| Voters faced a shopping list of warrant articles, including too many zonging changes with no explanations, and a lot of funds that went to capital reserve funds.
The following links take you to the full text of each warrant article, including voting results, and a commentary for your consideration.
Note: This is a very long web page with more warrant articles than last year.
Article 1 – Choose Town Officers
To choose all necessary Town Officers for the ensuing year.
Commentary: This actually happens on Election Day.
Recommendation: Yes, vote on March 10th, but first check out the
list of candidates.
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Article 2 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #1
| Votes: |
YES: |
206 |
NO: |
73 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 1 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To amend the definition of "Apartment or Apartment House" as follows (text underlined is to be added, text struck through is to be removed) and renumber the Article accordingly:
Apartment or Apartment House - Any dwelling unit for rent, including but not limited to a room, suite of rooms, enclosed porch, addition, or above garage space with one or more rooms for the use of one or more persons as a housekeeping unit with space for eating, living, and sleeping and containing permanent provisions for cooking or sanitation. This definition replaces and supersedes any other definition of "Apartment" or "Apartment House" contained anywhere in these ordinances.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: These zoning article are always added to the warrant just before the Deliberative Session with no explanation as to why they are needed. At that meeting, no one asked any questions about them, meaning no one understood what they meant. They may have been finalized months ago at one of the Planning Board Hearings, but the voters need an explanation NOW.
A lot of them make changes to ordinances about trailer parks (AKA mobile home parks). Will they increase or decrease the tax base?
At minimum, the Planning Board needs to publish a summary of why they proposed these changes and what their affect is, so that the voters can understand why the changes are needed.
Recommendation: No, unless the planning board explains the need for the changes.
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Article 3 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #2
| Votes: |
YES: |
243 |
NO: |
83 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 2 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To add the following new definition for Apartment Building and renumber the Article accordingly:
Apartment Building - Any building or portion thereof which contains three or more Apartments dwelling units. This definition supersedes any definition of "Apartment House" contained anywhere in these ordinances.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 4 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #3
| Votes: |
YES: |
220 |
NO: |
100 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 3 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To add a twenty (20) foot front setback to the Business Zone in Article VIII?
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 5 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #4
| Votes: |
YES: |
224 |
NO: |
93 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 4 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To add a twenty (20) foot front setback to the Industrial Zone in Article IX?
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 6 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #5
| Votes: |
YES: |
217 |
NO: |
101 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 5 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To amend Article VI, Section 602.J to require a two-hundred foot (200 ft.) setback from roads or property lines from the parent tract for any structure in a cluster housing development.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 7 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #6
| Votes: |
YES: |
226 |
NO: |
88 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 6 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To amend Article XI, Supplemental Regulations, by deleting Section 1118.a which prohibits the conversion of any existing manufacturing housing park to condominium use. The proposed change would result in compliance with NH law (RSA 356:B.5).
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: No. See comment on Article 2. This article seems to imply that the planning board thinks it would be OK to turn trailer homes (AKA mobile homes) into a condo association. A few of these parks in town have been sold to the residents (who now maintain them better than the previous owners) and they are now called "cooperatives."
What are the implications of allowing them to convert to condos?
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 8 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #7
| Votes: |
YES: |
236 |
NO: |
70 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 7 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
The proposed changes are in an effort to comply with federal storm water requirements.
To amend Article XXIV, Groundwater Protection Overlay District, to revise certain performance standards and to revise certain best management practices including certain revisions to the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan requirements.
To amend Article XXV, permanent (Post-Construction) Stormwater Management Ordinance to establish and revise certain best management practices and performance standards including certain revisions to the erosion control requirements, certain groundcover and vegetation requirements, prohibitions from "tying into" storm sewers, and add new Section IV.A to require a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) for commercial and town maintenance garages, public works yards, transfer stations, recycling centers any other waste handling facilities where pollutants are (or are proposed to be) exposed to runoff and not covered by a site-level EPA stormwater permit.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 9 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #8
| Votes: |
YES: |
195 |
NO: |
121 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 8 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To Repeal the Mobile Home Building Permit Ordinance.
To repeal the Mobile Home Ordinance and the Regulation of the Installation of Mobile Homes Including Mobile Home Parks.
To amend Section 7 of the Allenstown Building Code Ordinance to specify that the manufacturing and installation of all Manufactured Homes must comply with all applicable state and federal requirements.
