Advocates: N.H. needs to update accessory dwelling unit law

Mar. 10—CONCORD — Will Walker of Hollis said doubling the option for an accessory dwelling unit on someone's property and making it easier to gain local approvals would allow him to create a lasting home for his son who is autistic.

"We worry about what is going to happen to our son. We want him to prepare for his life without us," Walker told the House Special Committee on Housing on Friday.

Supporters maintain this change would help address the chronic shortage of affordable housing in the state.

The 2023 New Hampshire Statewide Housing Needs Assessment concluded that without an aggressive housing building boom, New Hampshire will be 55,000 units short of the state's need by 2040.

Advocates for housing, young voters, senior citizens and Realtors all said a 2016 law legalizing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) didn't go far enough for families who want to have an apartment on their property either to rent it or for a family member to live there.

"Eight years later we are in a position to really improve this law," said Elissa Margolin, director of Housing Action N.H.

"There were too many compromises, and it is not really working as well as it could."

Currently, property owners have the right to one ADU on a property, but zoning boards can still require they spend the time and money needed to secure either a use permit or a special exception to have one.

This bill (HB 1291) would permit property owners to have up to two ADUs, not require any zoning approvals and let the owner be able to either attach these units to the main home or have them free standing on the property.

Local boards also could not impose greater parking requirements for an ADU than those that exist for single-family residences.

"Owners should be able to use the property as they see fit," said Sara Holland, vice chairman of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.

Bryce Kaw-uh, chairman of the Manchester Planning Board, said his group has recommended the city Board of Aldermen eliminate the requirement that ADUs come before the city planning panel.

"We have had only a few dozen applications for ADU over last few years because to have to go through such a process, it is intimidating," Kaw-uh said.

Natch Greyes, lobbyist for the New Hampshire Municipal Association, was the only one to oppose the bill in person.

"NHMA opposes all statewide zoning mandates and supports local solutions to land use issues," Greyes began.

Many cities and towns in the state have higher rates of ADUs than there are in states and large cities with these mandated use laws, he said.

"We think the state and the local level are responding well to the demands in the market," he added.

But Ben Frost, deputy director of New Hampshire Housing, said local boards in many towns create artificial barriers to build ADUs.

"This requires proactive legislation like this. If you want to do something to deal with the housing shortage crisis then it makes sense to eliminate the barriers to doing that," Frost said.

Timothy Harned, a former chairman of the North Hampton Planning Board, warned this could erode property values in many communities.

"Allowing two Accessory Dwelling Units, ADUs, as a 'matter of right' on these smaller lots already containing a residential unit will lead to overcrowded lots with residences, septic, garages, parking, etc. shoehorned into the lot," Harned wrote to the committee."

"The resulting congestion will be significantly detrimental to the look and feel of these already existing residential neighborhood areas within North Hampton."

The housing panel last Friday recommended to the full House four other bills on the topic, the most controversial to prevent local boards from imposing residential parking requirements greater than one space per housing unit (HB 1400).

Rep. Joe Alexander, R-Goffstown, chairs the House housing panel.

"I think the market can adjust, developers are going to build to what the needs are," Alexander said.

"Sometimes municipalities use parking as a way to deny a project...and I don't think that is fair. It is borderline discrimination and I think as a state we need to claw that authority back."

But Rep. Thomas Walsh, R-Hooksett, said a cap would fail to recognize the need for additional parking spaces for certain housing projects.

"Municipalities should not be using parking to deter development, but I have a fear with what a one-size-fits-all policy will create," Walsh said.

"I think this creates more problems than it solves."

The other bills the committee endorsed were:

—Sprinkler mandates (HB 1065): This would prevent cities and towns from requiring sprinkler systems for existing housing projects of up to four units as long as the building meets state building and fire codes;

—Manufactured Housing Access (HB 1361): This brings more clarity to the existing requirement that all cities and towns have to allow mobile homes to be built either on individual lots, mobile home parks or manufactured housing subdivisions.

—Special Study (HB 1168): This would create a committee to look into incentives to build more affordable housing for the disabled.

The panel is expected to make a recommendation on the ADU bill when it meets next Friday.

klandrigan@unionleader.com

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