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Springfield Planning Board to hold Jan. 15 hearing on short‑term rental, ADU and site‑plan rule changes
Summary
The Planning Board voted to notice a Jan. 15, 2026 public hearing on zoning amendments that would require Conditional Use Permits for short‑term rentals, align accessory dwelling unit rules with state law, and move operational standards into the Site Plan Review Regulations so the board can update them by noticed hearing.
The Springfield Planning Board agreed on Dec. 18 to notice a continued public hearing for Jan. 15, 2026 to consider several proposed zoning and regulatory changes, including a new Section 7.30 that would require a Conditional Use Permit for short‑term rentals (STRs) and revisions to accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules to conform with state law.
Board members discussed moving sections 7.30.5 through 7.30.9 out of the Zoning Ordinance and into the Site Plan Review Regulations so the Planning Board could amend operational standards at a noticed hearing rather than wait for the town's annual vote. Planning participant Steve Dzubak told the board that if the Site Plan Review Regulations were included in the Zoning Ordinance they could be updated only at an annual Town meeting; keeping them in the Site Plan Regulations would allow the Planning Board to review and update them by noticed hearing.
The ADU draft was revised to reference New Hampshire RSA 674:71–73 and to add language that an ADU "shall be either detached or attached," aligning the local ordinance with the state statute. Member John Trachy questioned the removal of proposed sections 1–3 from the draft; the board noted that two of those items duplicate the state statute and one repeats a current local requirement that the principal dwelling be the owner's legal domicile.
During the meeting Tim Bray reviewed prior edits to the Site Plan Review Regulations. Don Hill moved to re‑insert the previously stricken STR provisions (sections 7.30.5–7.30.9) into the Site Plan Review Regulations and the board requested that the Jan. 15 meeting be noticed as a hearing to vote on the package of amendments. The Jan. 15 notice will include proposed changes covering: the STR Conditional Use Permit section (7.30); updates to Section 7.20 on ADUs to comply with 2025 amendments to RSA 674:71–73; Site Plan Review Regulations additions (CUP application requirements, approval criteria, conditions of approval and operational standards for STRs); and a proposed Article XIV on solar energy system regulations.
No final zoning votes were taken at the Dec. 18 meeting; the board agreed to continue the hearing and vote at the Jan. 15, 2026 meeting. The board approved previous meeting minutes and adjourned at 9:13 p.m.
