The law says towns must provide the opportunity for developers to build work-force housing – defined in the Nashua region as a home selling for no more than $262,000 or a rental unit priced at $1,180 a month – in more than half of its residential areas. There also must be some place in town allowing multifamily housing with at least five dwelling units.

AMHERST
Minimum lot size: 2 acres for a single-family home, with affordable housing and other exceptions.
Existing multifamily zone: Allowed throughout town.
Ordinance being prepared: Yes.

BEDFORD
Minimum lot size: 1.5 acres in largest zone, the residential-agricultural zone.
Existing multifamily zone: Yes, but basically built out.
Ordinance being prepared: Yes.

BROOKLINE
Minimum lot size: About 2 acres.
Existing multifamily zone: No.
Ordinance being prepared: Yes.

HOLLIS
Minimum lot size: 2 acres.
Existing multifamily zone: Allowed in commercial zoning (A & B zone).
Ordinance being prepared: Yes.

HUDSON
Minimum lot size: Varies depending on zoning district.
Existing multifamily zone: Yes.
Ordinance being prepared: Not this year.

LYNDEBOROUGH
Minimum lot size: 2 acres.
Existing multifamily zone: N/A.
Ordinance being prepared: Not at this time.

MERRIMACK
Minimum lot size: 40,000 square-feet where sewer line is available.
Existing multifamily zone: Yes.
Ordinance being prepared: Not at this time.

MILFORD
Minimum lot size: Varies depending on zoning district.
Existing multifamily zone: Yes.
Ordinance being prepared: Not this year.

MONT VERNON
Minimum lot size: 2 acres.
Existing multifamily zone: No.
Ordinance being prepared: Not at this time.

WILTON
Information not available at this time.

Since 1996, several work-force housing bills have been introduced, although the measure passed last year was the first successful effort.

While the new law doesn’t have any mechanism for the state to compel communities to comply with the law, it does say developers appealing a community’s regulations are entitled to a hearing in court within six months.

Actually, when you think about it, global warming seems to be the least of our problems here in the Northeast! We not only got hit by an early winter ice storm in February, but then that was followed up with an ENORMOUS snow storm at the end of the month that threatened to delay Spring until next year!

Just when the Robins thought it was safe to come home, we got another freak hail storm that ruined everyone’s garden!

Summer settled in for a short while and just when we thought we were out of the woods…. we had a HURRICANE (or was it a Tornado) that ripped thorugh the middle of the state leaving a path of destruction that none of us had seen in our lifetimes!

Hurricane winds and rain engulfed the state this fall and left everyone with soggy feet and flooded basements! Does this ever stop????

So, as the saying goes….”If you don’t like the weather..wait awhile! You’re in New Hampshire and you never know what Mother Nature is going to do next!”

Here’s to a quiet ending to 2008 and the hope that 2009 will give us a little rest from these bouts of weather that are creating more “cranky Yankees” than we should have in these parts!

Happy New Year!

The next 33 days will prove to be very interesting indeed. As a “cranky yankee” I’d love to see more positive political ads instead of the mud slinging that we’re all subjected to each day from BOTH parties whether it be on the State or National level.

Now all we have to do is get an economic “rescue plan” that’s not full of all the pork that Congress couldn’t sneak into any other bill and we might survive between now and Christmas.

What do you think?