Requires municipalities to approve residential construction permits when a licensed architect certifies conformity with surrounding density and prohibits discretionary zoning denials inconsistent with existing neighborhood patterns.
relative to restricting municipal downzoning inconsistent with existing neighborhood density.
I strongly support HB 1251 because preventing municipalities from downzoning established neighborhoods protects housing affordability and stops exclusionary zoning practices. New Hampshire needs more homes, not artificial barriers that reduce density and drive up costs
1. Let the state govern issues at the state level, let the municipalities govern themselves. 2. Do not replace a duly appointed, impartial zoning board with the paid opinion of an architect that can only benefit the party footing the bill. Government by checkbook? No, no no!
Restricting downzoning limits local flexibility to create more equitable, accessible housing options.
This bill neuters zoning board discretion based only on an unelected architects "analysis" without any board recourse. The architects opinion [which is obviously always in favor of the applicant] would usurp governance. This nonsense is antithetical to democracy, leaving state power in the hands of a paid employee of the beneficiary.
This bill contains two fatal flaws: * The determination of the architect must be accepted even if clearly wrong * There is no definition of "neighborhood" so an area can be deliberately selected to contain the densest part of a community gerrymandered to the desired site, and over time the whole community density can be increased to its current maximum density
Position recorded without written comment.
Position recorded without written comment.
Position recorded without written comment.
Position recorded without written comment.