Windham Growth Management Subcommittee Recommendations

For years Londonderry has been told by certain Town Council members that there is little the town can do about the exploding growth of the Londonderry. The discussion of growth management has been addressed in the past, but shortly before and election and the discussion seems to end shortly after the votes are counted. Councilor Deb Paul has proposed a number of goals, growth management is one of them, and to date is working through the list.

Well Windham seems to have taken more aggressive approach. From the Windham Uncensored Facebook group:

Why we acted
Earlier this year, the Planning Board created a Growth Management Subcommittee to address the unprecedented pace of development in Windham and the strain it is putting on our schools, safety services, and infrastructure. State law gives us the ability to pause growth when services can’t keep up, and we saw it as our mandate to protect both taxpayers and service quality.

What we are proposing
The subcommittee has recommended a three-step plan:

Temporary Moratorium (12 months)
– A one-year pause on new high-impact development so the community has time to create a responsible plan.
This pause does not affect the average homeowner — you can still improve your property with things like porches, pools, or solar panels. We’ve also included a safeguard for individuals who recently bought a lot with the intent of building a primary residence, so families aren’t unfairly caught in the middle.

Short-Term Growth Management Ordinance (12–48 months, reviewed annually)
– Limited, measured growth while service capacity is monitored and improved.

Permanent Phased Development Rules
– Long-term zoning changes to ensure future development happens in step with schools, roads, safety, and water capacity.

This is essentially a five-year plan that ends with a permanent, sustainable solution.

What the data shows
Like many studies, the data confirmed what residents instinctively know: Windham can maintain services at today’s levels, but if growth continues unchecked, service quality will decline. The choice is stark:

• Higher taxes just to maintain today’s service levels, or
• Same taxes for fewer services and crowded schools, slower emergency response, and more traffic.

What happens next
The draft ordinance will now be evaluated by the Planning Board as a whole, go through workshops, and an official public hearing before it is finalized. The important part is this: the final decision belongs to you, the voters of Windham. On the March Town Warrant, you — not special interests — will decide whether Windham chooses sustainable growth or uncontrolled sprawl.

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Temporary Moratorium Ordinance

The Windham Planning Board recommends the voters of Windham NH (acting as the local legislative body) adopt the ordinance (hereafter referred to as the Temporary Moratorium) establishing a moratorium on the issuance of building permits, the granting of subdivisions and the granting of site plan approvals.

The Temporary Moratorium is adopted under RSA 674:23 do to the unusual circumstances affecting the ability of Windham NH to provide adequate services. These unusual circumstances require prompt attention and the development of a growth management process under RSA 674:22 which will include development of a growth management zoning ordinance (GMO), as well as any necessary alterations to the Windham Master Plan and/or Capital Improvements Program (CIP).

The circumstances giving rise to the need for the Temporary Moratorium are included in the appendix.

The term of the Temporary Moratorium shall be for one year (12 months).

The Temporary Moratorium applies to the following types and categories of development.

• Residential
• Commercial
• Industrial
• Land Use

Temporary Moratorium applies to all subdivision approvals and lot line adjustments.

Temporary Moratorium applies to all site plan approvals and building permits.

Temporary Moratorium applies to the entire area of the municipality of Windham NH.

Exempt Uses

The following types and categories have minimal or no impact on the circumstances giving rise to the moratorium and are exempt from the Temporary Moratorium.

• Improvements to existing single-family and duplex residential units (e.g., porches, walkways, fences, swimming pools, solar panels, attached ADUs).
• Structures used to moor vessels extending over the shoreline (i.e., docks).
• Fire and police stations, municipal administrative buildings (e.g., town hall)
• Libraries.
• Schools and educational institutions.
• Churches and places of worship.
• Parks, trails, public recreational facilities, conservation land improvements.
• Hospitals, medical facilities

Limited Impact Uses (Conditionally Exempt)
Neighborhood-scale dine-in restaurants, coffee shops, and personal service establishments are conditionally exempt if:

• No establishment exceeds 5,000 sq ft gross floor area;
• The combined total of such uses constructed or issued a certificate of occupancy during the moratorium does not exceed 12,000 sq ft town-wide;
• No single applicant, landowner, developer, or affiliated entity (including those under common ownership or control) exceeds 5,000 sq ft in total; and
• All proposals comply with DES septic design flow requirements and Windham’s soils-based lot sizing standards.

The Building Inspector shall track all floor area counted toward this exemption and deny any application that would exceed these limits.

Special Exception for Owner-Occupied Single-Family Dwellings

The Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) may grant a special exception to allow approval of a site plan and issuance of a building permit for a single-family dwelling if all the following conditions are met:

• Applicant is a natural person or a Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)
• If the applicant is a QPRT, all trustees of the trust will be considered applicants.
• Applicant has not received another special exception under this ordinance.
• Applicant is not acting on behalf of a developer, builder, trust, or business entity.
• The proposed dwelling will serve as the applicant’s primary residence for a minimum of one (1) year following issuance of a certificate of occupancy. The applicant shall submit a sworn affidavit attesting to this with the special exception application.
• The lot was lawfully created and recorded prior to July 1^st, 2025.
• The lot has not been subdivided, merged, or altered after July 1^st, 2025.
• The lot and/or dwelling is not part of any pending or proposed subdivision or multi-unit site plan application.
• There is no Affiliated Development.
• The dwelling shall be limited to a single residential unit.
• As a condition of approval, stating:
• ZBA must find that the proposal does not materially impact the circumstances giving rise to the moratorium.
• ZBA must find that the proposal aligns with the intent of this ordinance to preserve community infrastructure capacity.
• ZBA must find that the applicant has not attempted to circumvent the ordinance’s intent through indirect ownership or development.

The total number of special exceptions granted under this ordinance shall not exceed 0.25 percent of the Town’s housing stock as of the 2020 U.S. Census (5,575 units), equivalent to a maximum of 14 dwellings during the term of the moratorium.

Appendix (Planning Board Findings)

The circumstances giving rise to the need for the Temporary Moratorium are as follows:

• Capacity constraints of the local school system.
• Capacity constraints of public safety and emergency response services.
• Inadequate municipal infrastructure.
• Existing zoning ordinance based on soils-based lot sizing which has been rendered obsolete by recent RSAs.
• Inability of existing tax base to support increased development at current public service levels.

For purposes of these findings, “infrastructure” includes schools, roads, public safety facilities, and shared water resources. Septic systems are privately constructed and regulated by DES and Windham’s soils-based lot sizing standards, and are therefore not considered a municipal burden. Private wells, however, draw from shared aquifers and cumulative withdrawals from new development may affect community water capacity.

Recommended course of action to correct and alleviate circumstances:

• Develop a growth management process under RSA 674:22.
• Develop growth management zoning ordinance (GMO)
• GMO to be introduced at expiration of Temporary Moratorium
• Annual Planning Board review to update as necessary for a period of 5 years.
• Develop phased development ordinance to take effect at expiration of GMO.
• Modify Windham Master Plan as needed.
• Modify Capital Improvements Program (CIP) as needed.

Relates Posts:
Butler Moves To Create a Growth Management Ordinance
HB 471: A Commission to Study Solutions for Growth, Traffic, Planning, and land use in 10 Towns
Planning Board Web Page Removes Information
Town Council Goals for 2025
Related Links to NH State RSA:
Section: 674:22 Growth Management; Timing of Development.
Section: 674:23 Temporary Moratoria and Limitations on Building Permits and the Approval of Subdivisions and Site Plans.