GRAFTON COUNTY TOWNS ARE RALLYING TOWARD COMMUNITY RIGHTS-BASED ORDINANCES; MEETINGS DEC. 16 AND 20

December 16, 2017
www.laconiadailysun.com/opinion/letters/110150-michelle-sanborn-12-14-413-grafton-county-towns-are-rallying-toward-community-rights-based-ordinances

To The Daily Sun,
Rep. Vincent Migliore, from Grafton District 9, recently hand-delivered letters to the selectmen in his towns, encouraging them to act quickly to explore Rights-Based Ordinances (RBO) which assert local authority to defend against projects that violate the inherent and inalienable right of residents to protect the health, safety and welfare of their community.
Time is extremely short for towns affected by Northern Pass to get organized and place an RBO on the town warrant, but where there is a will, there is a way! When it comes to your quality of life and that of your community, it’s never too late to make the effort to enact an RBO. In fact, that is exactly what Plymouth residents are doing. Joining them in educating themselves about community rights are Ashland, Bridgewater and Bristol. The Selectboard of Ashland voted unanimously to have an RBO drafted for their consideration at Town Meeting and the Selectboards of Bridgewater and Bristol agreed to host educational workshops for their community residents.
The Ashland Community Rights Workshop — Why an RBO? Is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m. at the Common Man in Ashland. Bridgewater is holding their workshop on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Bridgewater Town Hall, and Bristol is holding their Protect People & Places workshop on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 1 p.m. at the Bristol Town Offices (with a possible alternate location of the Old Town Hall if we exceed capacity at the town offices). You can find details of these events on the N.H. Community Rights Network (NHCRN) Facebook page.
This grassroots Community Rights Movement has inspired an effort to unite state legislators across-the-aisle to recognize community rights within our state constitution’s Bill of Rights. Rep. Migliore is one of the bi-partisan co-sponsors of the resulting N.H. Community Rights Amendment, CACR-19. His endorsement of this amendment directly supports the towns he is encouraging to explore RBOs, and those dozen that have already done so across the Granite State.
We have the right and a duty to protect the future of our children, our communities, and our natural environments. I am ready and willing to assist any community interested in recognizing, securing, and protecting their right to determine the kinds of futures they envision. Contact me via email at michelle@celdf.org, or by phone at 603-524-2468. Learn more about the N.H. Community Rights Amendment by visiting www.nhcommunityrights.org. The time is now, and the who is US!
Michelle Sanborn
N.H. Community Organizer for CELDF and volunteer Coordinator for NHCRN
Alexandria