Many factors, both internal and external to the operation of a business, affect the decision of a business owner or entrepreneur to expand in his or her present location or to locate in a new area. Some of the external factors that affect the decision include the impact of state and federal environmental regulations, local land use regulations, the availability of water, septic disposal, three phase electric power, telephone service, the potential for improvements to the area's transportation network, the availability of a skilled and motivated workforce and the impressions of existing manufacturers. A tangible commitment on the part of the local government, the Greater Ossipee Area Chamber of Commerce and its Economic Development Committee to industrial retention and attraction is essential for the success of this effort.

Local Land Use Regulations

An adopted Master Plan is the local government's basic policy document that recommends where growth should occur in a community whereas the zoning ordinance is the legal document that permits certain land uses to be constructed in specific locations. With the exception of the Town of Sandwich (1995), all of the towns in the six town study area completed Master Plans in the 1980s.

Master Plan Summary The following is a summary statement as to each town's economic development goal as indicated in its most recent Master Plan. The Town of Effingham wishes "to encourage small-scale economic development activities, which are consistent with the Town's existing rural character." The Town prefers small service and professional businesses, home occupations and "limited light industry" consistent with the existing economic conditions. The Town of Freedom states very clearly that "it does not desire to become a center for major industrial and commercial growth." The Town encourages home occupations and professional businesses that meet land use standards and "restricts commercial and industrial development to selected locations along the main roads." The Town of Madison's Master Plan basicly calls for the retention of the existing economic base. The Town of Ossipee is the town most desirous of attracting new industry and maintaining its existing base. The Town's Master Plan (1983) states that the Town should encourage the location of new industries through publicity and should "identify sites in the sewer service area" for small businesses to be integrated with the existing land use pattern. The Plan recommends "establishment of an industrial park" and the creation of an industrial development committee to encourage northward expansion of rail service along with marketing of the area. The Ossipee Plan also recommends that the Town and the business community work to develop "a system of directional sign plazas" to guide the traveling public to local businesses. The basic goal for the Town of Tamworth is "to preserve the rural atmosphere and scenic beauty." The Town desires to "encourage diverse employment opportunities for residents" and "guide quality commercial and ... low impact development to appropriate locations." The Town of Sandwich Master Plan is very supportive of agriculture, home business, professional offices and retail businesses. A recently completed economic development study stresses the importance of assisting and retaining existing in-place businesses. In conclusion, the Town of Ossipee offers the most potential for the attraction of new industries to the area in terms of community support.

Zoning Ordinance Summary While the basic intent of land use regulations is quite laudable, such as the maintenance and enhancement of a particular community's scenic and aesthetic characteristics, the practical application of these regulations by a well intentioned Planning Board can make it difficult for an existing or potential light industrial or manufacturing concern to expand. The following review of current land use regulations for the Towns of Effingham, Freedom, Madison, Ossipee, Sandwich and Tamworth is not intended to be a critique, but rather a review of how they help or hinder opportunities for the expansion of the area's existing manufacturing base which consists primarily of machine tool and wood products industries. Some communities, through their zoning ordinance, have restricted or eliminated light industrial and manufacturing uses in an effort to preserve their present residential and open space environment. The Towns of Effingham and Tamworth have not enacted a zoning ordinance.

In accordance with New Hampshire planning enabling legislation, municipalities have the authority to review and regulate new development, the expansion and/or change of commercial and industrial uses through site plan review. However, a municipality must first have enacted a zoning ordinance and the Town Meeting empowered the Planning Board with site plan review powers and the Planning Board adopted a set of site plan review regulations prior to the Board's exercising this land use regulatory authority. Madison, Ossipee, and Sandwich have adopted site plan review regulations.

Effingham The Town of Effingham has not enacted a Zoning Ordinance and thus cannot invoke site plan review authority under NH RSA 674:43. In April, 1973, the Town adopted Subdivision Regulations which requires a minimum area of two (2) acres for a lot and 200 feet of frontage.

Freedom The Town of Freedom's Zoning Ordinance became effective as of March, 1990. As one of its Zoning Districts, the Town has created a "LC" Light Commercial District, which permits light commercial uses as a special exception to the ordinance. As an objective of this District, the ordinance states the following: "However, the Town wishes to limit the size and effect of light commercial uses to help preserve the Town's residential and scenic character." The ordinance defines Light Commercial as: "An operation of a commercial nature which includes businesses and professional offices, retail stores, light assembly and fabricating operations, facilities for the storage of construction equipment and/or building supplies and service establishments." The LC District is limited to prescribed areas of NH Route 153 and NH Route 25.

