DRAFT - Revised WRL 5/13/5

ABOUT THE MASTER PLAN

The purpose of the Master Plan is to set down as clearly and practically as possible the best and most appropriate future development of the Town of Waterville Valley. The plan will aid the Selectmen and the Planning Board in designing ordinances and regulations that result in preserving and enhancing the unique quality of life and culture in our town. It will guide both in the performance of their duties in a manner that achieves the principles of smart growth, sound planning and wise resource protection. (RSA 674:2 I)

In developing the plan, the Planning Board is attempting to look twenty-five years into the future and define what our town should look like and be like then. The Board has held numerous meetings with the various constituencies in town and has solicited input from all members of the community, many of whom have generously given their time and thoughts. Still, the Board is humbled by the challenges that lie ahead, and asks for the assistance of the public as it moves forward in the quest to develop a great town to live in, work in and visit.

The Master Plan is a living document intended to provide guidance and leadership, but also, to reflect changing conditions that might impact our town. Your continuing support and input is necessary to ensure that our town becomes what we all wish it to become.

By New Hampshire statute, The Waterville Valley Planning Board is responsible for producing a Master Plan (RSA 674:1)

The plan is to provide the vision that will assist the citizens, town officials and the Planning Board in formulating plans and policies that will affect the future development and growth of Waterville Valley. The Master Plan has no regulatory power, so the Planning Board, or, when appropriate, the Selectmen or citizens (by town vote) must decide any actions taken to implement any part of this plan.

The Master Plan has been adopted under RSA 675:6 with the understanding that it will be updated at least every five years.

·        DJ, etc.    *** list each member on the board at signing

Signed this  ____ day of  ______________, 2005

WATERVILLE VALLEY: A NEW ENGLAND SHANGRI-LA

Throughout its 176-year history, Waterville Valley has been treasured for its intimate size and the way it disappears within the undulating cradle of the surrounding 4,000-foot mountains, hidden from the rest of the world. Waterville has been a refuge since the late 1800s, when city dwellers came for summers of mountain air, tennis, golf, fly-fishing and seclusion. By the 1930s, winter sports began attracting visitors, with the rising popularity of downhill skiing.

In the mid-1960s, two-time Olympic ski racer Tom Corcoran scoured New England looking for a mountain he could develop into a year-round ski resort. When he saw Waterville – which had a couple of rope tows and trails, an inn, and 500 acres for sale – Corcoran knew it was the place. For the next thirty or so years, Waterville Valley grew slowly and steadily under a comprehensive master plan developed by Corcoran’s Waterville Company.

Today’s Waterville Valley is a rare and precious resort community. Ours is a town whose families express concern about how the valley operates, who become loyal friends, who rally to each other’s sides during times of need. We are an involved community that reads  “town”, not just “resort package”. Yet the community can mind its own business and “live free or die” as our state motto suggests. (Adapted from a work in “Mountain Views” by Jan Stearns.)

 Chapter One

GENERAL STATEMENT

Introduction

A town’s most basic resource is its land, and the use of this resource determines to a very large extent the character and quality of life for the community. The rate, location and type of growth placed upon the various resources creates the appearance and efficiency of the town’s built and natural environment. A well-planned community establishes a system for determining which uses occur on what lands and that community’s aesthetics are a reflection of this system. The Master Plan is the foundation to this planning system.

In its purest form, the Master Plan is a series of reports, maps diagrams and statements designed to chart Waterville Valley’s development. The Master Plan inventories and evaluates socioeconomics, housing, natural resources, community facilities, transportation, historic resources, town government and whatever other characteristics make the town unique. It recognizes the community’s past achievements, assesses its present dynamics and projects its future character. From this analysis, the Master Plan proposes goals and objectives designed to manage the inevitable future growth to the benefit of the community and its residents. These goals and objectives often take the form of proposed land use regulations, zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, capital improvement programs, site plan review regulations, town ordinances and statements of direction.

The Master Plan, however, is much more than a static document. It is the result of an intensive planning process and therein its greatest strength lies. Communities that regularly amend and update their Master Plan understand the benefits to continued re-evaluation of the community’s resources and their appropriate use.

Waterville Valley is not a typical rural New Hampshire town. It is a completely self -contained year-round resort community designed with vision and developed with a strong planning process. Aspects of Waterville Valley that make it unique are its geographic features, the housing mix and quality of development of the approximately 529 acres on the valley floor of the village, its high seasonal population and the stunning beauty of the town surrounded by National Forest. Consequently, grouping it with other subregional, geographic units is often inappropriate.

