April 4, 2011

SPRINKER MANDATES MOVE CLOSER TO BEING PROHIBITED

Both the NH House and Senate voted on separate bills which will prevent municipalities from mandating the use of sprinkler systems.  Senate Bill 91 amends the state building code to prevent any municipality from mandating sprinklers in one- or two-family residential units, while House Bill 109 prevents any planning board from requiring sprinklers in one- or two-family residences as a condition of approval for a permit.  Both bills passed by large margins.

WORKFORCE HOUSING STATUTE WEAKENED

The NH House of Representatives voted to severely weaken the state’s workforce housing statute (RSA 674:58-61).  The bill (House Bill 368) allows each municipality to decide whether to enforce the workforce housing requirements which went into effect in 2010.  In SB 2 communities, where voting does not occur on the day of the deliberative session, a vote of two-thirds would be required in order to preserve the current requirements of the statute.

NHAR believes that it has become more difficult for citizens of New Hampshire to purchase homes in the communities in which they work and live. The Association supports initiatives that would allow for more affordable housing unit production, including greater flexibility in local regulatory ordinances.

LANDLORD STORAGE REQUIREMENT SHORTENED

The Senate has passed Senate Bill 70, which shortens the time period during which a landlord is required to store a tenant’s abandoned property from 28 to 7 days and repeals the right to a private action under the Consumer Protection Act for violation of certain landlord/tenant laws.  The bill will now be heard by the House Judiciary Committee.

EMINENT DOMAIN AND NORTHERN PASS

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Bill 648, which prohibits a public utility from petitioning for permission to take private land or property rights for the construction or operation of an electric generating plant or a transmission facility so long as the transmission facility is not needed for system reliability.  If signed into law, it might effectively end the Northern Pass project, the proposed expansion of transmission lines running from Colebrook to Deerfield.  The project as currently designed would require the taking of private land.

NHAR PRESIDENT’s OP-ED

NHAR 2011 President Tom Riley wrote an op-ed regarding the potential impact of state budget writers downshifting costs to municipalities and damaging the real estate market.  The op-ed has appeared in the Union Leader, Concord Monitor and Portsmouth Herald.  The full op-ed can be found here.