CHAPTER VI ECONOMIC BASE INTRODUCTION Lyme's economic situation is determined by local, regional and national economic conditions. Although there are many businesses and employment opportunities in the Town, Lyme is clearly dependent on commercial, institutional and industrial employment opportunities in other towns, especially Hanover, where almost half of Lyme's working residents are employed. Similarly, because there is a limited range of retail and service businesses in Lyme, most residents travel to nearby commercial centers to do their shopping. However, some people travel to Lyme for goods and services, especially for the Dartmouth Skiway, lodging and specialty goods or services. A regional economy is healthy if its businesses provide adequate wages and opportunities for advancement, if its unemployment rate is low, if most goods and services are available within a reasonable distance and if the communities within the region maintain an adequate tax base to provide a level of municipal services satisfactory to local residents. In addition, if the regional economy is to thrive in the future, its businesses should be sufficiently diverse to insure that the decline of one sector of the economy does not devastate the economic base of the region. This chapter examines the following economic indicators: income levels, unemployment rates, wage rates, tax base, and commuting and employment patterns. It also includes an index of Lyme businesses and a brief discussion of the Town's economic potential. Town finances are discussed in Chapter VIII and a summary of valuation is presented by Table VIII-2. This information was derived from the U.S. Census, the N.H. Department of Employment Security, the N.H. Department of Revenue Administration, the Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Council and a local inventory of businesses. COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTS The Town of Lyme conducted community attitude surveys in 1974 and 1981 to help determine the community's needs and preferences with respect to future planning policies and activities. The following is a brief summary of the survey results relating to the local and regional economy: Lyme should remain a quiet, rural community as it is now; Industrial development and shopping centers are strongly opposed; A slim majority (58%) favor commercial/office development, while 41% are opposed; Areas along Route 10 are preferred over the village centers as a location for new commercial/office development. LYME BUSINESSES In 1985, the Lyme Planning Board conducted an inventory of businesses in Town. Over 100 businesses were identified and classified in categories consistent with those used by the U.S. Census Bureau. Note the large number of businesses in the service, trade, finance/insurance/real estate, construction and agriculture/forestry sectors and the small number of manufacturing businesses. The following list is not all inclusive.
Lvrr.e Master Plan TABLE VI-1 INDEX OF LYME BUSINESSES, 1985 Page VI-2 Business Name Description Location Manufacturing/Crafts/Artists Steve Hewes Blacksmith Goose Pond Road Simi Clothing, fabric On the Common Pearce's Studio Jewelry River Road Diebold Designs Greeting cards 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Peter Beaupre Lawn furniture Route 10 Bea Tobey Sweaters Acorn Hill Road Harold Wing Ax handles Franklin Hill Road Pamela Wilcox Wallpaper River Road Camelot Silver Jewelry River Road Barbara Rogalsky Photographer, editor Breck Hill Road Anthony Ryan Writer Dorchester Road Vivian Piper Writer Pony Hill Lane Helena Music Corp Music publisher Pinnacle Hill Kitty Holman Holman Prints Route 10 Kirwan Art Dept. Route 10 Lynn McRae Piano lessons Acorn Hill Road Sydney Long Piano lessons Highbridge Road Sheila Ward Piano lessons,fine arts Lyme Center Trina Swart Hyman Illustrator, author Breck Hill Road Keita Metz Fine arts North River Road Tish Smith Commercial artist On the Common Agriculture and Forestry Morton Bailey Dairy Farm Route 10 Grant Balch General farming River Road Gerald Hewes General farming Goose Pond Road Steve Hewes Logging Goose Pond Road Henry Marsh Cordwood Walter Record Dairy farm East Thetford Road Lawrence Sargent Logging Baker Hill Road Bernard Tullar Dairy farm River Road Everett King Dairy farm River Road John Menge General farming Route 10 Irvin Wilmot General farming River Road Ken Elder General farming Acorn Hill Road Crossroads Farm Welsh cobs Route 10 William Nichols Maple sugar, Christmas trees Baker Hill Road David Devoe Firewood, logging Flint Hill Road Ed Lord Logging Goose Pond Road Kenneth Nordine Arabian horses Route 10 Construction Roy Abbott Pleasant Street Jackson & Whitman Route 10 Estes & Gallup Route 10 Uline Menard Construction Co., Inc. Route 10 Wayne Pike Pinnacle Hill Road Joel Olson On the Common Hugh O'Donnell North Thetford Road Fred King Baker Hill Road Eddie Jenks Route 10 Derby Mtn. Construction Co. Route 10 Roger Jenks Route 10 Keith Stanley Bliss Road Mort Bailey Route 10
