Bedford planning board sends four zoning amendments, including workforce and stream protections, to March ballot

The Town of Bedford Planning Board voted Jan. 13 to place four proposed zoning amendments on the March 11 ballot after holding a first public hearing and receiving multiple public comments.

The proposals would: (1) revise how the ordinance treats workforce and senior housing — renaming "elderly housing" to "senior housing," creating separate categories for townhouse-style and garden-style multifamily housing and reducing the required affordable set-aside from 25% to 10%; (2) relax dimensional standards in the general residential (GR) zone, including reduced front, side and rear setbacks and smaller minimum lot sizes where lots are served by public water or sewer; (3) permit cottage court housing by conditional use permit in several zones as a smaller-single-family alternative; and (4) create a 50-foot non-disturbance vegetative buffer along Bedford's named streams, measured from the ordinary high-water mark, with grandfathering for existing lawns and structures.

Planning staff framed the workforce-housing changes as necessary to comply with New Hampshire state housing law and to create realistic opportunities for multifamily construction in town. Planning Director Becky Hebert told the board the amendments remove several existing location and building-size restrictions she said currently limit feasible sites for garden-style multifamily housing in the performance zone and align the maximum height in that zone with the district maximum of 60 feet, while adding language that height should be compatible with surrounding character. Hebert also said the board's economic feasibility analysis supported lowering the mandatory affordable set-aside to 10% to increase the chance that projects would be financially viable.

During public comment, residents expressed a mix of support and concern. Anissa Huntkar of Riddle Drive questioned the reduction in the affordable set-aside, asking, "Are we essentially saying that these are market-rate apartments, but if 10% of them are affordable, then we can call them workforce housing?" Longtime resident Paul Brock said the town has changed and supported the amendments as a way to allow residents to remain in Bedford. Conservation commission members and other residents urged stronger protections for streams and water quality; Grant Killian, conservation commission chair, described stream protection as a "no-brainer" in light of PFAS and water-quality concerns.

Board members said they had discussed the items in workshops and previous meetings and that the planning department had posted detailed documentation and studies on the town website for residents to review. After hearing public comment and board discussion, the planning board voted to place all four amendments on the ballot.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to place all four proposed 2025 zoning amendments on the March ballot: Motion by Priscilla Malcolm; second by Chris Swinjarski. Outcome: approved (motion carries).