Ed Haas Councilor-at-Large Keene

09/15/2025

Growth By Giving Music Festival at Tempesta's today too good! Thanks to all

09/14/2025

Rockin’ at Tempesta’s Growth by Giving - c’mon down! Running til 8:00

04/28/2025

The past weekend was another super example of what makes Keene so special. Peaceful protests and political statements at Central Square, and the Earth Day Festival on Railroad Square over to the Co-op – and all in the rain! But no spirits were dampened. At the same time, Green Up Keene was in full swing throughout the city, although the rain and wind spread the participants out over several days, from last weekend even through Monday. GUK is truly an amazing event: just look around at how clean the city is today!
These events and civic participation are what make Keene what it is, and why we live here. And why we invite our neighbors to work and play here as well. No matter what challenges the future brings in weather, budgets, projects, or politics, everyone should be proud and inspired, and even more so, aspirational.

10/16/2024

Some interesting items at City Council these days -

1- Charitable Gaming ordinance that will bring these occupancies into the Land Development Code was bounced back into the review process over the requirement for a new Gaming facility to provide a few electric vehicle charging spaces. Vote to delete this requirement was 8 to 7. This change was considered "material" so it has to go back through the process. The proposed ordinance passed through PLD and Planning Board last night with the charging spaces removed.
One enhancement to the Gaming use standards was made: distance requirements from one- and two-family residences was expanded to include multi-family residences. Next stop should be a public hearing at Council, after which we should get on with it!

2- Rules of Order:
a. Councilors currently are obliged to disclose employment, ownerships, memberships etc. that may present conflicts of interest. The Council is leaning towards expanding this to include family members under the same roof. Stay tuned.
b. Council agenda access for any citizen concern: meaning “non-germane” items. It seems that we have a good process for determining whether or not the Council wants to take up an issue; the entry of such matters to Council agendas seems a little weak. Stay tuned for tightening to come.

3- Couple proposals are coming from Community Development to help with housing in-fill in existing residential zones. The most useful one will be to change the number of living units permitted on a lot. and lot size requirement: right now, if you had a large one-family house you couldn’t remodel it into two units without expanding your lot, even if the outside required setbacks and height and “massing” of the house didn’t change. This won’t be everywhere but some areas could add units with no real change.
Other considered changes include changing the required number of parking spaces required per living unit, and allowing residential occupancy on ground floors in Downtown Core and Growth, and Commerce districts. None of these will likely be sweeping changes and probably will be very focused, but it will serve to expand the smaller living units inventory.

There’s always more, but I thought these might be tops of many folks’ interests.

10/07/2024

Fire in our homes:
it is annual fire prevention week, and I want to add something special to the many messages you should receive: the YouTube video attached here is produced by James Golinveaux. James for many years has been and continues to be a leader in the fire protection industry. No one would expect to have a safer home environment. As this video shows, we are all vulnerable. Please watch the video and apply the lessons.
The video is a touch technical, and not an advertisement, because it is real with real people and a real experience. Anyone can appreciate the drama of awakening and knowing the time to escape is shorter than any of us may think. This video is REAL.
Fire can happen anytime from the one thing we forgot, or from sources out of our control. James of all people never thought this would happen; it can happen to any of us.

09/25/2024

many of you will have seen letters from Mr. Jon Loveland to City Council, or even in the Sentinel over the past several years. Mr. Loveland is a heavy critic of the design for the Downtown Project. He works hard to substantiate and document his opinion; yet in all of his work, he misses the point.
I finally made time to put fingers to keyboard and respond in an email to him; here's the text:

Mr. Loveland,

Thank you for your extensive correspondence and referenced research on the issues of remodeling downtown Keene. For all the folk who dove into your submittals along with the Stantec documents (as well many others), kudos to them all! If nothing else, readers will have a deeper appreciation for the entire subject.

The easiest way to argue any design is to question the assumptions. All assumptions are based on other premises and if you probe deep enough, you can always find points on which there will be disagreement. We can continue to find other studies ad nauseam, any of which can justify or attack our final hybrid design. That doesn't get the job done.

There rarely is a direct line from studies that may be more accurate (or perceived as such) to a design that can be justified and executed in a scientific manner (alas if only it were so!) No study will lead to a perfect solution. This is especially true for design of a public space. The initial contributions of the various consultants give us a baseline based on the expressed views. The consultants' synthesis of these views and their underlying expertise becomes the starting point. Thereafter, any design becomes a negotiated outcome based on what the citizens want for a space. Indeed, the resulting designs may be highly different from that which might be deduced from any consultants’ guidance. That certainly is the case here in Keene, where we went from Stantec’s many suggestions to a hybrid.

