Visit KeepMillsRiverRural.org for in-depth information on this petition's purpose! Share this website and this petition, let's get the word out!

________________________

For more than 20 years now, The Town Of Mills River has been an incorporated town. We are no longer Horse Shoe, or just the Mills River “area”. We are a Community, but we are so much more. We have established town limits, elected officials, a town park, employees, and much more. And we have around 7500 residents, along with hundreds, if not thousands, of other people with some sort of connection to our town. Not all residents are property owners, and not all property owners are residents. Some own businesses here, and live here. Others own businesses, but do not live here. Some commute from elsewhere to work here. Some commute from here to work elsewhere.

All of the above get a voice at town meetings; but only the actual residents get to vote. As of October 2025, the Town has over 6600 Registered Voters. We get to elect the town officials that we want making decisions for us. The current Town Council is 5 members that were all elected (none appointed); and all 5 have terms that are set to end AFTER this all-important UDO will be adopted.

So the table is set. We have objectives, timelines, and elected officials in place that will make the final decisions. I know all 5 of these members. All 5 are born and raised here. All 5 are good people. They have unanimously appointed me to a total of 5 boards and committees, and my wife to the Park Committee multiple times. For that matter, it’s a small town, and more than 1 of them are clients of my company. I know they each love this town in their own way. As great as it would be for all 5 to be fully on board with the majority, that is not likely. After all, there is a small percentage of the residents that want to do nothing to stop development, protect our floodplains, or keep us rural. So it makes sense that there may be an elected member that votes with that minority. Maybe not though …. Time will tell. Legally speaking, we need at least 3 of them to stand with us.

These 5 Town Council Members hold this town’s future identity in their hands. They know this. We talk about it constantly. This is not sneaking up on them. They approved the $180,000 for the UDO. They are very aware of the deadline given to the Town by the State. And they know that this is our ONE AND ONLY shot at codifying land use ordinances for our town. How will each vote? Ultimately, I do not know. I do know this. Each of these 5 members wants to hear from you. None of them will vote exclusively with their own opinion of what should be done. They want to hear from as many of the 7500 residents as possible. The Town Of Mills River website (www.millsriver.gov) has links that allow you to email each Council member.

The only way for them to value our opinions is for them to hear from us. This is why I have decided to provide you with an opportunity to participate in this petition. I still want everyone that can attend meetings to do so. Speak to them when you can. Email them if that is best for you. Speak at meetings if you are willing. Repost and share, share, share, what I am sharing with you here. But ALSO take a quick minute to sign our petition. It is incredibly valuable to all who share the desire to Keep Mills River Rural to have redundancy here. The more actions we take from now until Council votes on the UDO, the more likely we are to accomplish our objectives.

I have gone back and forth countless times as to what I want this petition to encompass. If I put “everything on this entire website”, then I am not being fair to as many people as I can. What I mean by that is that I want a petition that speaks only to what I consider to be “Low Hanging Fruit” about what makes us rural. Simply, I want as many of us as possible to agree on the high level stuff, in hopes of us making the most drastic impact we can on the Town Council. The finer details can be expressed individually. For example, my finer details are expressed here on this site. I express them in small doses at Planning Board meetings, Town Council meetings, and 1-on-1 conversations with Council members, and Board members. You can do the same.

So what am I asking you to commit to by signing this petition? Here it is.

By signing this petition, you join me in demanding the following:

• That current and future Town Councils adopt a standing Town Policy of doing everything in their power to keep the Town Of Mills River both as RURAL and as RESIDENTIAL as is possible.
• INSIST that the current Town Council adopt new residential zoning districts that greatly reduce the land use options in all areas of the Town not currently used for non-residential purposes, and to codify this ordinance into the UDO that will be adopted in 2026.
• INSIST that the current Town Council adopt new residential zoning that has much larger lots than the current minimum lot size of 0.69, and to codify this ordinance into the UDO that will be adopted in 2026.
• INSIST that the current Town Council NOT ALLOW the Special Flood Hazard Areas to be filled in for ANY reason other than routine maintenance of farms, and limited utility work, and to codify this ordinance into the UDO that will be adopted in 2026.
• INSIST that the current Town Council NOT ALLOW any greenhouses to be lit up between the hours of 10PM and 6AM, and to codify this ordinance into the UDO that will be adopted in 2026.
• INSIST that the current Town Council adopt a policy of NO MULTI-FAMILY HOMES BEING ALLOWED IN THE TOWN LIMITS, and to codify this ordinance into the UDO that will be adopted in 2026.
• INSIST that the current Town Council adopt new policies for AIR quality, WATER pollution, and NOT ALLOWING RIDGELINE DEVELOPMENT on our mountain tops, and to codify this ordinance into the UDO that will be adopted in 2026.

There are many more details, but that is the short list of high level must-haves that I am asking you to support by signing this petition:

[**PLEASE NOTE: Keep Mills River Rural is NOT seeking donations at this time. Any requests for donations here are strictly from and for iPetitions.com, the petition host.]