Madison When the Town's zoning ordinance was drafted in 1987, one result of the ordinance was to recognize and thus legitimize existing land uses without allowing the opportunity for expansion. The zoning ordinance includes a Commercial District which lists as permitted uses: (1) Any commercial use, subject to site plan review; and (2) Residential. Commercial is defined as: "A use primarily concerned with the marketing of goods or services." The ordinance defines Light Industry and Machine Shop, but it does list them as permitted uses, even though the Town is currently home to such land uses. Thus, the zoning ordinance "grandfathers" those uses as pre-existing non-conforming uses. In its zoning update the Town should consider establishing an industrial zone for those existing forest and wood products uses and machine shops so that they would be allowed to expand in a natural manner.

The Town has a comprehensive and extensive set of site plan review regulations. Since the Town's current zoning ordinance is restrictive in nature, it is unlikely that the Town would ever experience the scale and type of development envisioned by the site plan review regulations.

Ossipee In 1988 towards the end of the economic expansion and probably in reaction to the significant amount of growth along NH Route 16, the Town adopted its first zoning ordinance. The zoning ordinance defines and allows the following uses: residential, commercial, institutional, open space, industrial and accessory. In the industrial uses category, the Town allows commercial earth excavation, light industry, printing and publishing and sawmills. Light industry is permitted in the Roadside Commercial, Commercial and Rural zones so long as the Performance Floating Zone Standards (PFZ) are met. The PFZ standards deal with concerns such as traffic, noise, dust, glare, storm water runoff, hazardous materials, explosive materials, water quality, landscaping and refuse disposal. Reviewing proposed industrial uses against a set of objective performance standards is an appropriate and progressive method for a municipality to deal with concerns resulting from industrial uses. Proper application and enforcement of the zoning ordinance is impacted by the limited time (4 hours/week) of the Town's part time Codes Enforcement Officer.

The Geohydrology and Water Quality of Stratified Drift Aquifer in the Saco and Ossipee River Basins East-Central New Hampshire, 1995, documents the extent of the large underground aquifer in the greater Ossipee area. Since the Town is concerned with the protection of this very important natural resource, the Town amended its zoning ordinance in 1989 by including a Water Resources Protection District whose intent is to protect the aquifer from harmful types of land uses. The district provides for a special use permit based on the submittal of specific documentation and mitigation plans. The district provides adequate protection and is consistent with those found in other Towns and reasonable developers should be able to comply with its requirements.

The Town's Site Plan Review Regulations, adopted in March, 1994, are basic and minimum in terms of procedures and the requirements that an applicant must address.

Sandwich The Town adopted a Zoning Ordinance in 1969 and has added various amendments over that time frame. The Zoning Ordinance includes the following zoning districts: rural/residential, historic, commercial, shoreland and skyline. The commercial district permits retail stores, retail establishments, professional offices, and light industry, such as mail order, electronic/electrical assembly, machine tool operations. Commercial districts are defined as land lying easterly within 2000 feet of the centerline of NH Route 25 from the Moultonboro -Sandwich town line to Weed Brook, TM R-2 # 36, and all lands lying northerly within 2000 feet of the centerline of NH Route 25 from the Tamworth - Sandwich town line to Meadow Brook. The Town appears to be very conscientious in reviewing and amending the Zoning Ordinance when necessary.

The Town's Site Plan Review Regulations, adopted in 1983 were amended in 1990. Considering the Town's size and relative lack of development, the Regulations are adequate and should not be a burden for a light industry desiring to expand or to locate in Sandwich.

Tamworth Since the Town decided, on several occasions, not to enact a Zoning Ordinance and consequently, without zoning, it cannot adopt Site Plan Review Regulations. Therefore, there are no locational or land use standards for industrial or manufacturing uses in Town. In the Town's subdivision regulations, the minimum lot size is based on the soils and slope table prepared as part of the Carroll County Soil Survey by the US Soil Conservation Service.

The following is a summary of the six town's existing land use regulations and their potential impact on existing or prospective industrial or manufacturing concerns.

Table 16: Comparison of Town Zoning/Land Use Regulations

Town	Zoning	Comments	Site Plan Regulations	Comments
Effingham	--	--	--	--
Freedom	1987	Restrictive	--	--
Madison	1987	Restrictive	1988	Comprehensive
Ossipee	1988	Growth based	1994	Basic
Sandwich	1969	Growth	1983	Adequate on Highways
Tamworth	--	--	--	--