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2008 Conservation Overlay District Zoning Proposal Draft (01.03.08)
Introduction:
The Conservation Commission is sponsoring a zoning ordinance that will provide a level of protection for core conservation lands. New Hampshire’s landscape has been studied and areas have been rated for their conservation values. (The New Hampshire Fish and Game Wildlife Action Plan, 2006, and The Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watersheds, 2006)
Nottingham has the largest amount of land rated as core conservation areas in Rockingham County. Included are the Pawtuckaway Mountain block, the Cyrus and Langley block and our rivers. Some of the land in these blocks is already protected such as Pawtuckaway Park and Mulligan Forest, but much is not.
Several southern NH communities require conservation subdivisions for all developments that exceed a minimum acreage (Deerfield – 12+ acres, Goffstown – 20+ acres) and other communities encourage conservation developments in their Conservation Districts (Raymond and Auburn).
Without adopting a Conservation Overlay District Zoning Ordinance, Nottingham will not have the opportunity to protect its remaining open spaces.
With the proposed ordinance the number of homes built would be the same as with a conventional subdivision. Houses would be situated on small lots and be grouped closer together so that at least 50 percent of the property would remain as unfragmented open space. This design will conserve wetlands and uplands and maintain surface and ground water quality. It would also minimize impact by reducing development costs (which could provide for more affordable housing). The ordinance would apply to all major subdivisions (3+ lots) of 20 or more acres in the core and supporting (greenway) areas.
Please support the Conservation Overlay District Zoning Ordinance so we can all help maintain Nottingham’s rural character and protect our natural resources.
2008 ZONING PROPOSAL
XVII CONSERVATION OVERLAY DISTRICT
A. AUTHORITY: The Conservation Overlay District is authorized by the following provisions of New Hampshire law:
1. NH RSA 674:21 Innovative Land Use Controls
2 NH RSA 674:36 (m) Master Plan Supporting Language
3. NH RSA 674:17 (h) Purposes of Zoning Ordinances: “To assure proper use of natural resources and other public requirements”
B. PURPOSE: The purpose of the Conservation Overlay District is to maintain diverse wildlife habitat, abundant wetlands, clean water, productive forests, and recreational opportunities while minimizing harmful impacts and allowing for a reasonable level of residential development by conserving the critical ecological, biological and water resources and watersheds. It would allow the Town of Nottingham to:
1. Protect land areas with key natural resource features that provide the ecological functions necessary to sustain a healthy environment, including unfragmented forest ecosystems, high quality stream watersheds, large and high quality wetland systems, riparian zones on freshwater rivers, streams, lakes and ponds, exemplary natural communities, and significant wildlife habitat.
2. Protect the quality and quantity of surface and groundwater, including aquifers, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
3. Maintain land and resources that provide protection from natural hazards, such as flooding and drought and allow for water recharge.
4. Protect lands that sustain other critical ecosystem and natural service functions including: freshwater regulation and supply, nutrient cycling and uptake, waste assimilation, erosion and sediment control, and habitat protection.
5. Prioritize the Conservation Overlay District Areas for protection through conservation easements and fee simple acquisition.
6. Use the natural capacity of the land and natural resources as a controlling factor in determining the intensity, location and design of development permitted in the Conservation Overlay District Areas.
7. Encourage compact development and other regulatory and voluntary means to minimize impacts from direct development in Conservation Overlay District Areas.
8. 8. Promote energy conservation, energy efficiency and explore other ways to reduce carbon emissions among the town’s residents.
9. Promote noise reduction by minimizing the need for motorized outdoor maintenance equipment
10. Connect habitat patches, facilitating wildlife movement through the area; and protect wildlife from the negative impacts of development, including not only negative impacts to the habitat itself, but also to animal behavior and life cycle activities.
C. LOCATION: The Conservation Overlay District as depicted on the map titled “Nottingham Conservation Overlay District” (dated January 14th 2008), as amended, shall be subject to the requirements of this ordinance and related regulations. This map is hereby incorporated into this ordinance by reference. The Map includes conservation core focus areas on Bumfagging Hill, Kennard Hill, Langley and Cyrus Ponds, Pawtuckaway Mountains and Pawtuckaway River, as well as supporting landscape areas, wildlife focus areas, and wildlife corridor areas.
D. BOUNDARIES:
1. Conservation Core Focus Areas: The Conservation Core Focus Areas were identified by The Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watersheds (2006). These areas contain lands of exceptional significance for the protection of living resources and water quality which include large unfragmented forest blocks; intact floodplains and riparian zones; high quality stream networks and small watersheds; irreplaceable coastal and estuarine features; significant fish, plant and wildlife habitats; critical habitat supporting rare species and exemplary natural communities; important connectivity zones. These unfragmented areas, which are wholly or almost entirely undeveloped, represent the highest priority for
conservation and protection.
2. Conservation Supporting Landscape Areas: The Conservation Supporting Landscape Areas were identified by The Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watershed (2006). These areas are comprised of natural lands that buffer and sometimes link core areas. These areas maintain ecological processes upon which habitats and species depend.
3. Wildlife Focus Areas: The Wildlife Focus Areas were identified by The New Hampshire Fish and Game, Wildlife Action Plan (2006). These areas are comprised of habitats and community types essential to species in the greatest need of conservation to preserve the diversity and health of the State’s wildlife.
4. Wildlife Corridor Areas: The Wildlife Corridor Areas were identified by the Nottingham Conservation Commission in 2007. These areas are comprised of key land protection opportunities that serve to link large habitat systems, such as forest blocks, floodplains, riparian zones, streams, watersheds, and existing conservation parcels at the Town level.
5. Other Areas: Those areas not comprised of Conservation Core focus Areas, Conservation Supporting Landscape Areas, Wildlife Focus Areas, or Wildlife Corridor Areas.
E. APPLICABILITY: The Conservation Overlay District applies to newly proposed residential subdivisions of a parent lot or lots which are twenty (20) acres or larger. Parcels may be given additional conservation consideration as defined in the Conservation Subdivision.
F. MINIMUM DIMENSIONS: Newly proposed residential subdivisions located in the Conservation Overlay District may be subject to this Ordinance and shall require Conservation Commission review and recommendation prior to Planning Board review. The application for review shall comply with the Nottingham Zoning Ordinance and the Nottingham Subdivision Regulations and standard procedures. The following minimum dimensions may apply:
1. Acreage- One (1) Acre
2. Lot Envelope – Eighteen thousand (18,000) contiguous square foot upland buildable soil area
3. Frontage- One hundred (100) contiguous feet on a Class V road or better.
4. Building Setbacks- A minimum of twenty-five (25) feet.
G. Areas located in the Aquifer Protections District do not apply.
January 22nd 2008 Version
TO VIEW CONSERVATION OVERLAY DISTRICT MAP, click here.
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