TABLE VI-1 (contd) Business Name Description Location Hartzell Construction Co. 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Leon Webb Mason Baker Hill Road Trade Nichols Hardware Hardware On the Common Lyme Country Store General store On the Common Wayne's Frames Frames River Road Green Mtn. Studios Gifts, wholesale On the Common Maxfield's Equipment Farm equipment Route 10 Sawyer Brook Fabrics Fabric 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Geographic Data Technology Geographic data systems 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Tarndale, Inc. Data processing 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Lyme Software Sales Computer software Lyme Center Integrated Business Information Systems Computer software Lyme Center Gage Ellis Antiques Baker Hill Road Marjorie Barry Antiques Route 10 Hans Ski Service Ski shop Route 10 Lollipop House Doll houses On the Common Delia Thompson Tailoring, alteration Route 10 Finance, Insurance, Real Estate Dartmouth National Bank Bank On the Common Rich Insurance Insurance Lyme Center Bent, McCrillis & Eldredge Insurance 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Fellows Real Estate Real Estate Lyme Center Martha Diebold Real Estate 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Bay-Son Real Estate 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Toner Real Estate River Road Lyme Realty Real Estate On the Common Lyme Timber Company Timberland management On the Common Wagner Woodlands Timberland management Route 10 Bar-Wal, Inc. Private holding company 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Ford Motor Credit Co. Service Lyme Inn Lodging, dining, spirits On the Common Loch Lyme Lodge Lodging, dining Route 10 Pines Courtel Lodging Route 10 Tony's Auto Body Automobile body work Route 10, Lyme Garage Automobile repair & body work Route 10 Brett Ryan's Garage Automobile repair & body work Acorn Hill Road Maxfield's Getty Station Automobile service station Route 10 Malcolm Associates Ski area promotion 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Sno-Engineering Ski area design On the Common Photographic Interpretation Corporation Photographic interpretation 13 Dartmouth College Hwy
TABLE VI-1 (contd.) Business Name Description Location Service (contd.) Metz & Thornton Architecture Route 10 Randall T. Mudge 6c Assoc. Architecture 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Jim Kennedy Landscape architecture 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Pantel Associates Engineer, land surveying On the Common Hans Klunder Planning consultant 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Knudsen 6c Knights Dentist East Thetford Road Lyme Pediatrics Medical 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Lyme Family Practice Medical Route 10 Alfred Balch Caretaker Dorchester Road Jasper & Jeanette Day Handyman, housekeeping Acorn Hill Road Harry Franklin Carpentry High Street Wayne Goodrich Odd jobs North Thetford Road Wilbur Hutchins Odd jobs Goose Pond Road Rose Hutchins Housekeeping Goose Pond Road Howard Southworth Handyman River Road Dartmouth Skiway Ski area Lyme Center J & B Plumbing 6c Heating Plumbing & heating Route 10 Robert Wilcox Oil burner main. 6c repair River Road D r Artagnan Restaurant 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Toner's TV repair TV Repair Breck Hill Road J.A. Johnson Electronic repair Pony Hill Lane Ken's Electronics Electronic repair Dorchester Road Carleton Bacon Electrician Creamery Lane Harley Gray Rubbish hauling Lyme Center Virginia Lacoss Secretary, accounting Sloan Lane New England Review Publishing 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Ediciones Del Norte Publishing 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Chnito Productions