General Goal Statement

Waterville Valley seeks to be a self-contained residential four-season resort community with extensive recreational, educational and leisure-oriented amenities and activities; a community that protects and enhances the great natural beauty of the valley while providing a high level of services and facilities for residents, property owners and visitors.

In the mid-1990s, the Waterville Company, which had been the primary developer in Waterville Valley for many years, sold its holdings in the ski area, conference center and Town Square while retaining its real estate holdings and other assets. This change from a “one company town” has had, and will continue to have profound effects on our community.

Land Use: The original Waterville Company’s master plan (not to be confused with the Town of Waterville Valley Master Plan) reflected the symbiotic relationship between the town and the ski area, especially in the area of land development.  When the Waterville Company owned the ski area, their master plan reserved large tracts of land for high density residential and commercial development that would provide a bed base and business infrastructure to support a growing skiing and resort environment.

Recent and planned development has shifted from high-density condominiums and lodges to lower density residential homes. This is encouraging more families to become full time residents, enhancing our community and providing a larger population base that is helping us become more than just a resort – we are a real town now.  Many of our new residents are older adults that have chosen the valley as an ideal place to retire.

Eight seven percent of the land within the Village has now been fully developed and real estate is scarce and appreciating rapidly.  Our challenge is to ensure that our limited land resources are properly utilized so that we maintain opportunities to attract a diverse population base and to support balanced growth of the recreational business base.  It is necessary to project the future needs of our residents and property owners, our visitors, our local businesses and our resort businesses to ensure that an appropriate amount of land is available to support both balanced growth and the infrastructure needed to support our town when it is fully developed.

Economic Factors: The economic strength of the town comes from a variety of sources. The ski area was the primary attraction and contributor to the economy in years past. As the town has developed, other strong contributors to the economy have developed. The summer season has expanded dramatically and the various businesses in the Valley are providing an economic base.

The town’s economy is still fragile, however. Many businesses rely on the weather, the economy, a strong tourism structure and/or major capital expenditures to remain competitive and fuel growth. If the businesses that contribute so much to the economic vitality of our town experience declines, then the town and its residents will also be effected. Town government, the business community and the residents of the town will be well served by actively working together for the benefit of all.

Changing Demographics: The number of full time residents is increasing steadily. Waterville Valley is a beautiful town: more and more people want to live here on an extended or full-time basis. Long time property owners are choosing to live or retire here.

These trends are expected to continue and will affect many of the services and amenities of the town. Schools, emergency services, water, traffic, roads, waste and sanitary facilities and recreation programs are just some examples of potential impact.

While the growth in permanent residents is welcome, many of newest residents are retirees.  Our challenge is to encourage a diverse population mix and provide housing opportunities for the employees and owners of the businesses within the Valley.

Infrastructure: The town’s infrastructure is very solid and will provide excellent support for our community for many years. It has been designed with vision and has been well maintained. Nevertheless, it is aging, and will require continued attention and investment to remain in peak condition. We will have more roads to maintain, more sidewalks to plow and more buildings to keep in repair as the town continues to build out.

All of these changes point to a town that is healthy, vibrant and poised for continued growth. We will all get to enjoy the benefits of this growth, but, from time to time, we may sit back and reminisce about “the good old days”. Change is here and will continue to challenge our ability to manage the growth in a seamless fashion and to provide continuity for the town.

During the Master Plan development process, the Planning Board identified a number of items and initiatives that it believes should be prioritized and turned into action plans. A brief discussion of each of these follows.

Preserving our Community: Our community has three major elements that we must nurture and encourage.

First, our physical environment is keystone to the future. The beauty of the valley must be protected while still allowing the smart build out of the town. As land becomes developed, extra vigilance must be exercised in development within the context of the Master Plan. Protecting and preserving our natural resources is of prime importance.

          Second, the various groups in our town are expanding and growing. In the past, there were a small number of residents, a small, dedicated municipal “family”, and some “regulars” who were employed in the various businesses. Most of the people visiting our town were weekend property owners or vacationers. Today, the town has an increasing number of residents, non-resident property owners and young families with children. Town management responsibilities are expanding and town employees will increase. The town has more businesses with more employees. More people are choosing our town as their “retirement” community (they’re more active now than ever) and we have visitors from all over the world, seeking more and more adventures and attractions. Each group will have its needs and wants and it is necessary to provide the services and support that will make all want to stay or come back. Working and cooperating together will enhance the very special “sense of neighborhood” that makes our town a wonderful place to live and visit.

