Keep Hollis residential

Friday, February 26, 2010

To the Editor:

Here we go again. The town of Hollis is caught between a rock and a hard place because of its so-called spot zoning. We’re referring, of course, the predicament that Doug Orde and surrounding neighbors are in on Depot Road.

The neighbors are on residential zoned land and Orde is on business-agriculture zoned land, and they are located next to each other. So the town, wanting to avoid a lawsuit, has once again brought before Hollis voters the chance to change Hollis zoning. This change will allow zoning board members to vote on select cases individually.

We have great respect for Doug Orde and the zoning board in town. Doug put in our leach field when we built our house years ago, and he did a great job. But we also own a half million dollar home and property next to the same type of zoned land.

We built our house 20 years ago in its location because the town of Hollis made us. Hollis residents voted down any zoning changes just a couple years ago, and we want to make sure that vote stands.

If you reside in North, West or South Hollis and the above vote goes through, your property could end up looking like the flea market area here in North Hollis. The town told us 40 years ago they’d protect home owners in the North End, but we all know that’s not what happened.

The zoning board in Hollis is a good group of volunteers. However, once something has passed in town, they rarely have the time to keep an eye on whatever has been passed, resulting in home depreciation, problems with water and lots of traffic to name a few.

If you’re a Hollis voter go to the polls and vote this proposed change down. The town of Hollis is a nice residential community, let’s keep it that way for all property owners regardless of where we live.

Robert and Gail Maloney

Hollis