Title LXIV, Planning and Zoning

I. Generally. Heritage commissions shall have advisory and review authority, specifically, as follows: (a) Survey and inventory all cultural resources. (b) Conduct research and publish findings, including reports to establish the legal basis for a district and preparation of hist…

A municipality may choose to maintain a separate and distinct heritage commission and historic district commission. In such cases, the heritage commission shall serve in an advisory capacity to the historic district commission as well as to the planning board and other local boar…

I. A town or city, having established a heritage commission under this subdivision, may appropriate money as deemed necessary to carry out its purposes. The whole or any part of money so appropriated in any year and any gifts of money received pursuant to RSA 674:44-b shall be pl…

An agricultural commission may be established in accordance with RSA 673 for the proper recognition, promotion, enhancement, encouragement, use, management, and protection of agriculture and agricultural resources, tangible or intangible, that are valued for their economic, aesth…

Agricultural commissions shall have advisory and review authority and other duties as follows: I. Survey and inventory all agricultural resources. II. Conduct activities to recognize, promote, enhance, and encourage agriculture, agricultural resources, and agricultural-based econ…

I. A town or city, having established an agricultural commission under this subdivision, may appropriate money as deemed necessary to carry out its purposes. The whole or any part of money so appropriated in any year and any gifts of money received pursuant to RSA 674:44-f shall …

A housing commission may be established in accordance with RSA 673 for the proper recognition, promotion, enhancement, encouragement, and development of a balanced and diverse supply of housing to meet the economic, social, and physical needs of the municipality and its residents…

I. Housing commissions shall have authority to: (a) Conduct a housing needs assessment, which may be done in cooperation with the regional housing needs assessment compiled by the regional planning commission under RSA 36:47, II. (b) Conduct activities to recognize, promote, enha…

I. A town or city, having established a housing commission under this subdivision, may appropriate money to the housing commission as necessary to carry out its purposes. The whole or any part of money so appropriated in any year and any gifts of money received under RSA 674:44-i…

The preservation of cultural resources, and particularly of structures and places of historic, architectural and community value is hereby declared to be a public purpose. The heritage of the municipality will be safeguarded by: I. Preserving districts in the municipality which r…

For the purpose of this subdivision, the local legislative body of any city, town, or county in which there are located unincorporated towns or unorganized places shall have the authority, by ordinance, to establish, change, lay out and define historic districts. Within the distr…

I. For the purpose of establishing a legal basis for the district, the historic district commission may perform research and prepare the content of the historic district ordinance prior to its adoption or amendment as provided in RSA 675:2. In cases in which a municipality choose…

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, any district established pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision may be abolished in the following manner: Upon petition of 25 voters, the historic district commission shall hold 2 public hearings at least 15 days apart on the proposa…

Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent ordinary maintenance or repair of any structure or place within any historic district nor to prevent the construction, alteration, repair, moving or demolition of any structure under a permit issued by the building inspect…

The enforcement of the provisions of this subdivision shall be made through the zoning ordinance of the municipality. Any local legislative body which has established a historic district commission under RSA 673 shall include provisions for the enforcement of the commission's adm…

In a municipality where the planning board has adopted a master plan, the local legislative body may authorize the planning board to prepare and amend a recommended program of municipal capital improvement projects projected over a period of at least 6 years. As an alternative, t…

In case of the violation of any ordinance or regulation made under the authority conferred by this subdivision, the historic district commission, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such violati…

I. An owner of contiguous land which is located in more than one municipality may treat a municipal boundary line as an existing boundary between lots, tracts, sites or other divisions of land for purposes of this title unless the existing or proposed use of land or arrangement o…

I. In this section, "governmental use" means a use, construction, or development of land owned or occupied, or proposed to be owned or occupied, by the state, university system, the community college system of New Hampshire, or by a county, town, city, school district, chartered …

Wherever the term "wetlands," whether singular or plural, is used in regulations and ordinances adopted pursuant to this chapter, such term shall be given the meaning in RSA 482-A:2, X and the delineation of wetlands for purposes of such regulations and ordinances shall be as pre…

I. Municipalities may adopt floodplain ordinances as part of their enrollment in the National Flood Insurance Program. Such ordinances shall be adopted pursuant to the authority granted under RSA 674:16 and 17, and shall be adopted and amended pursuant to the procedures in RSA 67…

In a municipality which has enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), special flood hazard areas shall be as designated on flood insurance rate maps issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Amendments to the flood insurance rate maps shall apply to local …

In this subdivision: I. "Affordable" means housing with combined rental and utility costs or combined mortgage loan debt services, property taxes, and required insurance that do not exceed 30 percent of a household's gross annual income. II. "Multi-family housing" for the purpose…

