Ed Touhey: Meredith Planning Board proposed zoning changes are radical

To The Daily Sun,

On Tuesday, Jan. 14, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Meredith Community Center Room B1 the Meredith Planning Board will hold a public hearing to solicit input on proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance. The four being proposed would:

1. Allow accessory units by right in all zoning districts where single family dwellings are permitted

2. Allow two-family dwellings by right in the forestry rural, Meredith Neck and Shoreline districts

3. Allow multifamily dwellings by right in the residential, commercial Route 3 south, central business and Meredith Center commercial districts

4. Remove 500-square-foot foundation minimum for single-family dwellings

While the Planning Board may be very well intended, I feel these amendments, whether considered individually or collectively, would radically change the "housing landscape" of Meredith as we know it. Potentially every Meredith property owner could be impacted in one way or another.

If readers like their neighborhood the way it is, as former chairperson of the Meredith Planning Board, I urge them to attend this meeting and voice their concerns.

Ed Touhey

Meredith