Yes, Nick Tamposi bought it. The Champlain's are leasing it. Nick is also an investor in other area businesses but chooses to remain in the background.

You make good points but the vast majority of the budgets are for the schools and that is something that older people do not use.

I am a senior and pay over $20,000 per year in real estate taxes. Other than snow plowing I use very little of the town services. I have owned the current home for over 20 years have never needed the police or fire department, but it is nice to know they are there.

I spend winters in Florida so there is not much chance I will need those services, or any town services, for 6 months of the year. In my opinion the town is making a profit on me.

Tilton BB--Understood. Property taxes are the biggest expense in my (retirement) budget too. $10K to Gilford for an island camp with little or no police, fire, school, roads etc. Five months a year access. I can't moor overnight in Glendale, so I have to have a mainland slip, $1500 taxes, but for club dues I get some level of private security. The roads I use are state roads so NH maintains those, not Gilford.

However, we need schools to bring up a new generation who will take care of us oldsters, staff the PD and FD, hospitals, sell us retail goods, etc. If the town can't make a little profit off of us the younger generation will move and set us adrift. We are luckier than those who really can't pay their taxes.

The tax equation is really not relevant.

I’d like to see NH do something like MA’s “Circuit Breaker”. It would be harder because there is no state income tax to credit but, they need a way to help seniors out.

For those who don’t know, circuit breaker is a credit that is calculated based on your property taxes, income, and assessed value of your home and is a credit you get regardless if you pay income taxes. If you don’t pay taxes you get a refund check anyway. It can be as high as 3,000+ (can’t remember the actual amount).


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They have senior discounts against property taxes.
It transfers the cost of services onto the younger generation making their housing more expensive... one of the reasons we have a labor shortage with skyrocketing prices.

The Alton Warrant Article Failed
 

The "Flex Zoning" Warrant Article in Alton failed 495 to 403. This is a small but sweet victory, and the residents of Alton have made their voices heard. Thank you to all that voted against this zoning change!

You have to be at poverty level income, in most towns, to get those discounts.

Taxes lowere?
 

Having owned/lived in the same house in Gilford since mid 1990s I am still waiting for my tax bill to decrease.

I said taxes will be lower, not lowered. If you took the wealthy with expensive homes off the tax rolls your taxes would be higher than they are now.

Correct.
They aren't going to shift taxes from a rich person to poor person.

By more than most can estimate...

Still, that's a relatively close vote. Is this going to be one of those things that comes up year after year until either the proponents or opposition wear out? Moultonborough rec complex for example.

I would guess being private development... probably not.
It is easier just to reconfigure the property in a manner that fits in with current zoning regulation and get under way.

Smart capital doesn't like to rest.

So does this vote end the viability of the Cherry Valley project? I am sure the owners will continue to push this forward somehow.

I found some of the other warrants in the ballot of interest as well but the majority of the votes involved the zoning and that tells you something right there.

The flexible zoning probably had no relation to this project. Flex zoning houses would have been limited to 1,200 sq ft with a garage no larger than 576 sq ft. More like "workforce housing" than luxury housing. The flex zoning was like cluster development by another name.

Alan

Part of the Project?
 

I see that Stone Brook Hills will be before the Gilford Planning Board this Monday (meeting starts at 7pm) dealing with a subdivision off of Cherry Valley Road, said subdivision consisting of a 27.9 acre lot being subdivided into 4 lots - one lot of 5 acres, the second of 6 acres, the third of 8.2 acres, and the fourth lot 8.7 acres in size.

Stone Brook Hills also owns a lot of property on Glidden Road, with one subdivision on either side of Glidden Road, of which some of those lots have a lot line along the Gilford/Alton line.

The new subdivision butts up against the Gilford/Alton line as well, located just north of the existing Glidden Road subdivision.

Might this be the the parcel mentioned above?

I also know that there is another parcel south of the Glidden Road subdivision that might also meet the description. It is also owned by Stone Brook Hills.

The Glidden Rd parcel that I posted of is one of them.
But the Cherry Valley parcel is another.

The division of the lot into those smaller parcels will actually make them too small to gather the interest of wealthy homeowners.

High end compounds can be made reasonably on two acres... so the desire for 10 or more is actually a focus on the current use taxing principle. The larger lot provides for more privacy, while allowing all land that is not put toward added development into a reduced taxation state.

I am guessing they will market these to buyers of a more modest means.

