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Keene staff outline code changes to comply with 2025 state laws on ADUs, occupancy and subdivision rules
Summary
City planners told the committee their code needs edits following three 2025 state laws (cited in the meeting as HB 413, HB 577 and HB 457) including removing an interior-door requirement for attached ADUs and updating vesting timelines; staff proposed a cleanup ordinance and a separate process for the occupancy-related changes.
City planning staff told the Planning, Licenses and Development Committee that several bills passed by the 2025 state legislature require amendments to Keene’s land development code.
Staff identified three bills by the references used in the meeting: "HB 4 1 3" (related to subdivision regulation provisions on completion of improvements and building-permit timing), "HB 5 7 7" (which changes the definition and regulation of accessory dwelling units, removing the ability for municipalities to require an interior door for an attached ADU) and "HB 4 57" (which restricts municipal ordinances that would limit the number of occupants per dwelling to fewer than two occupants per bedroom and prohibits ordinances that treat occupants differently based on familial or educational status, including college-student status).
Planner Mary Brenner said some changes are straightforward housekeeping items and staff will bundle those into a cleanup ordinance for PLD and planning-board review. She said one change — the zoning restrictions on dwelling units addressed by HB 457 — will require a standalone ordinance and more detailed policy work because it affects local definitions of "family" and group-home standards and could change conditional-use requirements.
On other timing matters, staff said state law adjusts timeframes for vested rights: active and substantial development and substantial completion thresholds will need to change to match state requirements (staff cited a change from a 5-year to a 7-year substantial completion threshold and described the existing two-year active-development requirement). Staff recommended packaging housekeeping items first and researching HB 457 impacts in parallel.
Next steps: staff will prepare a cleanup ordinance for review in the staff/public process and will undertake background work and stakeholder engagement for the occupancy/"family"-definition issues before proposing formal ordinance language.
