Frank Boudreau

My name is Frank Boudreau and I would like to register my opposition to HB 1016. My wife and I have lived in Goffstown over 35 years during which we owned a couple of 'traditional construction' homes and raised 2 daughters, who graduated from Goffstown High School. After retiring in 2019, we sold our large home on 2 acres and 'down-sized', buying a 1700sf manufactured home located in the Medvil Cooperative in Goffstown, a 55+ community of 300 manufactured housing units with 450 residents occupying 154 acres in a country environment. Like many retirees, we wanted a place that was affordable on a fixed income, had adequate space for 2 people, and relatively low maintenance. Moving into our new home satisfied all of these needs. The Medvil Cooperative (see www.medvilcooperative.com) is a 20 year-old non-profit, resident-owned community (ROC) managed by a 9-member volunteer Board of Directors with a goal of providing its members a safe and affordable living environment. It is one of 153 Resident-Owned Cooperatives (ROCs) in New Hampshire established and supported through the NH Community Loan Fund. The success of our Medvil Cooperative was recognized recently when it had the honor of hosting the Governor and Executive Council breakfast meeting on September 17, 2025. I am proud to be a resident of this community and an active member of its current Board of Directors. How can passage of this bill help promote more housing opportunities at a time when housing demand far out-strips supply and pushes the price of available stock to unattainable levels for most New Hampshire citizens? In my opinion, the passage of HB 1016 would severely limit and/or end altogether local efforts to build manufactured housing communities like Medvil, let alone enable individual first-time home buyers, fixed-income retirees, or low/moderate income workers acquire and install modern manufactured housing units on a viable lot or property. I do not see a compelling or urgent reason to eliminate the requirement for towns and cities to allow for manufactured housing development. Without this requirement, local planning or zoning boards could simply ignore reasonable proposals to bring in affordable, high-quality housing into their communities at a time when our housing shortages are acute. Thank you for your consideration.