William Marvel

By William Marvel

On the eve of Conways town meeting it might be worth mentioning Article 25 again, especially since at least two of the selectmen have changed their position on it in light of new information. That was the article that would burden taxpayers with the responsibility for maintaining Henderson Road.This article illustrates the danger of allowing subdivisions on Class VI town roads. Most of the seemingly abandoned roads in the old hill districts are Class VI roads: they tend to be used as ski trails, bridle paths, and mountain-bike corridors, and often they cant be negotiated by any but the most rugged four-wheel-drive vehicles. The rights of way on those roads still belong to the town, but landowners can make them passable at their own expense if they choose.That was the situation on Henderson Road when a developer bought a large tract there and sought a subdivision. Davis Hill Road touches his land at a single point, and that may have persuaded the planning board members to grant the subdivision, which state law would have allowed them to deny for lack of adequate access. The original parcel had one single-family home on it; after the subdivision and a couple of years of development and flag-waving sales efforts, there is still only the one single-family home on it.If the developments entrance road were on private land, the selectmen would not have recommended that the town accept it for public maintenance because it doesnt serve enough taxable property. Because the road lies within the ancient town right of way, however, the developer has only to convince the townspeople to upgrade it to Class V in order to achieve the same undeserved benefit.For some reason, the selectmen voted unanimously to recommend that action. At the deliberative meeting the board chairman suggested that they did so in hopes that it would encourage construction there, so the town could realize some tax revenue. Investing public resources for the benefit of a single developer constitutes a completely inappropriate use of those resources, as well as reflecting a naive conception that residential development results in a net gain to town coffers. It also reverses the 200-year-old requirement for a road to serve adequate taxable property in return for municipal road maintenance.At the deliberative meeting there was no parliamentary vehicle for the selectmen to reconsider their vote on Article 25 because it wasnt a "money" articlealthough it would end up costing the town plenty of money, since Henderson Road bisects a substantial swamp. Since that discussion at town meeting Ive spoken with two of the selectmen, and both assured me that they regretted having voted to recommend the article. I havent spoken with the other three, but considering the press of business just prior to town meeting its perfectly understandable that selectmen might have to vote on issues without hearing all the arguments for or against them, and without fully understanding all the impacts of their decisions. Selectmen have been criticized for changing their votes on different topics, but I find it just as courageous to reverse oneself on the receipt of new information as it is to stand ones ground in the face of intense pressure from special interests.It has been suggested to me that my neighborhood on Davis Hill Road would become a lot more quiet if Henderson Road were simply brought up to modern standards for its entire length. That would likely divert most of the daily traffic away from my vicinity, but rebuilding the road through that swamp would resurrect the same burden of disproportionate expenses and eternal problems that the original settlers encountered.In recent years, town meetings have grown more reluctant to take over the newest development roads, even when they do meet road standards and minimum evaluation criteria. Voters have a perfect right to refuse such requests, and that may be the peoples backhanded way of discouraging rampant development when town or state institutions cannot or do not impose sufficient checks. If voters are going to deny town maintenance on development roads that already serve enough taxable property, then they certainly shouldnt be granting it to developments that come nowhere near the minimum. William Marvel lives in South Conway.