Accountability posts
Drafts ready to share. Click to copy, then post. Planning Board · Amherst, NH · December 5, 2024.
X / Twitter
Individual posts for different angles. Pick the one that fits your audience.
Whether a multi-suite senior housing structure is being misclassified as a single dwelling unit to stay within the approved 39-unit count
Amherst Planning Board (12/5): A developer wants to count a 4-bedroom house with ensuite bathrooms as ONE unit in a 39-unit development. Board members pushed back — one compared it to a dormitory. No resolution. Continued to Feb 19. Watch this closely. #Amherst #NH
265/280 chars
Pedestrian safety gap on a road serving two elementary schools, with no firm commitment from the developer to fund improvements
A 39-unit development is planned near Clark and Wilkins schools in Amherst. A daily walker flagged that Christian Hill Road has no sidewalk or safe path for kids. Developer cited stone walls as obstacles. No commitment secured. DPW asked to review — no deadline set. #AmherstNH
277/280 chars
Unanswered public concern about long-term farmland ownership and stewardship accountability in the Jacobson subdivision
At Amherst's 12/5 Planning Board meeting, a resident asked who would own the farmland in the Jacobson Trust development — and argued it should belong equally to all lot owners. The board gave no response. The question remains open heading into February. #AmherstNH #accountability
280/280 chars
Town solar regulations not accessible to the public on the town website, with no board response to a resident's direct question
Resident Sally Wilkins told Amherst's Planning Board on 12/5 she couldn't find the town's solar regulations on the town website. The board didn't respond. If residents can't locate rules that apply to active development decisions, that's a problem. #AmherstNH
259/280 chars
X thread
Post these in sequence for maximum impact.
1
🧵 Amherst Planning Board met 12/5/24 to review a proposed 39-unit subdivision at 17 Christian Hill Road (Jacobson Trust). Here's what residents near Clark and Wilkins schools — and anyone watching housing development in Amherst — should know. (1/6)
248/280
2
The board approved 39 units under the Integrated Innovative Housing Ordinance based on a specific mix of promised benefits. Now the developer wants to include a 4-bedroom house with ensuite bathrooms — and count it as ONE unit. Board members weren't convinced. One explicitly compared it to a dormitory. This directly affects whether the developer is delivering what originally justified 39 units. No ruling yet — continued to Feb 19. (2/6)
440/280
3
Why does the unit count matter? Because the original approval was a trade: the town allowed higher density in exchange for specific housing benefits. If the unit types have changed, the board may not be getting what it bargained for. One member said it plainly: 'We got to go back and make sure we're getting 39.' (3/6)
319/280
4
Separately: this 39-unit development sits on Christian Hill Road, which feeds directly to Clark and Wilkins elementary schools. There is no sidewalk or dedicated path. A resident who walks and bikes the road daily raised safety concerns. The developer cited stone walls and tree preservation as obstacles — and offered no firm commitment. DPW was asked to review off-site improvements, but with no deadline. (4/6)
413/280
5
A public commenter also raised a question the board didn't answer: Who will own the farmland? The developer is using a 99-year lease structure with a hired consultant — not shared ownership among all lot residents. The commenter argued it should be equally owned as open space. The board moved on without addressing it. (5/6)
325/280
6
Bottom line: A major subdivision is moving forward in Amherst with unresolved questions about unit classification, pedestrian safety for school-age kids, and farmland stewardship. Next hearing: Feb 19, 2025, 7pm, Town Hall. Show up or follow along. (6/6) #AmherstNH
265/280
Longer-form draft.
**Amherst Planning Board — December 5, 2024 | What Residents Should Know** The Planning Board met Thursday night to begin its formal review of the Jacobson Trust subdivision — a proposed 33-lot, 39-unit development at 17 Christian Hill Road. All votes were unanimous and the meeting was largely procedural, but several substantive concerns emerged that residents — especially those near Clark and Wilkins schools — should be tracking before the next hearing on February 19, 2025. **Is the developer counting units accurately?** The board approved 39 dwelling units under the Integrated Innovative Housing Ordinance based on a specific package of housing benefits. The developer now wants to include a four-bedroom house with private ensuite bathrooms for each bedroom and classify it as a single dwelling unit. Board members pushed back hard — one compared the structure to a dormitory and asked directly whether the same logic would make a 23-room dormitory a single unit. No resolution was reached. The board made clear it intends to verify that the development still delivers the housing mix that justified the original 39-unit count. This will be a key issue at the February 19 continuation. **Pedestrian safety on Christian Hill Road:** A 39-unit development will bring more families and children to a road that feeds directly to Clark and Wilkins elementary schools — and currently has no sidewalk or dedicated walking/biking path. A resident who walks and bikes the road daily raised safety concerns at the meeting. A board member echoed them, noting children should be able to walk to school safely. The developer acknowledged obstacles (stone walls, tree preservation) but made no firm commitment to fund improvements. The DPW Director was assigned to review the road and intersection at Foundry and Boston Post Road, but with no firm deadline. No commitment was extracted from the developer. **Who owns the farmland?** A public commenter raised a pointed question: the development's farming component is structured as a 99-year lease controlled by the developer, rather than land owned equally by all residents as part of the open space. The commenter argued this is the wrong structure for genuine community stewardship. The board did not respond to this concern. It remains unresolved. The case continues to **February 19, 2025 at 7:00pm at Amherst Town Hall**. Engineering review is underway, and the developer must submit a wildlife study and revised plans before then. If these issues matter to you, that is the meeting to attend.