To repeal a definition for Manufactured Housing as follows: Manufactured Housing: A factory-built, single-family structure, which is manufactured or constructed under authority of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5403, Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, and is to be used as a place for human habitation, but which is not constructed with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other than for the purpose of moving to a permanent site and which does not have permanently attached to its body or frame any wheels or axles. A mobile home is not a manufactured home unless it has been converted to real property (i.e. affixed to a cellar/basement) and is taxed as a site-built dwelling. For the purpose of this Ordinance, a manufactured home shall be considered the same as any site-built, single-family detached dwelling.
To add a definition for Manufactured Home as follows: Manufactured Home: A structure, designed to be a dwelling unit with or without a permanent foundation, that is transportable in one or more sections which in the traveling mode is eight feet wide or more in width or 40 feet or more in length or, when erected, is 320 or more square feet in area, and which is built on a permanent chassis.
To add a definition of Manufactured Home Site.
To add a definition of Presite Built Housing.
To repeal the definition of Manufactured Housing and Housing Park.
To establish that Manufactured Home Parks are permitted within a new Manufactured Home Park Overlay District within the Open Space and Farming Zone by Conditional Use Permit by the Planning Board.
To repeal the existing Article XVII Manufactured Housing and replace with the proposed Article XVII Presite Built Housing and Manufactured Homes. The new Article will, among other things: authorize single presite built homes or manufactured homes wherever single family homes are permitted, allow clusters of presite built homes; authorize the Planning Board the authority to grant Conditional Use Permits for manufactured home parks; establish criteria upon which the Planning Board shall grant a Conditional Use Permit for manufactured home parks; require 2 acres per unit for manufactured home park density calculation purposes; establish setbacks for each house lot; and, require a minimum of a fifteen (15) acre parcel.
To establish a new Manufactured Home Park Overlay District within the Open Space and Farming District and whose boundaries shall consist of the following lots legally existing as of April 1, 2011 and as depicted on the March 10, 2015 Official Zoning Map of the Town of Allenstown, and a map created by the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission entitled Allenstown Manufactured Home Park Overlay District and dated March 10, 2015. Overlay district lots include Maps and Lots: 407-12; 407-8; 407-9-1; 407-9-2; 407-26; 407-9-3; 407-25; 407-10; 407-11; 407-30; 407-31; 407-23; 407- 024; 407-32; 409-30; 409-31; 409-32-1; 409-33; 409-32; 407-34; 109-21; 109-22; 109-23; 109-24; 108-1; 108-2; 410-28; 107-1; 107-2; 410-29; 107-3; 107-4; 410-33; 107-5; 107-6; 107-7; 410-31; 410-32; 107-8; 107-9; 410-30; 411-5; 411-2; 411-3; 411-4, and any future lots created as a result of the subdivision or merger of any of these lots.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 10 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #9
| Votes: |
YES: |
191 |
NO: |
117 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 9 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To amend Section 1 of the Allenstown Building Code Ordinance to eliminate the reference to RSA 156:1 and replace it with RSA 155-A.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 11 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #10
| Votes: |
YES: |
246 |
NO: |
75 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 10 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To amend Section 801 of Article VIII to allow Kindergartens as a permitted use.
To amend Section 801 of Article VIII to allow Group Child Care Centers (more than 6 children) as a permitted use.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 12 – Zoning Ordinances Amendment #11
| Votes: |
YES: |
211 |
NO: |
94 |
PASSED |
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. 11 as proposed by the Allenstown Planning Board for the Town of Allenstown Zoning Ordinance as follows:
To amend Section 1113.3 of Article XI to state that all commercial developments (excluding single family homes and duplexes) on parcels in all zones are permitted to and encourage to share access and/or parking whenever feasible. Additionally, though frontage may be counted on one street, access to another street via the lot containing the shared access/parking is permissible.
The Planning Board recommends this Article.
Commentary: See comment on Article 2.
Recommendation: See comment on Article 2.
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Article 13 – Sewer Bond
| Votes: |
YES: |
234 |
NO: |
77 |
PASSED |
(THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT IMPACT THE TAX RATE) To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $30,000 (gross budget) to defray the cost of planning relative to public facilities through the previously established Asset Management Plan development project for the Town of Allenstown Wastewater Collection and Treatment System; and,
to authorize the issuance of not more than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) of bonds or notes in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Finance Act (RSA 33); and, further, to authorize the Selectboard to issue and negotiate such bonds or notes and to determine the conditions and the rate of interest thereon; and,
to further authorize the Selectboard to offset a portion of said appropriation by applying for, Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF), it being understood that repayment of the loan funds will include up to 50% forgiveness of the loan principal in the amount up to $30,000.
