Jason Sorens | Oppose HB1196

HB1196 would repeal the Housing Champion Program, a voluntary program that costs the taxpayer zero dollars and incentivizes municipalities to enact pro-housing deregulation. Repealing the Housing Champion Program would be a grave mistake. As RSA 12-O:71 makes clear, the program is voluntary. "The New Hampshire housing champion designation program shall be voluntary. Each municipality shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to apply to the department to receive the New Hampshire housing champion designation." (12-O:71(I)) The program has no net impact on taxpayers: "In exchange for New Hampshire housing champion designation, a municipality shall receive preferential access to state resources including, but not limited to, discretionary state infrastructure funds, as available." (12-O:71(I)) The program therefore simply *reallocates* state infrastructure dollars toward communities that undertake actions to support housing. What are those actions? Largely deregulatory: "Qualifications to receive the New Hampshire housing champion designation shall include: (a) Adoption of such land use regulations and ordinances which the department determines to be necessary to promote the development of workforce housing, as that term is defined in RSA 674:58, and other types of housing necessary for the economic development of the state." (12-O:71(III)) Communities can also receive the designation by undertake infrastructure improvements to support new housing. When we look at the communities that have received the designation to date, they have all undertaken zoning reforms to protect private property rights and promote housing abundance. For instance, Farmington increased maximum densities for two-family and multifamily buildings in multiple districts and reduced minimum lot sizes for properties connected to water and sewer. Keene enacted a Cottage Court Overlay that allows smaller homes to be built in clusters on smaller lots and at higher densities. Plymouth reduced parking requirements and minimum lot sizes. Hinsdale cut its minimum lot size in half town-wide. It is appropriate and beneficial for the state to recognize these communities for their accomplishments and give them preferential access to state funds that are going to be disbursed anyway. Connecting housing reform to infrastructure funds make sense. Towns like Barrington that tighten their regulations and drive development beyond their borders make our traffic and infrastructure problems worse, especially for neighboring towns. So state dollars should not be subsidizing bad actors. The Housing Champion Program reasonably directs state transportation dollars to communities that are reducing development and traffic pressure on their neighbors. The Housing Champion Program also reasonably requires communities to show they have actually increased permitting in order to retain their designation in future years. So communities cannot game the system by enacting on-paper reforms that they fail to follow up with appropriate action at the review stage once landowners apply for permits. In short, the Housing Champion Program promotes housing abundance through responsible deregulation. Please vote ITL on the bill repealing it, HB1196.