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PRESS
RELEASE - Focus: Tamworth
For
more information, contact:
Stephen
Gaal
603
284 7183
OR
David
Little
603
323 7300
Focus:
Tamworth steering committee members
If
unavailable, or for background information:
Kate
Vachon
Press
coordinator
603
323 8224
[Charles
Greenhalgh, Focus: Tamworth spokesperson, is temporarily unavailable]
TAMWORTH
RESIDENTS AND REPS MAKE EFFORTS TO RESTORE LOCAL CONTROL
Tamworth
Conservation Commission strengthens its wetlands permit comments after
new law removes controls on racetrack; school board and residents
present concerns to selectmen
Tamworth,
May 17 - In the days since Tamworth residents learned of the passage of
SB 458, Tamworth citizens, Conservation Commission members, and members
of Tamworth's state delegation have explored the ramifications of the
bill and looked for ways to undo its attack on the principle of local
control.
SB
458, which was passed and signed by Governor Benson on March 5 and
became law on May 4, exempts the Club Motorsports race track proposed
for Tamworth from the controls on noise, hours of operation, handling of
waste, environmental impacts and more provided in Tamworth's Race Track
Ordinance (RTO). That ordinance, based on NH RSA 31:41-a and RSA 31:42,
was signed into law by the selectmen on October 1, 2003, and made
permanent by an 84%
majority at Tamworth's Town Meeting on March 10, 2004.
"The
bill and the way it was passed should concern towns all over the
state," said Focus: Tamworth spokesperson Charles Greenhalgh.
According to a statement by the statewide New Hampshire Municipal
Association, the bill "...
removes the ability of any municipality to apply RSA 31:41-a or RSA
31:42 to 'exhibition facilities,' which are defined in the bill as
containing a paved roadway two or miles in length and used for, among
other things, the exhibition, maintenance, and operation of vintage or
specialty motor vehicles and the conducting of supervised amateur
competitions. The bill ...
exempts certain activities from existing local regulatory authority --
the specific authority the Tamworth residents just happened to exercise
in their March 2004 town meeting. We
believe it sets a dangerous precedent for seeking legislative relief
from local regulation in pending cases where existing municipal and
state appeal processes should be used to resolve disagreements."
In
the last week, Focus: Tamworth has arranged meetings for groups of
interested citizens with state senator Joseph Kenney and state
representatives Mark McConkey, David Babson and Harry Merrow. At the May
13th meeting of the Tamworth selectmen, a letter signed by 50 Tamworth
residents was read, asking them to voice their objections to SB 458 and
its gutting of the RTO. The RTO committee was chaired by Lanette
Goodson, a member of the selectboard.
Also
at that meeting, Nate Hughes, a long-time member of Tamworth's School
Board, presented a letter stating the board's concern with the bill and
its removal of any controls on noise levels. Tamworth's K. A. Brett
elementary school is less than 1.5 miles from the proposed racetrack
site. "The School
Board is extremely concerned about the potential negative impact on the
learning process of the students," the letter states. "We
strongly urge you do everything in your power to fight for our town's
rights to implement our own ordinances and thereby maintain local
control. Thank you for taking into consideration our 264 students and
the 57 members of our faculty and staff at the K.A. Brett School."
On
May 12, the Tamworth Conservation Commission (TCC), which reviewed Club
Motorsports' application to the New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services (DES) for a wetlands dredge-and-fill permit,
submitted additional comments in light of the loss of the protections
and controls of Tamworth's RTO. The TCC too noted that there are now no
limits on the noise generated by the track. In a letter to Craig Rennie
of the DES, the TCC said: "Given that there is no limit on the
amount of noise the Applicant is allowed to produce, DES should require
the Applicant to provide additional details, based on on-site research
by experts in noise science, regarding the noise levels expected during
construction and operations and what impacts those noise levels may have
on wildlife, neighbors, cumulative impacts, and other environmental
aspects covered in the wetlands permit process."
Babson
and Merrow, who are New Hampshire House representatives for Tamworth and
several surrounding towns, tried unsuccessfully last week to repeal the
bill. Senator Joseph Kenney made an attempt to create a study committee
to address the issue of local control in the bill, which also failed.
Babson and Merrow have said they will introduce measures to repeal SB
458 as soon as possible in the next legislative session.
"We
appreciate the efforts of representatives Babson and Merrow to correct
this violation of Tamworth's right to local control," said Focus:
Tamworth spokesperson Greenhalgh. "We know that all our legislators
will work hard to restore the right to self-government for Tamworth and
other towns in New Hampshire."
Representative
Babson has also written a letter to Craig Rennie of the DES to request a
new hearing on the Club Motorsports application, since the passage of SB
458 did not come to light until after the DES hearing on April 27 and
could change the way the project impacts the town and the surrounding
area.
-end-
Note
to editors:
Text
of the additional TCC comments is available at www.focustamworth.org/Addendum-TCCComments11May04.pdf
NH
Municipal Assn statement is at www.nhmunicipal.org/Home/003890CF-000F8513-003890FD
Tamworth
School Board letter is available from Kate
Vachon
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