Too often a town is caught up in growth before it begins to deal with it. Once a development proposal has been made, it's too late to stop it. Developers know a town's zoning regulations probably better than those who live there and realize if their proposal is made within those guidelines there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can be done to stop it. Efforts can be made, even zoning changed at the last minute, but there's always the courts which will read the regulations and, most often, approve the project if it is within those guidelines. But if the land isn't available, if it is protected by the town or a land trust organization, there is nothing developers can do but look elsewhere.
Residents talk, hold meetings, study options but find their efforts are futile.
If the bond issue is approved, North Hampton Forever will use the money to purchase conservation easements to preserve the land. It estimates the money will allow about 800 acres to be permanently protected. With that stock added to land already protected by other groups, about a quarter of the land available for development would be removed from the available stock. Protecting land from residential development in the long run protects the taxpayers by keeping the tax rate down. New homes mean more pressure on infrastructure, including schools, and that is a very costly.