The legislature has passed 15 housing reform bills. Some have been signed by the governor, and some not yet. We’ve commented on some of the most damaging and speculate that they will have to be repealed once these legislators who proposed/voted for them are primaried out of office.
Keep in mind that NONE of these bills will help mitigate a housing ‘shortage’, even in there were one. We don’t think there is such a shortage since according to this study, NH is one of the states that has the MOST available housing in the country! (https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/states-with-most-vacant-homes/)
• HB 399, establishing a commission to study the enabling act that grants local governments their zoning and planning powers. Instead of playing Whack-a-Mole with local land use regulations by passing bills to address each abuse one by one, HB 399 orders a top-to-bottom reconsideration of all local zoning powers. Its recommended changes could substantially roll back local regulatory authority.
HB 399 is one of the most sweeping and dangerous bills as it seeks to remove all local control of zoning and set state-ordered mandates for towns to follow.
• HB 577, allowing detached Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) by right and prohibiting municipalities from mandating that ADUs be smaller than 750 square feet.
While HB 577 might sound good to some with large amounts of land, consider that it would mean there would be NO MORE zones exclusively designated for single family dwellings. Imagine such a family-unfriendly bill as this? How many cars and rental units will you tolerate in your quiet neighborhood?
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• SB 188, allowing private contractors to conduct building inspections on behalf of local governments.
SB 188 could allow for favoritism and skirting the law.
• SB 282, allowing multifamily buildings up to four stories tall to have a single staircase.
SB 282 is a recipe for disaster in case of fire, flood or other emergency.
• SB 284, prohibiting municipalities from mandating more than one parking space per residential unit.
SB 284 will likely be used by builders to limit parking spaces in new construction. Parking is often a problem in the winter especially in the city. Builders can still have as many parking spaces as they wish, but this bill stops the town from mandating they have at least two. How many people do you know live in apartments together, married couples or roommates that don’t each have a car? Would you rent an apartment that didn’t have extra spaces for your roommate/spouse or visitors?
Keep emailing the governor to let her know she should be responsive to the voters, NOT THE BUILDERS ASSOCIATIONS that give her money. Tell her these bills would “MASS Up NH” and are anti-family.
Our Petition to the Governor Garners 1,122 Signers!
https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dont-mass-up-nh
You can use this form:
https://new-hampshire.my.salesforce-sites.com/support/GOV_Opinion
Or email her directly:
governorayotte@governor.nh.gov
kelly.a.ayotte@governor.nh.gov
You can also call and leave a polite message: (603) 271-2121
