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Bill would extend approvals and streamline building-code appeals to speed large projects, sponsor says
Summary
Representative Diane Power said House Bill 413 extends certain subdivision protections from five to seven years, lengthens deadlines for substantial start, and narrows local appeals to expedite construction; opponents warned about retroactivity and local authority impacts.
Representative Diane Power presented House Bill 413, a refiled measure intended to make subdivision approvals and appeals more predictable for developers undertaking multi-year projects.
Representative Diane Power said the bill extends the current five-year exemption from changes in subdivision, site-plan, and impact-fee regulations to seven years and lengthens the time for a project to become "substantially underway" from two years to three. She told the committee the changes were the result of a year-long study by the House Special Committee on Housing and were intended to reduce the risk developers face on large, multi-year projects.
The bill would also narrow the jurisdiction of local building-code boards of appeal (typically a zoning board of adjustment or selectboard acting in that capacity) to matters that concern local amendments, and it would allow direct appeals to the state Building Code Review Board for disputes involving state building or fire code application. Representative Power said the change is designed to streamline appeals and remove duplicative local-to-state steps.
Opponents urged caution. Dawn Merryman and other municipal witnesses said extending exemptions for longer, including a seven-year retroactive window for approvals granted after July 1, 2023, risks diminishing local oversight and gives developers more time to await favorable local election cycles. Margaret Burns of NHMA said the bill's retroactive application could create problems and recommended the committee remove any retroactive provision and preserve local jurisdiction over building-code appeals.
Ending: The hearing closed with two main requests from municipal witnesses: (1) remove retroactive language so extensions apply prospectively, and (2) preserve local authority for building-code appeals unless the legislature expressly intends to centralize such appeals at the state level.