             Third, the strength of our recreational economic base is critical to supporting our community’s health and maintaining its attractiveness, and the town has played and will continue to play an important role. The Planning Board encourages the town to work with the various business interests to:

·        encourage the capital investment in resort facilities necessary to keep our town competitive and desirable

·        encourage the cooperation and coordination of resort business to ensure an outstanding experience for resort guests and

·        work with the town businesses and the appropriate state and other agencies to actively promote our town as a premier destination resort in the White Mountains.

Major Event Opportunities: Waterville Valley has been identified as an ideal location for focused events and a possible “center” for others. The Adaptive Skiing Program and the Waterville Academy are examples of blending what we have to offer with a dedicated and successful effort to attract people and resources to our community. Other examples can be “The Center for the Healing Arts” and the Celtic Festival.

Many possible opportunities exist that would establish the Valley as an international center for the arts, crafts and related recreational activities. The cooperation of the town, the businesses and the community will help make these types of events happen.

Technology Infrastructure: The technology infrastructure of the town should be evaluated and new requirements defined and encouraged. At a time when telephone wire and cable are being replaced with fiber optic and wireless, we should be in front of the technology curve instead of lagging behind.

Town Beautification and Image: As beautiful as our town is, it could be even more impressive. Planning to identify a “look and feel” for the town, starting with the entry to the town and continuing throughout, is a priority.

A program of improvements involving street lighting, plantings, signage, street furniture, gazebos, bus shelters, crosswalks, etc. will be coordinated and conform to a consistent design theme that conveys a “sense of place”.

Volunteers carry out many beautification projects and the Planning Board and thanks and encourages those efforts.

Volunteerism: Our town depends on and is well served by a wonderful and dedicated group of volunteers. Programs need to be implemented to encourage and expand our volunteer force.

Teen and Adult Recreation Activities: The town’s Department of Culture and Recreation has always had outstanding and award-winning programs for children. Recently, the town has been developing programs for teenagers and adults. As the demographics of the town changes, more teen and adult-oriented programs are desirable. 

Ski Area: The ski area has been a major contributor to our town in many ways and its ongoing economic health and vitality will have a very positive impact on the overall health of our community. In recent years, it has faced and will continue to face competitive, market and capital investment challenges. An increasing number of their skiers are now “day skiers” as opposed to “bed-base” skiers. The ski area is faced with major capital expenditures and marketing challenges in order to maintain its competitive position. The town should make every effort to understand and support their efforts and to encourage the continued development of the ski area.

Conference Center: A state-of the-art conference facility can be a major contributor to our town, especially during off-seasons. Corporate conference centers can bring in large groups for short periods that can have a major impact on visitor revenue contribution while consuming minimum services. The existing facility is aging and is not attractive to prime corporate clients. A plan to provide top quality corporate conference facilities for the Valley should be investigated and encouraged.

Pedestrian Accessibility: The town needs to accelerate the planning and implementation of an integrated walking, wheeling and vehicle network. The rapid expansion of summer visitors has increased the number of pedestrians and bicyclists, straining the capacity of our sidewalk network and creating safety hazards.

Public Accessibility: Since the number of elderly and people with disabilities in town is increasing, the town should do a thorough accessibility needs assessment of the public buildings, hotels, restaurants, transportation, trails and sidewalks and develop a plan and recommendations for improvement.

Meeting House: The development of a Meeting house facility should be encouraged and supported.

Corcoran’s Pond: A plan should be developed and implemented to address the concerns about the beauty and maintenance of the pond.

Recycling: A plan should be developed and implemented to expand recycling to all residences and businesses in the valley.

Lighting: Revisions and improvements to existing public lighting to provide ground illumination appropriate in style to a mountain village and in character with the Valley would be helpful.

Property owners and condominium associations should be encouraged to replace existing “grandfathered” lighting fixtures with ones that conform to the recently enacted lighting ordinance.

Historic Sites: The historic sites and points of interest throughout the town should be cataloged and a plan developed to protect them.

Gazebos: A unique feature of the town is the large number of gazebos that exist. Some are owned by the town; others by businesses or individuals. The maintenance and preservation of these gazebos should be encouraged.