Publishing 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Windsor Publications Ellis Phillips Foundation 13 Dartmouth College Hwy Wilder Lake Campground Campground River Road Clifton Valley Upholstering Flint Hill Road Jason & Yvonne O'Keefe Cakes, catering, band High Street Business Appraisals, Inc. Ben Kilham Woodworking, gun shop East Thetford Road Prescription for Survival Proc 1. Research 6c multi-media Route 10 Alford International Lease & Management Corp. Evans Floor Sanding Floor sanding Shoestrap Road C.T.B. Corp Baker Hill Road C and B Corporation Beach and Company Lyme Center Government School Elementary education Lyme Post Offices On the Common, Lyme Center Town Offices Lyme Plain Library Lyme Plain Fire Dept. Police Dept. High Street Highway Department High Street
Page VI-5 EMPLOYMENT PATTERNS As one would expect, a small percentage (10%) of Lyme's residents have jobs in the manufacturing sector of the economy. This percentage is half the County level and one-third the State level. Of those with non-manufacturing jobs, a high percentage work in the construction/agriculture/forestry sector and the service sector, especially professional services. Nearly 17% have health service jobs and are employed at either area hospitals or nursing homes. TABLE VI-2 PERCENT OF EMPLOYMENT BY ECONOMIC SECTOR LYME, GRAFTON COUNTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1979* Lyme County N.H. (1) Manufacturing 10.1 19.9 31.9 (a) Durable Goods 4.9 12.9 21.2 (b) Non-Durable Goods 5.2 7.0 10.7 (2) Non--Manufacturing Non-Manufacturing 89.9 80.1 68.1 (a) Construction, agric, forest, fish, mining 12.8 8.6 7.5 (b) Transportation, communications 6c & utilities 3.9 4.7 5.4 (c) Trade 15.8 18.7 19.2 (d) Finance, insurance 6c real estate 3.6 3.9 5.4 (e) Services 52.0 40.7 26.6 1. Business 6c & Repair 6.6 3.2 3.2 2. Personal, entertainment 6c recreation 6.6 6.5 3.6 3. Professional 6c related services 38.8 31.0 19.7 a. health services 16.6 9.5 7.0 b. educational services 17.5 17.9 9.1 c. other professional services 4.7 3.6 3.6 (f) Public Administration 1.8 3.5 4.1 Employed persons 16 years and over The table below provides a breakdown of employment by occupational categories. Note that one-third of Lyme's residents have managerial and professional specialty occupations and, in comparison to the County and State, Lyme has a high percentage of farming and forestry occupations. TABLE VI-3 PERCENT OF EMPLOYMENT BY OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORIES LYME, GRAFTON COUNTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, :, 1979* 1979' Lyme County Stat i Employed persons 16 years and over 1. Managerial 6c & Professional Specialty No. 664 218 96 32.8 No. 29,804 7,658 % 25.7 No. 432,622 99,314 ' % 23.,0 2. Technical, Sales 6c & Admin. Support 178 26.8 7,873 26.4 125,996 29.,1 3. Service Occupations 4. Farming, Forestry 6c & Fishing 5. Precision Production, Craft 6c Repair 6. Operations, Fabricators 6c Laborers 76 40 85 67 11.5 6.0 12.8 10.1 4,543 859 3,659 5,196 15.2 2.9 12.3 17.4 49,880 6,682 62,747 88,003 11.,5 1. 5 14.,5 20.,3 H SOURCE: U.S. Census, 1980 Employed persons 16 years and over
Page VI-6 COMMUTING PATTERNS A majority (about 73 percent) of Lyme's residents over the age of 16 who work travel to other communities for employment. However, it should be noted that some people from other communities travel to Lyme for work, so it is important to look at the workforce traveling both to and from the Town of Lyme to gain a perspective of the Town's employment picture. The table below shows the place of employment for Lyme's workers. TABLE VI-4 PLACE OF WORK LYME WORKER; AGE AND OVER 1979 Percent of Those Who Reported Place of Place of Work No. Persons Work 1 Lyme 163 27.2 Hanover 277 46.2 Lebanon 67 11.2 Orford 4 0.7 Remainder of Grafton County 8 1.3 Sullivan County 4 0.7 Orange County, Vt. 17 2.8 Norwich, Vt. 18 3.0 Hartford, Vt. 30 5.0 Worked elsewhere 12 2.0 Place of work not reported 26 Total 626 100.0 1 Based on total of 600 (626-26) Note that almost half of Lyme's workers are employed in Hanover, and 92.6% work in either Lyme, Hanover, Lebanon, Norwich or Hartford. How many people travel to Lyme for employment? The table below shows that about 58 percent come from Lyme itself, while 15 percent commute from Hanover, 12 percent come from Thetford and the remaining 15 percent commute from other neighboring communities.
