II. L A N D
U S E & G R O W T H
BACKGROUND
Of all aspects
and attributes of a community, land use is the most visible element. Land use
is also the component of community life where the physical effects of policy
choices and regional trends in other areas – economic development,
transportation, housing, open space policies, among others – manifest
themselves most clearly. It is the land
use of a community that – shaped by all these other elements – most strongly
gives that community its unique and particular character.
Changes in
growth trends and patterns as well have their most visible effect upon land
use, even though the impacts of growth reverberate through other components of
community life and municipal policy.
Among New Hampshire cities and towns over the last three decades, few communities
have experienced this reality as intensely as has Derry.
Derry Land Use
Development
growth has been the single most consuming issue facing Derry over the last
three decades. The large majority of
this development growth has been residential. This growth has substantially
altered the face of Derry and its land use.
More than
two-thirds of Derry’s land area is in already-developed parcels, most of that
in residential use. Only about a
quarter of the Town’s land area remains in vacant and developable parcels. Even when adding the development potential
in parcels used but not to the full extent allowed by zoning, there clearly is
a declining potential for added development in Derry. Those observations are based upon the Southern New Hampshire Planning
Commission’s GIS-based tallies of land use acreage in Derry[1].
The distribution of acreage among
categories of land use is consistent with typical patterns, with residential
use dominating, and commercial and industrial land use comprising a small but
highly visible share of the total. Perhaps
the most striking departure from land use area norms is the small share of
public land in Derry.
There are
probably about 8,000 acres of vacant developable land remaining in Derry. That
consists of the 7,000 acres of vacant land parcels listed in the following
Table, and approximately 1,000 acres of excess land in residentially zoned
parcels having area over the minimum lot size, so capable of being further
subdivided. Most of this vacant land is
in the LDR (3 acre minimum lot size) and LMDR (2 acre minimum lot size) zoning
districts.
The acreage in
those districts probably has a development capacity for fewer than 3,000 new
housing units. Considering vacant land
remaining in other districts, under current zoning Derry has the capacity for
no more than about 4,000 new housing units in addition to the 13,000 units now
in the community. Derry has been
averaging about 100 new dwellings per year.
There is apparently land capacity under current zoning for another three
or four decades of growth at that rate.
That potential
increase of about one-quarter in the number of dwelling units at build-out
probably would mean an increase of less than a quarter in total population,
given continuing reductions in the average household size. Based on the U.S. Census 2000 population of
34,000, that means that under current zoning population is unlikely ever to
exceed about 40,000 persons. [2] Unless regulations are changed, growth will
approach that build-out limit at an increasingly moderate rate over the next
few decades.
As illustrated
on Map II-1, the western section of Derry contains the highest proportion of
developed land. Commercially and
industrially developed lands are located predominantly in the central and west
sections of town. East Derry’s land use
character is predominantly lower density residential.
Derry Growth Management Initiatives
During Derry’s
rapid growth during the 1970s and 1980s,
predominantly residential growth created substantial imbalance among
development, services, and the environment. The ensuing strain on municipal
services, revenues, and citizen concern for the rapidly changing character of
their community led to the Town’s December, 1994 adoption of a one-year
moratorium on growth, while the Town developed a growth plan and regulations to
better manage that growth. A Growth
Management Plan and program was developed in 1996. Following the adoption of
this plan and several years’ work and studies to determine the appropriate
course of action, in 1999, the Town of Derry adopted a growth management
ordinance. This ordinance regulates the timing and phasing of major new
development proposals, and established a building permit limit of 50
residential units per year. The
ordinance links development rights to the availability of Town services,
facilities, and schools. As part of
this effort, in 1997 the Town also developed and adopted a revised zoning map
that more closely guides development to desired, appropriate areas of Derry,
and a thirty-year capital improvement program upon which the growth controls of
the ordinance are based.
Excavation Activities
There are two
excavation sites in Derry. In 1997, the
Town’s excavation regulations were revised, with the assistance of the Southern
New Hampshire Planning Commission, and adopted as part of the overall zoning
recodification. The Town’s zoning ordinance now contains earth removal
regulations governing existing and abandoned excavations, stationary
manufacturing plants, highway excavations, reclamation of excavated areas, operational
standards for excavation practices, and land use, and enforcement of standards.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Derry’s goals for land use and growth are to:
·
Preserve
Derry’s overall pattern of land use that concentrates development in the
Downtown and west central sections of the Town, with open lands and sparser
development in the east section of the community, avoiding the tendency toward
suburban sprawl.
