following factors: wealthier people move into an area, causing housing prices to rise, typically displacing current inhabitants, often changing the cultural character of the area. It pushes out the original population who can no longer afford to live there due to rising prices.

Is it already too late?

Diane Lewis

Laconia