Sen. Murphy urges state limits on minimum lot sizes as housing remedy; opponents warn of lost local control

Senator Keith Murphy, prime sponsor of SB 84, told the House Committee on Housing on April 15 that the bill would target outlier municipal lot‑size rules that drive up the cost to buy and build homes. “For any lot that has public water and sewer, the town can't require more than a half acre of land,” Murphy said, adding the bill would require a one‑half‑acre maximum where water and sewer exist, one acre where only water exists, and a two‑acre cap on at least 50.1% of residentially zoned land in each municipality.

“There's a lot of great housing legislation that's been put in this year so far. This bill, in my opinion, will do more to bring down the cost of housing in our state than any other single bill we will deal with,” Murphy said.

The sponsor distributed data he said show 176 of New Hampshire's 234 towns would be “unaffected” by the change; he urged the committee to act to broaden options for starter homes and working families.

Opponents — including elected local officials, planning board members and municipal groups — said the bill would amount to a one‑size‑fits‑all state mandate that strips towns of the authority to match zoning to local soils, wells, septic capacity, water contamination risk and school and public‑safety capacity. Representative Christine Perez of Londonderry told the committee her town is already handling large projects and lacks the local flexibility to absorb faster, statewide‑mandated change.

“Right now Londonderry just is in the process of putting 80 units in a 1.2 mile section that empties onto Route 102,” Perez said. “This mandates that no matter what happens to your town, you're stuck. That takes a right away from us.”

Speakers from industry groups backed the bill. Mike Skelton, president and CEO of the Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire, and Chris Norwood of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors said zoning reform is needed to increase supply and help employers recruit and retain workers. “Land use reform is at the absolute top of the list,” Skelton told the committee.

AARP New Hampshire and other advocates for older residents said SB 84 could free up smaller housing options for seniors who want to downsize. “Housing availability is one of the major factors” that causes young people to leave, AARP’s Mike Padmore said.

Municipal officials warned that infrastructure limits — groundwater, septic capacity, and municipal water — are not uniform across the state and that adopting statewide numeric mandates could force communities into expensive remediation or litigation. Megan Portnoy, a Canterbury planning board member, said her town uses cluster development and design standards to protect rural character while adding units and that a blunt statewide minimum would undercut those local tools.

The committee heard lengthy testimony both for and against SB 84 and did not take a vote on the measure at the hearing. Several witnesses urged the committee to pair any zoning mandate with state funding for water and sewer upgrades and other infrastructure supports.

Ending: The committee recessed after hearing dozens of public witnesses. Supporters said the measure would open housing options; opponents said it would override local judgments about environmental constraints, school capacity and infrastructure costs. The measure remains under committee consideration.