·
Continue
to guide the amount of growth that is sustainable, given Derry’s environment,
level of service, and to its desired character, as outlined in its growth
management ordinance.
·
Integrate
Town goals for open space, recreation, economic development, downtown
revitalization, with land use policies and regulatory tools where appropriate.
·
Continue
to review zoning regulations to assure consistency with Town objectives and
evolving policies on land use.
IMPLEMENTING
ACTIONS
Implementing
actions identified during the 2000 planning process can be grouped in several
categories – residential land use, business land use, open space, recreation,
and agriculture, and the land use planning and management process.
Land
Use Planning and Management Process
Several
implementing actions are concerned with Derry’s overall land use planning
process, how it is managed, and general zoning approaches:
·
Expand
long-range planning efforts in Derry, including:
-
Broadening
areas of long-range inquiry to include protection of natural and cultural
resources over the long term, in addition to those areas specified in the Town’s
growth management ordinance;
-
Increasing
opportunities for Derry Boards and agencies to work together on long-range
planning efforts in a systematic, continuing process;
-
Holding
at least one workshop a year with neighboring communities on issues of mutual
concern.
·
Improve
public communication in Derry, particularly with respect to land use issues,
including:
-
Expanding
opportunities for citizens to be heard; and
-
Improving
communication with developers and real estate professionals about the Town’s land
use goals.
§
Review
the Town’s growth management ordinance on an annual basis to determine its
effectiveness in implementing the community’s vision for its desired and
appropriate growth rate.
·
Explore
opportunities for “dual purpose controls” – i.e., controls that serve more than
one interest such as economic development and conservation – in the growth
management ordinance.
·
Improve
the ability of Town regulations and policies to protect Derry’s natural,
cultural, and historic resources.
·
Periodically
review Town regulations, including zoning and excavation regulations, for
consistency with state land use law and policies.
·
Improve
enforcement of existing Town regulations and codes.
·
Improve
consistency in zoning definitions of permitted uses throughout all districts.
Residential
Land Use
Other
implementing actions are targeted toward general regulatory approaches and
specific zoning revisions concerning residential development in particular:
·
Identify
the differing residential neighborhoods in Derry, the particular and special
qualities that contribute to their character.
Identify a strategy for preserving and enhancing their character.
-
Explore
the creation of an overlay zoning district to assure compatible design in
infill construction and rehabilitation within these neighborhoods.
[Also in Housing
Element].
·
Revise
Derry’s zoning and subdivision regulations to allow and encourage residential
development that preserves open space as well as providing affordability.
[Also in
Housing Element].
·
Review
the zoning map for appropriate locations for multi-family districts, especially
in and near Downtown centers of activity.
[Also in Housing Element].
·
Rezone
the Bypass 28/Overledge Drive area from 1-acre (MDR) to 2-acre minimum lot size
(LMDR). (#1 on Map II-2).
·
Rezone
Berry Road/South Range Road area from Office/Research Development (ORD) to
residential 2-acre zoning, allowing elder housing, retirement housing, assisted
living and nursing home facilities. (#8 on Map II-2).
Business
Land Use
These
actions are concerned with overall as well as specific zoning revisions related
to business land use:
·
Explore
revisions to Derry’s regulations and policies that would provide improved
alternatives to “strip development” – linear frontage development along Derry’s
main roadways.
·
Examine
existing industrial zoning regulations for potential revisions to encourage
higher density buildings with less of a “footprint”. [Also in Economic
Development Element].
·
Expand
permitted commercial and industrial uses in the Ash Street Ext./Folsom Road
area to Londonderry Town Line, adjacent to potential Exit 4a connection road.
(See #2 on Map II-2).
·
Continue
to examine expansion of commercial zones near Route 111 in the southeast corner
of town (See #3 on Map II-2).
·
Consider OMB or Professional Office District zoning
for Rockingham Road/Sunnyside Lane area. (See #5 on Map II-2).
·
Expand
the Office Medical Business (OMB) District along the north side of Kendall Pond
Road and changing commercial/retail use from permitted to special
exception. (See #6 on Map II-2).