A condition of the approval of this article being that repayment of any remaining loan balance to be paid by sewer funds; and, further, that the Allenstown Sewer Commission shall pay any outstanding remaining balance and applicable interest in full from said sewer funds on or before the date that the first payment of the loan related to the CWSRF funding is due; and,
to authorize the Selectmen and Sewer Commissioners to take all other action necessary to carry out and complete this project.
(3/5 ballot vote required)
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: The sewer department is currently working on the Asset Management Plan using current sewer funds. This is an ongoing project to inventory and map all sewer department assets (mandated by overpaid bureaucrats at the EPA). This warrant article asks for $30,000 to be spent this year and repaid by an NH DES grant.
Recommendation: Yes.
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Article 14 – Town Operating Budget
| Votes: |
YES: |
235 |
NO: |
73 |
PASSED |
Shall the Town of Allenstown raise and appropriate as an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $3,847,352.
Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $3,933,407. which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the Town of Allenstown or by law, or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13 X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operations budget only.
Passage of this article has an estimated tax rate impact of approximately $0.28 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value.
NOTE: This warrant article (operating budget) does not include appropriations in ANY other warrant article.
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: The Budget Committee worked long and hard to get this budget under the default amount. It required discussions with department heads about the need to focus on budget amounts that taxpayers could afford, rather than amounts that they said they needed.
Last year the voters approved the $3,837,639.00 default budget even though it was much more than the $3,677,141.00 proposed budget. What were you thinking? The town population has shrunk in the past 10 years from 5,000 to about 4,300 with virtually no new businesses to help defray taxes. In fact, the opposite happened when Big Jim's Home Center closed down in January.
How can fewer people bear the burden of higher taxes? Who would want to move into a town with a dwindling population and an increasing tax bill?
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 15 – Sewer Dept. Operating Budget
| Votes: |
YES: |
259 |
NO: |
56 |
PASSED |
Shall the Town of Allenstown raise and appropriate as an operating budget for the Allenstown Sewer Commission, not including appropriations by special warrant articles and other appropriations voted separately, the amounts set forth on the budget posted with the warrant or as amended by vote of the first session, for the purposes set forth therein, totaling $2,070,024. said sum to come from sewer rents.
Should this article be defeated, the default budget shall be $2,080,591, also to come from sewer rents, which is the same as last year, with certain adjustments required by previous action of the Town of Allenstown or by law, or the governing body may hold one special meeting, in accordance with RSA 40:13 X and XVI, to take up the issue of a revised operations budget only.
NOTE: This warrant article (operating budget) does not include appropriations in ANY other warrant article.
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: The Sewer Commission has done a commendable job keeping the sewer rates low. The new rate is $7.59/1000 gal, compared to $7.60 for last year. And they are the only department that makes money due to fees from septage haulers. That's what keeps your sewer rates low.
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 16 – Highway Garage Capital Reserve Fund
| Votes: |
YES: |
230 |
NO: |
86 |
PASSED |
(THIS ARTICLE DOES/DOES NOT IMPACT THE TAX RATE.)
To see if the Town of Allenstown will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $80,000 to be added to the Highway Garage Capital Reserve Fund previously established. This sum is to come from the unreserved fund balance. (Majority vote required.)
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: At the Deliberative Session, they presented a document called the Unassigned Fund Balance. This document was not very clear but the explanation was that this was tax money that was not spent from the previous budget.
Instead of returning the money to the general fund, it was decided to use some of it to fund several capital reserve funds. These funds would eventually provide the cash to pay for large-ticket items like a fire truck or highway garage and eliminate the need to post a bond and add a large expenditure to one year's budget.
Recommendation: Yes.
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Article 17 – Landfill Capital Reserve Fund
| Votes: |
YES: |
234 |
NO: |
92 |
PASSED |
(THIS ARTICLE DOES/DOES NOT IMPACT THE TAX RATE.)
To see if the Town of Allenstown will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $20,000 to be added to the Landfill Capital Reserve Fund previously established. This sum is to come from the unreserved fund balance. (Majority vote required.)
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: The state requires Allenstown to test the landfill yearly. All that trash that had been buried for years is still there, slowly decomposing, so the state makes us spend tax dollars to test it to see if it meets their standards.
