land use boards
RSA 675:9 establishes the New Hampshire Office of Planning and Development (OPD) within the Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) as the state repository for all local land use regulations including master plans, zoning ordinances, historic district ordinances, capital improvement plans, building codes, subdivision regulations, historic district regulations, and site plan review regulations.
9:00 am – Introduction
9:05 am – 10:20 am - The ZBA in NH
This session will provide a detailed look at the statutory responsibilities of the ZBA including appeals of administrative decisions, equitable waivers, special exceptions, and variances. This session will also provide an in-depth discussion of how the case law interprets the five variance criteria. Time will be devoted to participant questions.
Chris Boldt, Esquire, DTC Lawyers
9:00 am – Introduction
As a new volunteer member of your local Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA), you may not know where to start to learn about your new responsibilities. That's why NHMA is hosting a webinar designed specifically for new board members including a basic overview of the organization, powers, duties, and relevant statutory and case law authority to make your public service both more enjoyable and productive.
9:00 – 9:10 Introduction (NHMA)
9:10 – 10:20
Housing Appeals Board Update
Established in 2020, the Housing Appeals Board is tasked by statue with hearing appeals from local land use board decisions concerning questions of housing and housing development. This session will provide a practical overview of the Board and its operations and will discuss several recent decisions.
Michael Klass, NH Housing Appeals Board Member
Join Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Jonathan Cowal who will discuss the requirements for holding a proper public meeting, as well the exceptions to the meeting requirement (the so-called "non-meeting"). The attorneys will also address managing virtual public access and allowing public body members to participate remotely when their physical attendance is not reasonably practical. Consideration will also be directed at preparing meeting minutes and facilitating public comment through meeting rules of procedure.
Join NHMA Legal Services Counsel Stephen Buckley and Municipal Services Counsel Jonathan Cowal for this year’s A Hard Road to Travel workshop and the debut of our first fully updated publication since 2015!
The information contained in this article is not intended as legal advice and may no longer be accurate due to changes in the law. Consult NHMA's legal services or your municipal attorney.
There were several bills introduced last session that sought to address issues regarding affordable housing development. House Bill 1661 was the omnibus bill to survive and contains new provisions that will encourage affordable housing and require land use boards to improve transparency and speed up the local approval process.
Building inspectors, code enforcement officers, fire chiefs, health inspectors, and various other municipal officials are responsible for the enforcement of a variety of codes, regulations, and ordinances related to the use of land. These include both local regulations, such as zoning ordinances, site plan and subdivision regulations, health regulations, and the conditions of approval that accompany many land use board approvals, as well as state law, such as the State Building and Fire Code and statutes governing junkyards.