I. In every municipality that exercises the power to adopt land use ordinances and regulations, such ordinances and regulations shall provide reasonable and realistic opportunities for the development of workforce housing, including rental multi-family housing. In order to provid…

The capital improvements program shall classify projects according to the urgency and need for realization and shall recommend a time sequence for their implementation. The program may also contain the estimated cost of each project and indicate probable operating and maintenance…

I. Any person who applies to a land use board for approval of a development that is intended to qualify as workforce housing under this subdivision shall file a written statement of such intent as part of the application. The failure to file such a statement shall constitute a wa…

I. Any person who has filed the written notice required by RSA 674:60, and whose application to develop workforce housing is denied or is approved with conditions or restrictions which have a substantial adverse effect on the viability of the proposed workforce housing developmen…

In this subdivision: I. "Small wind energy system" means a wind energy conversion system consisting of a wind turbine, a tower, and associated control or conversion electronics, which has a rated capacity of not more than 100 kilowatts and which will be used in the first instance…

Ordinances or regulations adopted by municipalities to regulate the installation and operation of small wind energy systems shall not unreasonably limit such installations or unreasonably hinder the performance of such installations. Unreasonable limits or hindrances to performan…

Small wind energy systems shall be built to comply with all applicable Federal Aviation Administration requirements, including 14 C.F.R. part 77, subpart B regarding installations close to airports, and the airport zoning regulations adopted under RSA 424:5.

A small wind energy system that is out-of-service for a continuous 12-month period shall be deemed abandoned. The planning board administrator may issue a notice of abandonment to the owner of an abandoned small wind energy system. The owner shall have the right to respond to the…

I. (a) A municipal building official shall notify all abutters by verified mail, as defined in RSA 21:53, upon application for a building permit to construct a small wind energy system. Abutters shall be afforded a 30-day comment period prior to the issuance of a building permit.…

In this subdivision: I. "Commercial fishing operation" means any type of activity conducted on land, requiring the location or storage of commercial fishing equipment such as fishing vessels, fishing gear, docks, piers, loading areas, landing areas, and cold storage facilities, i…

No commercial or recreational fishing operation shall be declared a public or private nuisance solely because of a change in ownership or a change in the character of the property in or around the locality of the operation.

No local legislative body shall adopt any ordinance that declares any commercial or recreational fishing operation to be a nuisance solely because it is a commercial or recreational fishing operation, or any zoning ordinance that unreasonably burdens or forces the closure of any …

I. In preparing the capital improvements program, the planning board or the capital improvement program committee shall confer, in a manner deemed appropriate by the board or the committee, with the mayor or the board of selectmen, or the chief fiscal officer, the budget committe…

This subdivision shall not be construed to permit an existing commercial or recreational fishing operation to change to a larger operation with regard to emitting more noise or odor, where such change violates local ordinances or regulations or creates a nuisance.

As used in this subdivision: I. "Accessory dwelling unit" means a residential living unit that is located on a lot containing a single-family dwelling that provides independent living facilities for one or more persons, including provisions for sleeping, eating, cooking, and sani…

I. A municipality that adopts a zoning ordinance pursuant to the authority granted in this chapter shall allow accessory dwelling units in all zoning districts that permit single-family dwellings. One accessory dwelling unit, which may be either attached or detached, shall be all…

A municipality shall permit one detached accessory dwelling unit. Detached accessory dwelling units shall comply with the requirements of, and any municipal ordinances or regulations adopted pursuant to, RSA 674:72, IV through IX.

I. Notwithstanding any provision of law or municipal ordinance or regulation to the contrary, any summer camp that has been operating in the state of New Hampshire as a pre-existing, nonconforming use under its applicable zoning ordinance that either closed for the summer of 2020…

I. As used in this section, "natural gas transmission pipeline" means an interstate pipeline, as that term is defined in 15 U.S.C. Section 3301(15); and II. For a new residential or nonresidential development that is located in whole or in part within 1,000 feet of the center poi…

No zoning ordinance or site plan review regulation shall prohibit, regulate, or restrict the use of land or structures primarily used for religious purposes; provided, however, that such land or structures may be subject to objective and definite regulations concerning the height…

In this subdivision: I. "Floor-area-ratio (FAR)" means the ratio of a building's total floor area to the size of the parcel of land upon which it is built. II. "Below-grade area" means any part of a building that is entirely or partially below the ground level, including basement…

I. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, municipalities with floor-area-ratio (FAR) limitations shall exclude below-grade areas from the calculation of FAR for new construction projects. II. Developers may utilize below-grade areas for purposes such as parking, storage, …

In this subdivision: I. "Commercially zoned land" means land zoned for such commercial activities as retail and office space. II. "Mixed-use" means a type of development that combines residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment uses within a single building…