Page VI-7 COMMUTING PATTERNS (Contd.) TABLE VI-5 NUMBER OF WORKERS FROM NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES EMPLOYED IN LYME, 1979 Origin No. Working in Lyme Percent of Total Lyme 163 58.0 Thetford 33 11.7 Orford 14 5.0 Piermont 12 4.3 Canaan 4 1.4 Dorchester 3 1.1 Hanover 42 15.0 Lebanon 10 3.6 Total 281* 100.0 Actual total is probably slightly higher, since Lyme was sometimes grouped with other County communities as "remainder of Grafton County" in U.S. Census Place of Work Tables. Tables VI-4 and VI-5 suggest that Lyme is far from being a "bedroom" community, with a ratio of nearly one job in town to every two workers residing in Lyme. Of the 437 workers traveling to other towns for employment, 392, or about 90 percent, work in either Hanover, Lebanon, Hartford or Norwich. Thus, Route 10, Route 5 and Interstate 91 are the principal commuting corridors for Lyme residents.
Page VI-8 INCOME PATTERNS According to the 1980 U.S. Census, the 1979 median family income in Lyme was $19,352. The table below compares Lyme's income level to those of neighboring communities as well as the County and State figures. Note that Lyme's income level is similar to the State figure but well above the County level. When compared on a per capita basis, Lyme's income level is even higher. The table above shows that Lyme's 1979 per capita income figure was $7,771, well above the County and State figures and very close to Hanover's per capita income level. The table below provides a breakdown of Lyme's household and family income patterns and compares the Town's income distribution to those in the County and the State as a whole. TABLE VI-6 COMPARATIVE MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME AND PER CAPITA INCOME LEVELS, 1979 1979 Per 1979 Median Capita Income Family Income Lyme $7,771 $19,352 Canaan 5,328 15,957 Dorchester 5,014 15,625 Hanover 7,831 30,482 Lebanon 7,303 19,231 Norwich, Vt. 9,733 25,313 Orford 6,793 15,642 Piermont 5,533 14,300 Plainfield 7,433 19,211 Thetford, Vt. 6,274 14,613 Grafton County 6,403 17,288 New Hampshire 6,966 19,724 TABLE VI-7 INCOME DISTRIBUTION, LYME, GRAFTON COUNTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1979 Lyme Grafton County New Hampshire 1979 Income Households Families Households Families Households Families $ 0 - $4,999 11.9% 6.3% 12.7% 5.3% 10.5% 4.9%,$5,000 - $9,999 16.1 15.8 19.4 14.8 15.7 12.0 $10,000 - $14,999 15.1 14.3 19.6 20.3 16.7 16.0 $15,000 - $19,999 14.9 15.5 16.8 19.7 16.5 18.1 $20,000 - $24,999 14.1 13.8 12.0 15.2 13.8 16.4 $25,000 - $29,999 8.4 10.9 6.9 8.9 9.8 11.9 $30,000 - $34,999 10.1 12.9 4.2 5.3 6.3 7.7 $35,000 - $39,999 4.2 4.6 2.6 3.1 3.7 4.5 $40,000 - $49,999 2.2 2.3 2.5 3.3 3.6 4.5 $50,000 - $74,999 1.8 2.6 2.1 2.6 2.4 2.9 $75,000 or more 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.5 1.0 1.1
Page VI-9 INCOME PATTERNS (contd.) By grouping some of the income categories, once can see that, compared to Grafton County, Lyme had a high percentage of households with incomes in the $25,000 - $40,000 range, and a lower percentage of households at the upper and lower ends of the scale. However, the State as a whole is higher than Lyme in the upper income category and lower in the $0 - $14,999 income grouping. TABLE VI-8 DISTRIBUTION OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME LEVELS LYME, GRAFTON COUNTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1979 Income Group Lyme Grafton County New Hampshire $0 - $14,999 $15,000 - $24,999 $25,000 - $39,999 $40,000 and over 43.1% 29.0 22.7 5.2 51.7% 28.8 13.7 5.8 43.0% 30.3 19.7 7.0 POVERTY LEVEL The percentage of persons in Lyme below the poverty level in 1979 was 9.0, which was slightly higher than the state-wide percentage of 8.5 but below the county percentage of 11.1. Table VI-9 