The two existing Glidden Road subdivisions have lot sizes running from 5 acres to 12 acres. Because those lots include a considerable amount of wetlands, there is between 1 and 2 acres of buildable area on those lots.

The ones that I have spoken to that want these large lots are not thinking of developing the land more than a rather small footprint.
It is more about the privacy of not having neighbors right next to them, and not being on the lake were the public and come right up near the house.

The appeal of lower taxes once your holding is large enough to meet the passive current use requirement is a major draw over the 5-10 acre parcel that when built on will not.

School Support
 

You/your family may not use the school system, but it (school system) is one of the biggest factors in determining real estate value(s). You should ALWAYS support the school system.

If you have kids, your kids were educated by the contributions (real estate taxes) of others most likely. Public education is a social contract….like social security. It’s part of living in a cooperative society. Look closely at Scandinavian countries…they are the worlds happiest places ( even with long, cold winters) because they seriously take care of each other with basic standards of living.

Actually, the buyers being discussed are not looking at either the school system or the property tax rates in their search for property.

Alton and Gilford use two different school systems to my knowledge and have two very different tax rates.

The only difference that I have noted in this group is that they are coming by air rather than highway; or at least need easy access to the airport for business trips. I am guessing the drive from Manchester on Friday evenings must be brutal.

It All Depends
 

If they're flying commercial I can see where driving up from Manchester might be a chore. However, if they have enough money they can probably use Net Jets and fly directly into Laconia if they're coming from some distance. If they live in the Boston area then a helicopter might make sense because then they can fly directly to the property and get there in less than an hour.

It all depends upon time - how much they're willing use to get there - and money - how much they're willing to spend to get there.

They aren't considering these second homes.

I don't think we can make that assumption. Yes, some will be primary residences but some will be second...or third...or fourth homes. Goodness knows we see that on Governor's Island.

Does Governor's Island even have ten plus acre lots?

Sort of. The GIC owns a 47 acre parcel on Summit Ave that is in current use. I guess there could be other inland parcels.

But it isn't for sale and buildable is it?

There are a number of houses on Summit Ave and around Governor's that are not shorefront. That parcel certainly isn't wetlands. Being owned by all the association members, it probably isn't for sale today. Summit Ave goes straight from the bridge up, up intro the middle of the island. The Gilford tax assessment database lists several properties on Summit Ave.

If they go up for sale...
I could probably find them a buyer.
As long as they don't carry too many covenants.

Its most likely deeded common land for the association.

The four variances are on the agenda for the June 6 ZBA meeting; should the developer achieve those variances, she will then submit her site plan for review by the Planning Board.

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...ec697c2c5.html

This looks like a public relations, damage control puff piece by the Daily Sun, written for the benefit of the owner and developer. They failed to mention that there is an application for a Special Exception for the Commercial Event Facility, which is much different and has a higher approval threshold than just a simple variance. Why didn't the reporter take the time to visit the surrounding neighborhoods of Alton and Gilford to get input from abutters, taxpayers and others that will be negatively impacted by this development?

Time to write letters to the editor of the Daily Sun.

Headquartered in Boston, Toast Inc (NASDAQ symbol TOST) was founded in 2011 and is capitalized at $14B+. NASADAQ is down a little today, but TOST was up 11.4% when I looked a few minutes ago.. Toast has a variety of software products for restaurant and hospitality management, so it appears they have expertise and funding to do a "fun" project in Alton. I would rather they rebuild Kimball's Castle than develop a rural zoned mountain top in Alton. Or buy the Laconia State School.

The problem with LSS, is that the State wants the full boat to cover the risks associated with the mix of historical and environmental negatives on the property. They also want some format of workforce housing in the proposal (not that easy to do with what Toast wants to do) and have encumbered the property with a permanent public access trail even beyond the road to the State park.

The property being proposed hasn't got all those issue with it.

The Sun made no mention of the active opposition. The Facebook group that was created to counter this development now has over 1,000 members.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/700026178785409

Alan

But it does have a lot of fired-up abutters, neighbors and taxpayers in Alton and Gilford that are not going to roll over and play dead.

Today I sent an email to Adam Drapcho who wrote the article in today's sun. He was not aware of the opposition. Adam would like to hear from any "opposition leader" and he would consider a follow up article. Adam is a balanced reporter and he was not aware of the opposition. So thoughtful replies are suggested.

His email: ad@laconiadailysun.com

Alan

I'm quite certain, but moving from one to the other doesn't really make sense.

And Laconia is going to need to find some land to satisfy HB1361