Candidate Profile: Blair Weiss
Ahead of this Thursday’s (5/5) Peterborough Parley Debate and Salon and in preparation for next week’s Peterborough Town Meeting, GoMonadnock sent some basic questions to all candidates in contested races. We will be publishing candidate responses, unedited, as we receive them. —CJD
GoMo: What do you see as the proper role for a Planning Board in the State of New Hampshire?
The role of a planning board is to carry out the wishes of the voters by turning the Master Plan into zoning code. The board is also there to help applicants work through the same zoning code.
Is the Planning Board as it currently exists acting in what you see as the proper role or do you believe changes need to be made?
For the most part, yes. I think the board can work on itself in the form of education, which classes and seminars are held by the state for more education in planning.
If you had to choose one new Zoning Ordinance to put before the voters of Peterborough, what would it be and why?
In the last year of being an alternate on the planning board, a recurring theme keeps coming up and that is affordable housing. To some that means being able to place their "tiny house" on a piece of land. To others is placing a pre-manufactured house on a piece of land and to others it's building a second house on their parents land to live in. I would like to see an area of land that the town either owns or that can be purchased for the sole purpose allowing pre-manufactured housing and "tiny houses" on. While pre-manufactured houses are legal in Peterborough there is no designated place for them... there is no trailer park. And while "Tiny Houses" are very trendy on Instagram, for the most part due to their size are not code compliant. With enough people working on this problem, there will be a solution.
What are the ways in which you as a candidate are unique and distinct from your opponents in this race?
To be blunt, many of the members of the planning board are well seasoned, passionate and do a good job. I do however see an opportunity to be better planning board members. What I see for starters is a general non-professional manner of conducting meetings, while improvements have been made in the last couple of years, tune into other board meetings for an example of more professionally run meetings. I organize and host many meetings a week in my professional and personal life. I will strive to set a better example of how to be organized, respectful and courteous to town people, board members and town employees.
Tell us your vision for the future of Peterborough.
I have been a resident of Peterborough for 25+ years, I have also lived in Greenfield and Milford, NH. What initially brought me to Peterborough from Greenfield was the A&P, Grovers and The Pizza Barn. For me it was the perfect balance of not living in a large city (Milford) and having a diner that didn't close @ 2:00 pm. If I could wave a magic wand, I would bring high technology jobs back to Peterborough. I would like for people to be able to earn a living so that they can afford to live in town.
What else do you want our readers to know?
1st, please go out and vote on May 10th. We live in a wonderful country where we are allowed to vote for what we want. We might not always get our way, but without a vote, we will never get our way. If anyone would like a personal question answered, feel free to email me at blairweiss@gmail.com.