·
Maintain
the Tsienneto Road area in between By-pass 28 and Ross’ Corner as an Industrial
III District. (See #7 on Map II-2).
·
Consider
rezoning the Industrial I District along Windham Road to low-density residential.
(See #9 on Map II-2).
·
Continue
to examine the appropriateness of zoning
along Windham Road, in particular the area presently zoned as Industrial
V. (See #10 on Map II-2).
·
Consider
Professional Office II zoning for the rotary area (south side of Route 102 to
Chase’s Mill, including restaurant uses and strengthening historic
considerations. (See #12 on Map II-2).
·
Fine-tune
the General Commercial District, creating more specific zones (I,II, III)
depending upon the geographic area of town. No specific map location
identified.
·
Fine-tune
permitted uses and definitions for the Central Business District (CBD).
Continue to encourage downtown revitalization. (See #15 on Map II-2).
Open
Space, Recreation, & Agriculture
Other
actions have to do with supporting and preserving open space, recreation and
agriculture:
·
Consider
creating an agriculture district that gives preference to agriculture over
other uses. This might include:
-
Requiring
clustering of new units on soils least suitable to agriculture;
-
Protecting
remaining agricultural land by deed restriction;
-
Requiring
buffers to separate residential and agricultural areas.
[Also in Open
Space/Recreation Element].
·
Create
more green space and public and private gathering places in the Downtown,
including:
-
Identifying
a range of opportunities to create downtown green space, such as areas for
acquisition, incentives for private development, regulatory mechanisms.
[Also in
Downtown Element].
·
Plan
and create open space buffers around farms as part of Derry’s overall open
space preservation strategy.
[Also in
Open Space/Recreation Element].
·
Create
and improve more neighborhood parks through:
-
Developing
neighborhood parks for each Derry neighborhood as identified in the 1995
Recreation and Open Space Master Plan.
[Also in Open
Space/Recreation Element].
·
Encourage
recreation and open space uses in the vicinity of the Robert Frost Farm through
rezoning this area from commercial and ORD use to recreation and open space.
(See #4 on Map II-2).
MAP
II-2 KEY
The
following numbered locations, cited in the Implementing Actions, are identified
on Map II-2. The numbers and recommended actions correspond to the recommended
zoning revisions contained in the Land Use Topic Group Report, June, 2000.
1. Rezone Bypass 28/Overledge Drive area
from 1-acre (MDR) to 2-acre minimum lot size (LMDR).
2. Expand permitted
commercial and industrial uses in the Ash Street Ext./Folsom Road area to
Londonderry Town Line, adjacent to potential Exit 4a connection road.
3. Continue to examine
expansion of commercial zones near Route 111 in the southeast corner of town (See
#3 on Map II-2).
4. Recreation and open
space uses in the vicinity of the Robert Frost Farm.
5. OMB or Professional
Office District zoning for Rockingham Road/Sunnyside Lane area.
6. Expand the Office
Medical Business (OMB) District along the north side of Kendall Pond Road and
change commercial/retail use from permitted to special exception.
7. Maintain the Tsienneto Road area in between
By-pass 28 and Ross’ Corner as an Industrial III District.
8. Rezone Berry
Road/South Range Road area from Office/Research Development (ORD) to
residential 2-acre zoning, allowing elder housing, retirement housing, assisted
living and nursing home facilities.
9. Consider rezoning the
Industrial I District along Windham Road to low-density residential. (See #9 on
Map II-2).
10. Continue to examine
the appropriateness of zoning along
Windham Road, in particular the area presently zoned as Industrial V.
11. Skipped number.
12. Professional Office II
zoning for the rotary area (south side of Route 102 to Chase’s Mill, including
restaurant uses and strengthening historic considerations.
13. Skipped number.
14. Skipped number.
15. Fine-tune permitted
uses and definitions for the Central Business District (CBD). Continue to
encourage downtown revitalization.
APPENDIX
A. “Growth, Housing,
Population, Jobs: Derry and Neighbors”, August 14, 2000.
B. “Derry Diagnostic
Results”, April 4, 2000.
C. “Master Plan Land Use
Topic Group Report”, June 12, 2000.
REFERENCED
MATERIALS
Existing Land Use Map,
1997,
prepared by Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission.
Growth Management Plan and Program, Town of Derry, Manuel S. Emanuel
Associates, Inc., July, 1996.
April 2, 2001
END NOTES