Has the ‘quality of life’ in Londonderry improved over the last 15 years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have more traffic, more spending, more development, and no end in sight. Here is a video from the \u20182010 Town Council Candidate Forum<\/a>\u2019 where a question about \u2018Spending & Quality of life how it relates to open space\u2018 was asked. The first person to answer was candidate for Town Council John Farrell who was elected in 2010 and has been on the Town Council for the last 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Has anything gotten better in the last 14 years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Farrell stated in 2010 he was aware of the sale of the Woodmont Apple orchards two years prior to the video. He claims that information was brought to the Town Manager and Town Council at the time. As I recall when the sale of the Woodmont Apple orchard came out in the paper everyone was surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key here is that Woodmont as it\u2019s built today could not have been built with the zoning regulations in place in 2008 and 2009. The property was zoned AR1, which only allowed residential and agricultural uses. Woodmont could only have been built using the Planned Unit Development (PUD) that the Planning Board created, and the Town Council passed in January 2010. See History of the Planned Unit Development (PUD)<\/a> for the Town Council meeting where the PUD was discussed and passed. To quote Town Councilor Brian Farmer when the PUD was passed: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis can forever change the face of Londonderry, this ordinance, what we are doing right here, can forever change Londonderry\u201d Councilor Brian Farmer 1\/4\/2010<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did the Town Council know about the pending sale of Woodmont when they passed the PUD? John Farrell sat on the Planning Board in prior to 2010. In a recent candidate video<\/a> Mr. Farrell stated he was invited to a meeting with Woodmont by Planning Board Chairman Art Rugg. Were other members of the Planning Board aware of the sale?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Woodmont was sold I recall reading in the papers that the developer said he had been watching the development of the PUD. I believe the sale was announced just weeks after the Town Council passed the PUD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n