Review of Land Use and Local, Regional and State Planning Northern Pass Transmission Project October 2015 Prepared By: Normandeau Associates, Inc. 25 Nashua Road Bedford, NH 03110 www.normandeau.com REVIEW OF LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATE PLANNING Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1 2.0 REPORT METHODOLOGY..................................................................... 2 3.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...................................................................... 3 4.0 PREVAILING LAND USE....................................................................... 5 4.1 FORESTS ................................................................................... 6 4.2 AGRICULTURE .............................................................................. 7 4.3 RESIDENTIAL ............................................................................... 7 4.4 COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL AREAS ........................................................... 8 4.5 TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITIES ........................................................... 8 4.6 RECREATION................................................................................ 9 4.7 CONSERVATION LANDS..................................................................... 10 4.8 HISTORICAL/ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES ................................................. 10 4.9 WETLANDS AND WATER RESOURCES ....................................................... 10 4.10 WILDLIFE HABITAT......................................................................... 11 4.11 CONSISTENCY WITH PREVAILING LAND USES ............................................... 11 5.0 LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATE PLANNING...............................................11 5.1 REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSIONS ........................................................ 12 5.1.1. North Country Council (NCC) ................................................ 13 5.1.2. Lakes Region Planning Commission (LRPC) ................................ 14 5.1.3. Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission (CNHRPC)..... 15 5.1.4. Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC) ................ 15 5.2 WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST-LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN........... 16 5.3 SILVIO O. CONTE NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE REFUGE .................................. 18 5.4 RIVER CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLANS .................................................... 19 5.5 SCENIC BYWAYS AND ROADS ............................................................... 21 5.5.1. National Scenic Byways....................................................... 21 5.5.2. State Scenic Byways .......................................................... 21 5.5.3. Locally-Designated Scenic Roads............................................ 23 5.6 STATEWIDE PLANS......................................................................... 24 5.6.1. The New Hampshire Climate Action Plan (2009).......................... 24 5.6.2. New Hampshire State Development Plan (2000).......................... 25 5.6.3. A Statewide Snapshot: Granite State Future (2015)...................... 26 5.6.4. NH State Airport System Plan (2015) ....................................... 27 5.6.5. New Hampshire 10-Year State Energy Strategy (2014)................... 28 5.7 MUNICIPAL PLANS AND ORDINANCES ....................................................... 29 5.7.1. Master Plans.................................................................... 29 5.7.2. Zoning Ordinances............................................................. 30 5.8 LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATE PLANNING CONCLUSIONS ................................... 30 Northern Pass Transmission Project ii Normandeau Associates, Inc. REVIEW OF LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATE PLANNING ATTACHMENT A- LAND USE ALONG THE PROJECT CORRIDOR.............................. 1 TOWN OF PITTSBURG ............................................................................. 2 TOWN OF CLARKSVILLE ........................................................................... 5 TOWN OF STEWARTSTOWN........................................................................ 8 UNINCORPORATED PLACE OF DIXVILLE ........................................................... 11 UNINCORPORATED PLACE OF MILLSFIELD ......................................................... 14 TOWN OF DUMMER............................................................................... 17 TOWN OF STARK................................................................................. 20 TOWN OF NORTHUMBERLAND .................................................................... 23 TOWN OF LANCASTER............................................................................ 26 TOWN OF WHITEFIELD ........................................................................... 29 TOWN OF DALTON ............................................................................... 33 TOWN OF BETHLEHEM ........................................................................... 36 TOWN OF SUGAR HILL ........................................................................... 39 TOWN OF FRANCONIA............................................................................ 42 TOWN OF EASTON ............................................................................... 45 TOWN OF WOODSTOCK .......................................................................... 48 TOWN OF THORNTON ............................................................................ 51 TOWN OF CAMPTON ............................................................................. 54 TOWN OF PLYMOUTH ............................................................................ 57 TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER ......................................................................... 60 TOWN OF ASHLAND .............................................................................. 64 TOWN OF NEW HAMPTON........................................................................ 67 TOWN OF BRISTOL ............................................................................... 71 TOWN OF HILL................................................................................... 74 CITY OF FRANKLIN ............................................................................... 77 TOWN OF NORTHFIELD........................................................................... 81 TOWN OF CANTERBURY .......................................................................... 84 CITY OF CONCORD ............................................................................... 87 TOWN OF PEMBROKE ............................................................................ 91 TOWN OF ALLENSTOWN.......................................................................... 95 TOWN OF DEERFIELD ............................................................................ 98 Northern Pass Transmission Project iii Normandeau Associates, Inc. REVIEW OF LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATE PLANNING 1.0 Introduction The Northern Pass Transmission Project (“Northern Pass” or the “Project”) proposes to construct, operate and maintain a 158 mile High Voltage Direct Current (“HVDC”) electric transmission line extending from Pittsburg, New Hampshire to a converter terminal in Franklin, New Hampshire, and a 34 mile alternating current (“AC”) line from the terminal in Franklin to a substation in Deerfield, New Hampshire. This report examines the impacts of the construction and operation of the 192-mile facility on local land use. This assessment demonstrates that the impacts of construction and operation of the Project will not have an adverse effect on prevailing land uses. Land uses along the Project corridor include: forests, agriculture, residential, commercial/ industrial, transportation and utilities, recreation, conservation, historical, wetlands and water resources, and wildlife habitat. Approximately 100 miles of overhead line will follow existing transmission rights of way, and another 60 miles are located underground along state and local roadways. Thus, approximately 160 miles or 83% of the 192-mile Project follows pre-existing corridors. Over 80% of Project area communities will have the route located within or along an already developed right-of-way (“ROW”). Sound land use and environmental siting principles support locating the Project in existing rights of way because it minimizes impacts to existing land use, regional development, and the environment.1 The ROW between Pittsburg and Dummer is approximately 40 miles in length. Approximately 32 miles of this section of the ROW will be a new corridor between Pittsburg and Dummer and traverses sparsely populated land, primarily forested and managed for timber and recreational uses, which will continue largely uninterrupted. A total of eight miles of this portion of the ROW will be located underground along an existing ROW, further reducing impacts. In order to conduct this analysis, Normandeau examined local land use, regional and municipal master plans, as well as local regulations such as zoning ordinances. The Project is consistent with the prevailing land uses along the corridor and with the goals and objectives of long-range policy planning documents, and will not interfere with their implementation. 1 Decision in Portland Natural Gas Transmission System Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline Company, NH SEC, Docket No. 96-01 and Docket No. 96-03 (July 16th, 1997), available at http://www.nhsec.nh.gov/projects/1996/index.htm; Findings of the Bulk Power Facility Site Evaluation Committee,