One of the largest issues preventing workforce development and young families from finding their initial homes is the lack of housing options throughout most of New Hampshire.
We have similarities with Vermont. How have they attempted to deal with their challenge? The short answer is “by force.”
Vermont worked to curtail single family zoning; a change that could make it easier for developers to get multi-unit projects built. In Vermont, cities and towns are required to allow buildings with up to four units to be built anyplace that’s served by public water and sewer lines. Vermont has also ended the right to appeal zoning permits for affordable housing on the grounds a project wouldn’t fit the “character” of the area.
Kelly Ayotte would not destroy local control. Joyce Craig probably would. Town Zoning and Planning boards will continue to play a vital role with Ayotte’s leadership. Local boards have served to ensure housing is added in a manner consistent with local priorities. Her approach to housing can be characterized as “build, baby, build,” and she says she wants an “all of the above approach” when it comes to increasing housing stock: more single-family homes, more multi-family developments, more manufactured housing. Ayotte would work to modify regulations to foster better collaboration between state and local governments and developers.
Her approach would be consistent with that taken by Gov. Sununu who signed a bill sent to him by a bipartisan legislature. The bill disciplined the state permitting approval process by requiring a 60-day permit approval for driveways to new building projects.
Many in the legislature, such as Rep. Ken Weyler, have long sought a one-stop-shop approach to managing the permitting process. This is an approach that would signal a philosophy of making processes more efficient and having builders acknowledged as important customers needing government services. Ayotte says she’d take the Sununu approach further and apply it to more state agencies involved in development. She will implement a one-stop-shop approach using Lean methodologies, a problem-solving technique applying a highly collaborative and methodical approach to business performance improvement. Kelly Ayotte is committed to achieving a 60-day end-to-end process that breaks down stovepipe barriers.
Ayotte often emphasizes that she respects local control. Local governments are where most decisions on housing developments get made. However, the interplay between state and local imperatives can be collaborative or confrontational. Vermont has chosen a confrontational approach. We need a leader that respects the importance of maintaining community standards while looking at be state’s big picture housing problem. Kelly Ayotte will improve regulations and cut red tape while collaborating with local officials. If housing is important to you, please vote for Ayotte on Nov. 5.
