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State representative briefs Kingston planning board on pending housing bills, warns of impact on local control
Summary
State Rep. Pam Brown told the Kingston Planning Board that several bills in the New Hampshire Legislature could limit local zoning authority by requiring manufactured homes, expanding ADU rules and restricting denials on class 6 roads; she urged the board to review ordinance language and offered to testify.
State Representative Pam Brown told the Kingston Planning Board on March 18 that several bills pending in Concord could narrow municipal control over local zoning and urged the board to review its ordinances for potential conflicts.
"There are several bills to improve the supply of housing, and it looks like they're trying to deregulate the housing market," Brown said during the meeting's correspondence and public-comment portion. Brown said she reviewed Kingston's ordinances and flagged House Bill 685 for requiring municipalities to permit manufactured homes in residential zones, which could override local ordinances.
Brown said she found Kingston's regulations prohibit manufactured homes in certain residential districts but not in the rural residential district. She also noted other bills she reviewed that would require multifamily housing on commercially zoned land and an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bill that would limit some local discretion. "If those structures don't meet setbacks or building coverage requirements, which under the normal parameters would mean they'd have to go to the ZBA, that you don't have to do that," Brown said of proposed ADU language that she said would remove some existing local review.
Brown also raised concerns about bill provisions she said were rushed through committee on consent calendars. She said the ADU draft she reviewed contains a 950-square-foot cap but would prohibit towns from limiting ADU bedrooms while also limiting parking to one space, a combination she warned may not fit local conditions. "It's a direct attack on the idea of local zoning," Brown told the board.
Brown said she will continue monitoring the legislation and offered to testify at senate committee hearings on language that she judged inappropriate for Kingston. She cited House Bill 685, a separate bill she referenced as 631 concerning multifamily units on commercial land, and Senate Bill 281 (class 6 road permit restrictions) as measures she has been tracking. "If the board doesn't mind me doing so, I'm I will send the committee that comment about that section because that's not appropriate," Brown said.
Her comments were delivered as public correspondence; the board took no formal action on the legislation at the March 18 meeting but acknowledged receipt and suggested staff and members may review draft language further.
