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Committee hears HB 685 to allow manufactured housing in residential zones; advocates praise affordability, municipal group warns of overbroad language
Summary
HB 685 would require municipalities to permit manufactured housing in all residential zones and adjust zoning within six months; nonprofit lenders, housing advocates and manufactured‑home owners supported the bill, while the New Hampshire Municipal Association (NHMA) urged narrower language to preserve local planning discretion.
Representative Joe Alexander introduced HB 685 as a measure to expand private property rights and increase affordable housing by allowing manufactured housing in all residentially zoned areas of New Hampshire.
Nut graf: Proponents said manufactured homes are durable, increasingly high quality, and priced well below site-built homes; opponents and municipal representatives recommended tightening the bill’s language to avoid unintended consequences for local planning and industrial/commercial parcels.
Alexander told the committee HB 685 amends RSA 674:31 to clarify the definition of manufactured housing and would require municipalities to permit manufactured housing in residential zones, with a six‑month window for…
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