At the local, regional, and national levels, much of my age group has simply never known a fair housing market. Businesses struggle to recruit employees and many of us have “leapfrogging” commutes to higher cost-of-living places while many state workers similarly commute from other places because Concord is unaffordable to them. Homelessness is visible in Concord, and unhoused individuals and families have been exposed to record climate events in recent winters and summers.

• It was disappointing to arrive as a new resident to find out ConcordNEXT was no longer going to be implemented. I want to adopt a modern, dynamic zoning ordinance that allows Concord to evolve by leaning into its “villages” and avoids sprawl and exclusionary development patterns. There is no no-build solution to the housing crisis.
• Time adds costs, and administrative delays faced at City Hall are a barrier. I want Concord to be the first community in New Hampshire to institute pre-approved plans. When neighborhoods are allowed to proactively determine their community’s “character,” we can compile a sample of appropriate homes that can automatically be approved at city hall, dramatically reducing costs for potential homeowners.
• We are severely lacking in Missing Middle housing. We are a typical New England city with large old homes, as well as a dense downtown with apartments over our Main Street. There are contemporary examples of both as well, with sprawling subdivisions and newer apartment blocks. We need transitional housing, starter homes, rowhomes, and basement, attic, and garage apartments readily available near our schools, grocery stores, and city services. They must not be bogged down by parking, lot size, and frontage requirements as I have seen in my time on the zoning board and in working with other communities’ zoning ordinances in my day job.