below compares the number and percent of persons below poverty level to those in neighboring communities. TABLE VI-9 NUMBER AND PERCENT BELOW POVERTY LEVEL SELECTED COMMUNITIES, 1979 Number Percent Lyme 116 9.0 Canaan 322 13.3 Dorchester 49 18.9 Hanover 537 9.5 Lebanon 693 6.3 Norwich 230 9.6 Orford 101 11.0 Piermont 72 14.5 Plainfield 84 4.8 Thetford 265 12.2 Grafton County 6,711 11.1 New Hampshire 75,361 8.5 The table below shows that 76 percent of the persons below poverty level in Lyme are under 55 years of age. This percentage is below the County and State figures. It should also be noted that the percentage of persons below poverty in the 60-64 year age group is higher than the County and State percentages; other age group figures are similar.
Page VI-10 Age Group LYME, TABLE VI-10 POVERTY STATUS BY AGE GROUPS GRAFTON COUNTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1979 % of Poverty Persons Lyme Grafton County New Hampshire % of Age Group % of Poverty Persons % of Age Group % of Poverty Persons 96 of Age Group Under 55 years 75.9 9.0 78.2 11.2 77.3 8.2 55-59 years 3.4 5.6 3.7 7.8 3.3 5.5 60-64 years 5.2 9.8 3.6 8.7 3.7 7.0 65 years and over 15.5 10.4 14.5 12.6 15.7 12.3 SOURCE: U.S. Census, 1980 PROPERTY TAX BASE Lyme's tax rate can be considered "average" in comparison to other communities in the Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Region. This reasonable property tax rate is in part a result of the town's relatively high per capita tax base. TABLE VI-11 COMPARATIVE TAX RATES, EQUALIZED ASSESSED VALUATION AND PER CAPITA VALUATION, 1983 Equalized Rank Full Rank Assessed Full Value in Valuation in Value Tax Rate Region Per Capita Region' ** Lyme $48,300,396 18.95 16 32,395 11 Canaan 50,163,053 28.78 28 20,875 25 Dorchester 7,633,306 17.33 9 27,657 12 Hanover 318,947,840 19.28 17 33,419 15 Lebanon 270,395,844 26.05 26 24,125 23 Norwich 101,941,781 17.40 10 41,457 6 Orford 28,189,507 24.77 24 29,704 13 Piermont 20,036,906 14.59 5 38,166 7 Thetford*** 59,751,094 18.60 12 18,205 27 UVLSC Region 2,437,561,671 - - 28,471 - New Hampshire 26,795,297,601 20.57-27,941 - Rank in Region - l = lowest; 31=highest rate ** Rank in Region - 1 = highest; 31 = lowest *** Only 1982 data available at this time SOURCES: N.H. Dept of Revenue Administration, N.H. Office of State Planning Vermont Agency of Administration, Vermont State Health Dept. and Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Council
Page VI-11 REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATES The Town of Lyme is included in the Lebanon/Hanover Job Center, as defined by the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security. The Lebanon/Hanover Job Center includes Lebanon, Hanover, Lyme, Plainfield, Canaan, Enfield, Dorchester, Grafton and Orange. The table below shows that the Lebanon/Hanover Job Center unemployment rate is consistently below the County and State figures. TABLE VI-12 UNEMPLOYMENT RATES LEBANON/HANOVER JOB CENTER, GRAFTON COUNTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1980-1984 Year Job Center Grafton County New Hampshire 1980 2.8 4.6 4.7 1981 3.1 4.9 5.0 1982 4.2 7.0 7.4 1983 3.9 5.2 5.4 1984 (January-August) 2.8 4.0 4.5 SOURCE: N.H. Dept. of Employment Security REGIONAL WAGE RATES Wage rates in the Lebanon/Hanover Job Center are higher than the County and State averages. Table VI-13 below shows the 1983 annual average weekly wages for each sector of the Regional, County and State economy. Manufacturing and trade sector wages are slightly below the State average, while construction and transportation/communication/utility sector jobs pay wages well below the State. However, service sector wages are 50% higher than the State average, while finance, insurance and real estate wages are 18% higher. Since