Over the past year, the Gove Group Land Development team has been actively engaged with the New Hampshire Home Builders Association to advocate for legislation that supports the development and building industry. Thanks to the efforts of many in our network, several key bills have been signed into law, we are summarizing some of these laws and their benefits below.
SB 153 Expedited Driveway Permitting creates an optional expedited review for state driveway permits for new subdivisions creating 20 or more units.
- How this helps housing: This streamlines one of the steps in the state permitting process which helps construction start sooner and reduces carry costs and construction delays that contribute to increased costs in housing
SB 110 streamlines permitting for smaller developments by raising the disturbance threshold for a permit from 100,000 to 150,000sqft of disturbance
- How this helps housing: This removes the State Review for projects with less disturbance which speeds up approval timelines for smaller projects and increases housing inventory.
HB 577 allows detached ADUs by right in single family zones.
- How this helps housing: This creates another avenue for inventory increases that don’t rely on new home communities but provides an opportunity for existing single family homeowners to create housing solutions right in their back yard.
SB 188 allows developers to hire licensed third party professionals for code reviews and inspections
- How this helps housing: This provides an additional solution during the build process to make inspection timelines more predictable and efficient
HB 631 allows residential development in commercially zoned areas where there is existing water, sewer, and roadway infrastructure
- How this helps housing: This creates another opportunity for increased residential housing in areas where it may not have been allowed before but that have the proper infrastructure to support more dense and attainable housing solutions.
We are excited about these opportunities to continue to create vibrant and diverse communities in New Hampshire.
