HB 722-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2003 SESSION
06/09
HOUSE BILL 722-FN
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill allows 50 registered voters to protest a land use change before the planning board. Receipt of a protest petition shall suspend planning board action on the plan and shall cause the local governing body to hold a special town meeting to approve the land use change. The special meeting shall be binding on the planning board if 70 percent of the voters who voted in the last municipal election vote in the special meeting.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03-1090
06/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three
AN ACT relative to land use changes.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Land Use Change Protest Petition. Amend RSA 674:35 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. Residents of the municipality may protest any land use change pending before the planning board by presenting a petition signed by 50 registered voters of the municipality to the board, with a copy to the governing body. Upon receipt of the protest petition, the planning board shall suspend any action on the proposed land use change until such time as the proposed change has been put before the voters in a special town meeting. Upon receipt of the protest petition, the governing body of the municipality shall schedule a special town meeting for the purpose of approving such land use change. The vote of such special town meeting shall be binding on the planning board if 70 percent of the voters who participated in the most recent municipal election vote at the special meeting. If less than 70 percent of said voters vote at the special meeting, the result shall not be binding on the planning board and no further protest petitions on the land use change shall be allowed.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.
LBAO
03-1090
Revised 2/4/03
HB 722 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to land use changes.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill may increase local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or state and county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Association states this bill amends RSA 674:35 relative to the power of municipalities to regulate subdivisions to provide a mechanism by which 50 residents of a municipality may protest any land use change pending before the planning board by filing a petition, which would suspend further planning board action. The filing of the petition would also require the governing body to schedule a special town meeting for the purpose of acting on the proposed land used change, and the vote of the meeting would be binding on the planning board if a sufficient number of voters attended. This bill could result in increased municipal costs due to the costs incurred in calling and holding a special town meeting (i.e. - hall rental and setup/breakdown, checklist review sessions, election official pay). There would also be the potential for additional litigation costs if the voters at the meeting denied (or approved) a proposal in a manner contrary to local regulations, state law, or the state or federal constitution.
The Department of Revenue Administration states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Department.