a high percentage of jobs in the Lebanon/Hanover Job Center are in the service sector, the overall wage rate for the job center is 10% higher than the State, even though most sectors are lower individually. TABLE VI-13 AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGES BY SECTOR LEBANON/HANOVER JOB CENTER, GRAFTON COUNTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE 1983 ANNUAL AVERAGE Job Center Wages as a Job Center County State Percent of State Total 327.46 277.92 298.83 109.6% Manufacturing 346.93 286.72 358.15 96.9% Durable Goods 373.58 209.09 382.43 97.7% Non-Durable Goods 287.46 247.78 309.23 93.0% Non- Manufacturing 324.30 275.15 266.10 121.9% Construction 273.69 286.07 390.98 70.0% Trans/Com m/utilities 315.61 310.87 413.88 76.3% Trade 202.94 183.93 212.60 95.3% Finance/Insurance/Rea 1 Est. 356.82 289.65 303.24 117.7% Services & Other 377.09 323.39 252.09 149.6% SOURCE: N.H. Dept of Employment Security
Page VI-12 ECONOMIC-POTENTIAL The Town of Lyme has limited potential for commercial and industrial development, and it will never become a major economic center. Limitations for economic potential include lack of public water and sewer, distance to markets, lack of rail service, low unemployment rates, limited labor supply, topography and other natural conditions. Lyme does, however, have the potential for certain types of commercial and industrial growth. The first type of economic growth is based on growth in Lyme and in neighboring communities. Local population growth increases the demand for locally-oriented service, trade and construction firms. Examples include gas stations, convenience stores, drug stores, coffee shops, hairdressers, carpenters, etc. This growth may increase activity at existing businesses and result in new businesses locating in Lyme. New industries, offices and other commercial businesses locating in the area will also have an impact on Lyme and its economic potential. These businesses may bring more people and money into the area, increasing the demand for and price of housing and increasing the amount of disposable income in the area. Larger industries and commercial developments (and housing developments) tend to create new businesses which provide support services. Major expansions of existing businesses may have the same effect. Thus, industrial, institutional and commercial growth in Hanover, Lebanon and Hartford will largely determine the amount and type of economic and population growth to be experienced by Lyme in the year.', ahead. Dartmouth College and Mary Hitchcock have the most significant influence on Lyme. The second type of economic potential for Lyme is the type of business which can draw customers from a larger area, beyond the typical market. To attract these customers to Lyme, there must be something special about the business, based on either quality or uniqueness. Businesses in this category include quality restaurants and lodging facilities and specialty shops and services, such as the Dartmouth Skiway. Lyme's historic and rural character must also be recognized as an economic asset. The Town has a number of historic buildings which could be adapted to commercial or light industrial use. If the renovations are in keeping with the historic character of the building and the surrounding area, this form of commercial or industrial growth should be preferred over new construction because it will allow commercial growth and retain and enhance the Town's historic character at the same time. New buildings may "fit in", but often they do not. Lyme's rural, small-town character, with farms and open fields, stone walls, forests, and rivers and lakes set against a backdrop of hills and mountains, is another major economic asset. Many businesses which have picked up stakes