FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LRCD Files Complaint Against the Town of Ashland Over Denial of Mill Pond Applications
Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) filed an appeal in Grafton County Superior Court, seeking to reverse the recent denial by the Ashland Planning Board of LRCD’s subdivision and site plan applications for the Village at Mill Pond housing development. In the same complaint, LRCD filed claims for damages based on the Town’s violations of LRCD’s right to substantive due process under State and Federal law and based on the Town’s violations of the Federal Fair Housing Act.
The Village at Mill Pond, proposed at 35 Mill Pond Lane in Ashland, is designed to offer 76 units of affordable rental housing, as well as four single-family lots to be developed in partnership with Pemi Valley Habitat for Humanity.
“There are news stories almost every week about how average people can no longer afford to live in New Hampshire,” said LRCD Executive Director Carmen Lorentz. “We need 3,000 more units of affordable housing in the Lakes Region by 2040 to achieve a more balanced housing market. The Mill Pond project is part of the solution, and we remain focused on our mission to create affordable housing opportunities for people who live and work in the Lakes Region.”
The 86-page complaint details the Planning Board’s improper conduct during a 12-month long review of LRCD’s applications, including:

1. Forcing LRCD to follow an ever-shifting, extremely cumbersome process to obtain commentary from Town Department heads.
2. Failing to timely notice the applications following their formal submission, and refusing to schedule a special meeting in order to comply with the statutory timeframe within which the Planning Board was required to render a completeness determination.
3. Inaccurately accusing LRCD of failing to provide information and of hiding information.
4. Refusing to open the public hearing on the applications following the Board’s completeness determination, and refusing to allow LRCD to make a presentation on the applications until nearly three months after it submitted them.
5. Repeatedly discussing the applications at meetings during which no public hearing was noticed, including on one occasion engaging in an in-depth discussion with a third-party engineer regarding the applications without notice to LRCD and despite LRCD having asked the Board to refrain from engaging in this practice.
6. Allowing a member of the Selectboard to make presentations advocating against the project, including at one meeting where LRCD was not present because the project was not scheduled to be discussed.
7. Asserting the property was not zoned Commercial, which allows for multi-family use by right, when the property is, in fact, zoned Commercial.
8. Denying a waiver that LRCD requested despite the Town’s own third-party engineer opining that the waiver request was reasonable.
9. Withholding documentation relative to the project from LRCD.
10. Allowing the Town Manager to speak against the project during a public hearing on the applications.
11. After a 12-month review, suddenly identifying a provision of the Town’s Site Plan Regulations which LRCD had indisputably complied with, and inaccurately using that provision to deny the applications.
12. Including inaccurate information in both the meeting minutes and the Notice of Decision in relation to the denial. 

 The complaint was assigned case number 215-2025-CV-00347 and was transferred to the Hillsborough County Superior Court, Northern District Land Use Review Docket. 

Generally, IRA distributions are taxable, but qualified charitable distributions remain tax-free if sent directly to a qualified charity by the trustee.

Laconia Area Community Land Trust, Inc dba Lakes Region Community Developers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization (Federal Tax ID 02-0426348) that can accept tax-free qualified charitable distributions from an IRA.

IRA owners age 70½ and older can make tax-free charitable donations directly from their IRA. 

IRA owners age 73 or older must make a Required Minimum Distribution from their IRA each year, and qualified charitable distributions count toward this required minimum.
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Any IRA owner who wishes to make a qualified charitable distribution for 2025 should contact their IRA trustee this fall to ensure they have enough time to complete the transaction before the end of the year.

Contractors are making good progress on the painstaking work of selective interior demolition, lead paint abatement, and asbestos abatement involved in the redevelopment of the Gale School. These photos give you a sense of the care and time that is involved in this work. All renovations are being conducted in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for historic rehabilitation. ​

Lots of important news about affordable housing over the summer. Here is a quick run-down, in case you missed any of these.​

• Governor Ayotte signs a package of new laws to help address NH’s housing crisis.
  
  
  
• NH is the 12th most expensive state to rent housing and $27 per hour wage needed to afford a one-bedroom,
  
  
  
• Bipartisan ROAD to Housing Bill Approved by Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

We are loving the ongoing transformation of 11 Jameson St, Laconia into three units of supportive housing for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, in partnership with Lakes Region Community Services! This project is on track to be completed in September.

NH Housing and NH Community Development Finance Authority provided funding for this project.
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Hollis Construction Management is the contractor.

For 25 years, we have been a chartered member of NeighborWorks America, a network of 250 community development organizations across the country. NeighborWorks funding and training helps us carry out our mission here on the ground in the Lakes Region. It’s inspiring to learn about the network’s impact on the nation’s housing crisis last year and to know that we are part of this effort:

• 431,600 individuals and families assisted with affordable housing and counseling
  
• $4.6 billion invested in creating new homeowners
  
• 211,900 affordable rental homes owned and/or managed
  

 Click here to read NeighborWorks’ annual report. ​

​Residents at Lochmere Meadows in Tilton and River’s Edge Apartments in Laconia did some spring cleaning outdoors to make the grounds of their apartment communities more enjoyable for everyone. Both groups did a great job!

