We have seen a significant push this year in the New Hampshire legislature to limit local control of zoning and nullify many existing voter-adopted local ordinances that promote smart development. Some have argued that local control of zoning is to blame for the housing market and even families’ ability to thrive in the Granite State. However, local control of zoning is not hurting access to housing or families.
In fact, local control of zoning has helped create an environment where New Hampshire is one of the most desirable states in which to live, work, and raise a family. The state’s current laws that enable local governments and their voters to determine what zoning ordinances and development is best for them have created and helped preserve New Hampshire’s great quality of life and beautiful landscape. There are several reasons why we should all want to keep our current laws and local zoning ordinances intact.
The State of New Hampshire has enabled municipalities—our towns and cities—to adopt local zoning ordinances since 1925. For the past 100 years, we have seen zoning promote development of desirable residential housing, preserve open space, and create great commercial opportunities that further the New Hampshire Advantage. Since before New Hampshire became a state, Granite Staters have prided themselves on making local policy decisions at annual town meetings and determining how they want to govern and be governed.
When a big state government steps in and dictates to municipalities and their voters on how their towns will be run and developed, not only is it a loss of voter input but also a loss of freedom. Some legislators are working hard to rip away every Granite Stater’s right to help determine local zoning. We, the voters in every town, should be deciding how much development happens in our towns, the pace at which it happens, what kinds of costs we will incur as a result—such as increased administration in towns, infrastructure, public safety, and public education. Consent from the governed is a key part of our democratic republic.
Additionally, local control of zoning has not made New Hampshire a bad place to live. It’s actually quite the opposite. U.S. News & World Report just ranked New Hampshire overall as the second-best place to live in America, including that New Hampshire ranks 6th of all states in opportunity and 4th for our natural environment. “Opportunity” is measured based upon affordability, economic opportunity, and equality. New Hampshire’s current zoning laws have helped create a robust balance between the opportunities for everyone to thrive and strong economic growth with the preservation of our natural environment and beautiful green spaces.
The Journal of Consumer Affairs also ranks New Hampshire as the 4th best state to raise a family, with a quality of life ranking second in the nation. And let’s not forget the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute ranks New Hampshire as the first state in the nation for freedom, weighted on a sum of variables that impact personal and economic freedom.
How do these national rankings relate to zoning? Local zoning has made our towns and cities in New Hampshire desirable places to live and have a family. Look out your front door and consider your neighborhood—the homes that have ample green space, and the nearby woodlands you enjoy walking through on the weekends. Or consider your town’s downtown and the locally owned small businesses that line Main Street. Local zoning helped create or preserve these things. Residents of our towns voted annually to have local zoning ordinances that promoted neighborhoods with green space we all value and the historic downtowns that make New Hampshire a part of New England’s historic fabric and unique from the rest of America.
With local zoning, New Hampshire is already increasing the number of housing units across the state, with 25,000 new housing units being built or approved to be built since 2020 under current local zoning ordinances, as reported by the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs. The state has already passed other less intrusive zoning mandates in recent years, too. These mandates related to local parking requirements, requiring accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in all towns, or enabling municipalities to adopt innovative land use controls that promote things like cluster developments. Many of the current zoning mandates we are seeing this year in Concord would, combined in sum, eradicate all single-family zoning in New Hampshire.
Overhauling the state’s existing zoning laws will not make our great state better. Instead, it will likely result in new problems arising that will cost significant taxpayer money to resolve in the future and hurt New Hampshire’s desirability. Just look at other states mandating the loosening of local zoning ordinances, like California, Texas, and Florida. Interestingly, Texas and California rank 50th and 51st by the Journal of Consumer Affairs for raising a family. Florida doesn’t come far behind, ranked 38th.
We don’t need to copy this ill-advised trend of eviscerating local zoning, and there is no broad support for the state forcing towns to change their zoning ordinances, as demonstrated in a recent UNH poll showing most voters are opposed. We need to allow our communities and voters to do what is best for them, since they are the ones who have kept New Hampshire as a top place to live and raise a family. Let’s not break what isn’t broken.
