HR30

I strongly support HR 30. Communities across NH should have local control to review all proposed housing projects that could impact their town/city - local reviews (Planning Board, Zoning Board, Conservation Commission, Police, Fire and DPW) are vital to ensuring the safety, health and environment of all residents in their respective communities. I strongly urge you to Vote to Pass HR 30.

HR30 affirms municipal authority over planning and zoning, resisting state mandates perceived as undermining local control. The resolution supports community self-determination but could unintentionally limit equitable development if municipalities are exclusionary or resistant to affordable housing initiatives. Micro-level: empowers local residents but may marginalize those without political leverage. Mezzo-level: local governments retain discretion but may reinforce inequities in housing access. Macro-level: preserves local autonomy yet may conflict with statewide equity goals. Resolution supports municipal control over planning, zoning, and related regulations; emphasizes local authority and historical context of RSA 672:1.

I wholeheartedly support HR 30. It reaffirms the status quo before last session’s hijacking of local planning and zoning control. Each community has unique challenges which require unique solutions. One size does not fit all when it comes to local zoning and planning. Hands off…State!

I support HR30 because no two towns or cities in NH are the same, each having different natural, socioeconomic and infrastructure resources. Voter determination of land use and housing development ordinances has and should continue to be our right. and not state forced.

I support local authority for all zoning regulations. The state should not be able to mandate zoning to towns.

Dear Chair and Members of the Committee, I write in strong support of House Resolution 30, which reaffirms one of the most important principles in New Hampshire law and tradition: that planning, zoning, and land-use regulation belong to municipal government and the people who live there. Local control is not a slogan in New Hampshire — it is the foundation of our democracy. Towns and cities are not administrative subdivisions of Concord; they are self-governing communities with elected boards, planning commissions, and voters who know their neighborhoods, roads, water systems, schools, and environmental limits better than any distant legislature ever could. HR 30 correctly recognizes that zoning authority in New Hampshire was never meant to be imposed from above. The Standard Zoning Enabling Act was designed to empower municipalities, not strip them of their voice. RSA 672:1 is equally clear: planning and zoning are legislative tools intended to help communities manage growth, protect property values, ensure public safety, and preserve the character of the places people call home. Yet we are now seeing an aggressive push to override local zoning under the misleading banner of “property rights.” In reality, these efforts elevate the interests of a few developers or speculators at the expense of the rights of everyone else who lives in a community. When the state forces density, building types, or development patterns onto a town, it is not expanding freedom — it is transferring power away from voters and toward outside interests. True property rights mean that homeowners and neighbors have a say in what happens next door. They mean communities get to decide how growth happens, where it happens, and whether infrastructure can support it. They mean local democracy, not state preemption. HR 30 does not block housing. It does not ban development. It simply affirms that New Hampshire’s land-use system works best when decisions are made closest to the people who live with the consequences. This resolution sends a clear message: New Hampshire will not abandon its tradition of town meeting, local boards, and community-based planning in favor of one-size-fits-all mandates from Concord. I respectfully urge the Committee to vote Ought to Pass on HR 30. Sincerely, David John Preece State Representative, Hillsborough District 17

Towns know their needs better than the states. Residents should be able to enact zoning that works for them in accordance to their master plan.

Passage of this bill would reaffirm that elected officials have not completely lost their minds in the face of bills (last year and this year). Long ago, wise legislators enacted laws which produced the NH that we love. Government now appears intent to pick winners and losers to upset valuation of citizen's prior housing investment choices. Ongoing government statute tinkering pits existing constituent single family homeowners property valuation against MA house flipper vandals who destroy neighborhood valuations with subpar rental scheme additions. Instead of living in neighborhood with upset neighbors, the vandals sell the cultural mess and they move on.

Position recorded without written comment.

Position recorded without written comment.

Position recorded without written comment.