in Massachusetts, New York and other urban states have relocated to this area to enjoy these natural and environmental features. The Town and region must be careful to preserve and protect these assets which are so important to the economic potential of the area. The final form of potential economic growth is light industrial development and wholesale businesses. Unlike years ago when many industries were large, noisy and polluting, there are many small, clean, light industries today which could become assets to the Town. Examples may include electronics, stitching, machine shops and research and testing firms. Wholesale and mail-order companies also can be clean, quiet and attractive. However, the control of traffic flow, noise, glare, water, sewer, waste products, landscaping and site design and neighborhood characteristics remain as major considerations in siting new businesses. With proper land use controls, such as performance standards, the Town could almost guarantee thai any new industrial and commercial enterprise will not be detrimental to Lyme. Without these controls, outside businesses will dictate the Town's future.
Page VI-13 SUMMARY The Town of Lyme is predominantly a rural community with a small commercial and almost non-existent industrial base. There are no major employers - most of the existing businesses are small, home-based businesses and many residents are self-employed. The index of Lyme businesses in this chapter shows that a wide variety of businesses and occupations are practiced in the town. The only concentrations of commercial activity are the Common and 13 Dartmouth College Highway. Lyme's economic base is closely tied to the regional economy and some tourism. Almost three-fourths of the Town's working residents travel to neighboring communities for employment. About 93 percent work in either Lyme, Hanover, Lebanon, Norwich or Hartford. Almost half work in Hanover alone. Thus the future of Hanover will have a pronounced effect on the future of Lyme. On a small scale, Lyme also serves as an employment center, with a ratio of nearly one job to every two workers residing in Town. Tourism is a factor in the Lyme economy. The Dartmouth Skiway and the three lodging establishments, Lyme Inn, Loch Lyme Lodge and Pines Courtel, are almost entirely dependent on tourists. It is also important to realize that Lyme's economy is closely tied to natural resources and its rural, small-town character. The farms, forests, river and lakes, scenic views, historical character and rural, small-town qualities are major economic assets which attract businesses, tourists and residents. According to community attitude surveys conducted in 1974 and 1981, most residents wish the Town to remain essentially as it is - a small, rural community with a limited number of business establishments. Industrial development and shopping centers were strongly opposed. A slim majority favor new commercial/office development (58% in favor, 41% against). In terms of business locations, most residents favor areas along Route 10 south of the Common. GOALS To conserve the Town's resource base for farming and forestry. To preserve and enhance Lyme's historical and architectural resources especially around the Common. To maintain the character of Lyme as a rural community with a limited commercial and industrial base. RECOMMENDATIONS 0 Adopt regulations to prevent strip development along Route 10. Adopt regulations to minimize or avoid the potential adverse impacts of commercial or industrial development. Discourage inappropriately scaled and designed residential and commercial enterprises, including, but not limited to manufacturing firms and shopping centers, from locating in Lyme. Allow for the development of home occupations and cottage industry.