The Citizens, City staff, and City Council of Keene have come up with a design; it is now up to us now to make it work. It is up to the people of Keene to make it wonderful: I am highly confident we will! It may not be directly traceable from any study or recommendation or comps or whatever, but the people of Keene will make it so.

Sincerely,

Edward J Haas
Councilor-at-Large

09/13/2024

I’ve heard reports of a recent uptick in hate speech in New Hampshire and our region. Often, we overhear such exchanges, and generally will avoid confrontation with someone we do not know. There’s often a shrug of the shoulders with a “I’m not like that”, or “I hope I set a better example.”

Engaging with strangers regarding overheard hate speech is admittedly difficult. There are nice, non-confrontational ways to do so, which often are beyond my abilities, but I try when I can. Perhaps a simple “that wasn’t very nice, was it?” can suffice.

What everyone can do is when the speech is not overheard but it comes in our own circle of friends, neighbors, relatives. It may be as simple as a tasteless joke or as bad as a slur. When that happens, we should politely object to the comment, saying it is not helpful, it makes you feel uncomfortable, and it is unfair to use. I find the most common situations are where someone tells a joke (usually within an aura of confidentiality) as they think I am of like mind to find it funny. I try not to miss the opportunity to say it’s a sad attempt at humor, I find it discomforting, or some other firm but gentle phrase.

We can’t control other people’s behavior. We can control our reaction to hateful speech, and it is a weapon that is always at hand. Opportunities to do good can be rare; I hope you will speak up when you have one!

08/18/2024

My Washington Autoroad Bicycle Hill Climb - again!

07/17/2024

Severe storm damage from Tuesday evening July 16 in Keene and surrounding areas! here's some basics about insurance you should know; now, I am not an agent or other expert in NH insurance law, but generally these principles will be true and will help you with recovery:

1- contact your insurance agent with a brief notice. Then you are on record.
2- work only with claims persons that your insurance agent has confirmed as legitimate. There are disaster chasers out there that can compromise your recovery as well as steal your information.
3- keep track of every expense, every loss. A logbook is very good; pictures and videos as well. If someone helps you recover and restore, write down their names and hours, if perhaps you can get it in the claim.
4- damage to your property is covered by your insurance policy. Even if a tree that fell on your property came from an adjacent property, you have little chance of finding fault. Again your agent can be of best advice here.
5- your policy may not give enough coverage to pay for removal of a fallen tree, or others that may be in danger of falling with the next breeze. In this case, talk with your neighbors: if a tree falls across multiple properties, you may be able to combine payouts to cover the cost of removal.

MOST OF ALL: be safe! If your house is damaged, evacuate until you are assured that power, gas, and other energy sources are safe. As well as the structure.

07/10/2024

Pat Russell Park & Monadnock Rugby Club!
"Touch" rugby is now running every Wednesday night at 5:30 pm until whenever, as the Wolfpack team prepares for its upcoming season.
Our park is coming to life! come see this amazing game - or join in if you dare.

07/08/2024

Joint Planning Board - Planning Licenses Development Committee meeting 08-Jul issues:

Main event tonight is regarding charitable gaming zoning.

Charitable gaming is proposed to be defined in the Land
Development Code subject to the following:
- Only in the following areas of the Commerce District:
o West St west of Island St
o Wi******er St south of Island St north of Cornwell Drive
o Main ST south of NH Rte 101
o Key Rd
o Ashbrook Rd
o Kit Rd
- one gaming facility per 1.25 acre minimum lot
- 500 ft. separation from a second gaming facility
- >250 ft. of place of worship, child daycare, school, 1- or 2-family dwelling, or residential zoning district
- Minimum 10,000 sq.ft. gaming floor area

There's many others as well (setbacks, parking, height, etc.) but these are the primary ones from my perspective

Overall the board seems to be in fair agreement with these use standards. Of course, any new or additional gaming licenses in Keene are subject to state approval, and I understand there is a moratorium on any new licenses at this time.
We don't want to contain free enterprise, but we also don't want any individual occupancy to overwhelm an area.

06/12/2024

Regarding the Downtown Revitalizaton Project: consultant Stantec has created a visualization tool for "seeing" Central Square and Main Street as it is now, as it is planned to be. This version is very close to that under final review by City Council and MSFI, and then once more before City Council. Enjoy! it is a visual treat !
The Council workshop last night came to many agreements in discussion on the outstanding issues and some fine points. MSFI gets one more review with it in a public hearing two weeks from now on June 26, don't miss it if you want to add any comments.

Virtual Tour