CONCORD – Governor Kelly Ayotte recently issued a proclamation declaring June 7 – 14 as NeighborWorks Week in the State of New Hampshire, and encouraging “all citizens to recognize and support the vital work being done by NeighborWorks organizations to build stronger, more resilient communities.” The full text of the proclamation can be found online at governor.nh.gov.
 
Chartered by Congress in 1978, NeighborWorks America is a network of nearly 250 non-profit organizations across the country who receive support from NeighborWorks America through grants, training and partnerships that create affordable housing and promote community well-being. Every year, during NeighborWork Week, the network celebrates their collective impact. The theme this year is “Creating Homes, Building America,” which reflects the significant impact that NeighborWorks America has on the nation’s housing affordability crisis.
 
There are four NeighborWorks organizations in New Hampshire: AHEAD in the North Country, CATCH Neighborhood Housing in Merrimack County, Lakes Region Community Developers, and NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire. In 2024, the four organizations collectively invested over $67 million in affordable housing in New Hampshire, owned and operated 2,246 affordable rental homes, created 202 new affordable rental homes, and provided 1,027 people with first-time homebuyer education and financial counseling.
 
“We are so happy that Governor Ayotte chose to celebrate NeighborWorks Week with us by issuing this proclamation,” said Carmen Lorentz, executive director of Lakes Region Community Developers. “It helps build awareness of the work we do every day to create affordable housing opportunities in our communities.”
 
Nation-wide in 2024, NeighborWorks America and its network delivered:

• $11.2 billion in total investment across the country
• 431,549 housing and counseling services
• 104,957 individuals educated or counseled
• 16,269 new homeowners
• 211,856 rental homes owned or managed
• 83,986 homes repaired
• 13,542 rental homes constructed, acquired or preserved
• 12,844 homes preserved or rehabbed
• 48,885 jobs created or maintained

 
NeighborWorks America is a congressionally chartered and funded organization that brings national resources to local communities. For every $1 of NeighborWorks’ congressional appropriation, $71 are leveraged and invested in housing and community development projects across the country.
 
Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) has been a chartered member of NeighborWorks America since 2000. LRCD’s rental portfolio of 366 affordable apartments provides healthy, affordable housing to over 750 people each year. In 2025, LRCD is adding 15 units of supportive housing in Laconia; plans to begin construction on 30 affordable apartments in Wolfeboro; plans to begin construction on the redevelopment of the Gale School in Belmont for childcare and family supports; will invest over $1.2 million to improve its existing rental portfolio in Laconia and Meredith; and will continue pre-development work on a project that will deliver 80 affordable homes in Ashland. To learn more about Lakes Region Community Developers and/or its leadership team, visit LRcommunitydevelopers.org.

In Laconia, something powerful is happening behind the quiet doors of 11 Jameson Street.

This formerly single-family house is being transformed into three permanent supportive apartments for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities — individuals who are ready to live independently, but who, until now, have had few options beyond living with parents, entering foster care, or being placed in a 24/7 facility.

Thanks to a partnership between LRCD and Lakes Region Community Services, Jameson Street Apartments will be the first of its kind in the Lakes Region — a model for what inclusive, independent living can look like in our community.

Construction is nearly complete inside.
But the outside? It still needs help.
Announcing the 2025 NH GIVES DAY Fundraising Campaign for LRCDWhat’s Still Needed
Due to escalating construction costs, the final renovation budget didn’t include any landscaping or outdoor work. That’s where our community comes in.We’re launching a one-day fundraising campaign on NH Gives Day to raise $12,400 for:

• New picket fencing to replace the falling structure and improve safety
• A seeded lawn to create usable green space
• Foundation plantings to add beauty and warmth to the home
• Hard pack for the driveway to smooth over potholes and ensure accessibility

These aren’t just cosmetic upgrades — they are the final touches that turn a building into a home residents can feel proud of.
 Three Ways You Can Help Learn more about the project here.  Save the DateNH Gives Day is coming soon — June 10-11.
We’ll be sharing the full story behind Jameson Street, the impact of each donation tier, and how you can help us cross the finish line. Stay tuned.
Together, we can create a home that reflects the dignity, independence, and potential of the people who will live there.
 Partner with us to CREATE A CHALLENGEWe're inviting our loyal supporters to take early action and help us build momentum before the giving day begins.
Right now, we are looking for donors interested in providing a challenge match to encourage even more community participation on NH Gives Day.
If you’re able to commit a match amount (big or small), it will be used to double the impact of donations during our 24-hour campaign. This is one of the most effective ways to inspire giving — and a powerful step you can take today.
To provide a match gift, contact Carmen Lorentz at
[email protected]
(603) 524-0747 x110

On April 24th, Volunteers from the Lakes Region Board of Realtors spent a day helping us spruce up two duplexes at 365 & 371 South Main Street in Laconia. Volunteers raked up leaves, picked up litter, painted exterior trim, and painted interior walls in common areas. This was a great way for these local realtors and partners to give back to the Laconia community. We are so grateful for their volunteer service!
 
Pictured above from left to right: Jane Jordan, Megan Colby, Crystal Bullerwell, Angela Smith, Wendy Bagley, Lori Borrin, Eric Petel, Travis Cole, Kelly Beebee, Scott Knowles, Paula Finigan, Emily Mulcahy, Bob Rafferty, Caitlin Meaney.
 
Not pictured: Libby Talbot