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 18 – Fire Safety Equipment Capital Reserve Fund
| Votes: |
YES: |
237 |
NO: |
90 |
PASSED |
(THIS ARTICLE DOES/DOES NOT IMPACT THE TAX RATE.)
To see if the Town of Allenstown will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $60,000 to be added to the Fire Safety Equipment Capital Reserve Fund previously established. This sum is to come from the unreserved fund balance. (Majority vote required.)
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: See Article 16.
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 19 – Solid Waste Vehicle Capital Reserve Fund
| Votes: |
YES: |
248 |
NO: |
75 |
PASSED |
(THIS ARTICLE DOES/DOES NOT IMPACT THE TAX RATE.)
To see if the Town of Allenstown will vote to discontinue the Solid Waste Vehicle Capital Reserve Fund created in 2013. Said funds, with accumulated interest to date of withdrawal, are to be trasnsferred to the municipality's general fund. (Majority vote required.)
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: See Article 16.
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 20 – Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund
| Votes: |
YES: |
246 |
NO: |
77 |
PASSED |
(THIS ARTICLE DOES/DOES NOT IMPACT THE TAX RATE.)
To see if the Town of Allenstown will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $20,000 to be added to the Highway Equipment Capital Reserve Fund previously established. This sum is to come from the unreserved fund balance. (Majority vote required.)
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: See Article 16.
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 21 – Cemetery Facilities Capital Reserve Fund
| Votes: |
YES: |
226 |
NO: |
96 |
PASSED |
(THIS ARTICLE DOES/DOES NOT IMPACT THE TAX RATE.)
To see if the Town of Allenstown will vote to establish a Cemetery Facilities Capital Reserve Fund under the provisions of RSA 35:1 for the purpose of acquiring land and the construction of cemetery facilities and to raise and appropriate the sum of $0 to be placed in this fund. Further, to name the Board of Selectmen as agents to expend from said fund. (Majority vote required.)
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen. Recommended by the Budget Committee.
Commentary: The Deliberative Session spent almost as much time on this article as on the school budget! RSA 289:2 states that every town must have one or more cemeteries but does not state who may be buried there.
At the Deliberative Session, the Trustees stated that the town cemetery is for the indigent (homeless) and that the Trustees are investigating a town-owned parcel for this purpose. The Selectmen stated that, in the past year, they have been able to make other arrangements for the few cases that have arisen. The Selecmen are also working with our state reps. to repeal this requirement.
Recommendation: Yes, at least this would start a fund.
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Article 22 – Allow Selectmen to buy/sell property
| Votes: |
YES: |
187 |
NO: |
129 |
PASSED |
Shall the Town of Allenstown vote to adopt the provisions of RSA 41:14-a authorizing the selectmen to have the authority to acquire or sell land, buildings, or both; provided however, that prior to such acquisition or sale, that the Select Board comply with all procedural requirements of RSA 41:14-a as it may be amended, including but not limited to Planning Board and Conservation Commission review and recommendation and public hearings. In accordance with the provisions of RSA 41:14-c, once adopted these provisions shall remain in effect until specifically rescinded by the town at any duly warned meeting.
Recommended by the Board of Selectmen.
Commentary: This article was narrowly defeated last year by a vote of 411 to 447. This year the Selectmen restated the case that there have been instances where they tried to buy or sell land but were unable to do so because it would have required a special town meeting.
The Selectmen would like to sell some parcels (taken for taxes owed) to businesses interested in moving into town. If given the authority, they could do so. The RSA requires adequate hearings to be held and also allows a minimum of 50 voters to petition that the property be added as a warrant article to the annual town meeting. So it seems like there are enough safeguards to protect against any alleged improper transactions.
Recommendation: Yes
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Article 23 – BY PETITION – Election of Town Administrator
| Votes: |
YES: |
142 |
NO: |
183 |
FAILED |
Shall the Town of Allenstown vote to change the position of Town Administrator from an appointed position to an elected position. If passed, this warrant article will become effective in 2016 after the March election.
Not recommended by the Board of Selectmen.
Commentary: According to the town attorney, there is no state law that gives a town the authority to elect a town administrator. According to the Selectmen, the Administrator does not have any authority other than what the Selectmen delegate.
This key person manages the town's daily business activities, drafts town policies, and applies for state and federal grants, among other duties. Such a position is very difficult to fill, and the town will be at a loss if there is a change of personnel due to an election.
Recommendation: No
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