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If you would like to order OEP publications or videos, you may submit your order using the online order form. We are not able to accept payment online so an invoice will be sent along with your materials and you may then remit payment. |
Handbooks and Other Publications |
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"The Planning Board in New Hampshire - A Handbook for Local Officials"  - November 2010 (updated information shown in red text)
This handbook is intended to outline the organization, functions and duties of Planning Boards. Additional chapters will be added covering specific topics and subjects relative to the role of the planning board. This replaces Technical Bulletin #1, "The Organization and Role of the Planning Board".
(The November 2010 edition is currently only available as a download. If you have the October 2009 edition you can download the short supplement to accompany your existing handbook.)
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"The Board of Adjustment in New Hampshire - A Handbook for Local Officials" - October 2012 (updated information shown in red text)
This handbook is designed to serve as an introduction to the organization, powers, duties and procedures of boards of adjustment in New Hampshire. It is a resource to acquaint board members and other interested persons with the basic responsibilities of the board of adjustment and to suggest procedures by which the work of the board can be carried out in a fair and effective manner.
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"Achieving Smart Growth in New Hampshire" - October 2003
This project documents how New Hampshire is changing and highlights some positive examples of development and conservation throughout the state. The contents of the report are available on the Web site and new examples and information will be posted there periodically. |
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"Subdivision and Site Plan Review Handbook" - SWRPC 12/01
Written by the Southwest Region Planning Commission in 1995 (and revised in 2001), this document is a companion to the OSP Handbook of Subdivision Review and is recommended as a resource for model subdivision and site plan review regulations and related forms and notices. The model ordinance and appendicies are each available separately for easier download from the OEP reference library. |
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"Impact Fee Development - A Handbook for New Hampshire Communities - 7/99 SNHPC 
The purpose of this handbook is to provide communities with guidance for the development of impact fee assessment provisions, following the guidelines and principals established by RSA 674:21, V. This handbook illustrates a process of impact fee development which the authors believe represents a one-time, up-front charge on new development to pay for future public capital costs serving new development, or to recover past expenditures in capacity to accommodate that development. This handbook discusses principles, methods and data sources that may be applied in estimating the demands placed on various capital facilities by new development, and provides examples of impact fee systems.
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"RSA 155-E: The Law Governing Earth Excavations" - 1999 SWRPC [Sec. IV revised 8/12/05]
This handbook has been prepared to assist towns in understanding and applying the state statutes that govern earth excavations. It has been developed as a service for all member towns of the commission. Include herein are: an explanation of the law, with the major amendments of 1989 and subsequent revisions; recommended procedures for Planning Boards to follow in enforcing the law; a model excavation regulation with several supporting documents; a review of relevant court cases since 1989; and a brief discussion of the Excavation Tax, effective as of April 1, 1998. (See Excavation in the Reference Library for individual handbook sections available in Word ) |
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"Managing Growth In New Hampshire: Changes & Challenges"
The New Hampshire General Court (House Bill 207, Chapter 19, Laws of 1999) directed the Office of State Planning (OSP) to study how growth trends are affecting land development patterns in New Hampshire. OSP formed a 27-member Growth Management Committee in August 1999 to help examine the effects of sprawl development in the state, and advise the Legislature on managing growth. The Committee included individuals with a wide range of expertise and experience, including law, architecture, natural resources, real estate development, retail operations, municipal planning, historic preservation, economic development, and transportation.
This study examined the nature of sprawl in New Hampshire, and looked for ways in which public policies and programs may be contributing to the growth of sprawl. This study looked for ways in which state and local government policies and actions induce sprawl. This report offers a series of recommendations to strengthen the ability of state and local governments and regional organizations to cope with the challenges of future growth. Detailed analysis of statewide growth indicators, municipal case studies, and a review of how other states are addressing similar concerns support the recommendations. |
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"Requirements for Soils and Wetlands Data in Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations" - OSP, DES September, 1999
This document contains recommended language that can be included in subdivision or site plan review regulations to specify on-site data requirements for local reviews. It was designed to implement the findings of the Ad Hoc Committee on Site Review Requirements, an interagency, multi-disciplinary committee whose charge it has been to develop guidance for planning boards to use in reviewing local subdivision and site plans. The intent is to provide the planning board with guidance as to the type of data needed for making informed land use decisions about developments of different magnitudes and levels of intensity. For each level, the data recommended to be required is specified in this document, as well as the standards to be used in preparing the data and the type of professionals qualified to do the work. |
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"Data Requirements for Site Review: Guidance for Planning Boards" - OSP May 1999
This report presents a set of guidelines for State and local government in New Hampshire concerning the subdivision and use of land. The impetus for this report came from the release by the Soil Scientist Society of Northern New England (SSSNNE) of new Site Specific Soil Mapping Standards for New Hampshire and Vermont (SSSMS) in June, 1997. (See "Site-Specific Soil Mapping Standards for New Hampshire and Vermont" SSSNNE Special Publication No. 3 Version 4.0, February 2011). Questions were raised about these standards, the accuracy of field methods, when the standards should be required, and their relation to the previous high intensity soil mapping which has been required by many New Hampshire communities. In response to these questions, the Office of State Planning (OSP) and the Department of Environmental Services (DES) invited representatives from a number of professional organizations and governmental agencies to come together to develop uniform land use planning and regulatory guidelines for municipalities which would have a broad base of support. (No longer in print.) |
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"Site Specific Soil Mapping Standards for Use In Subdivision and Site Plan Review Regulations - OSP November 1997
This memorandum provides background on the development of the new soil mapping standards developed by the Society of Soil Scientists of Northern New England and presents model language that can be incorporated into local subdivision and site plan review regulations to update existing soil mapping standards. |
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"Buffers for Wetlands and Surface Waters" - 11/95 revised 5/97
This document is the result of a cooperative effort between the Audubon Society of NH, UNH Cooperative Extension, the Office of State Planning and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It provides a summary of the technical basis for vegetative buffer requirements adjacent to priority wetlands and surface waters. |
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"GIS Guidebook for NH Municipalities" - 12/94 OSP
This guidebook is a non-technical introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their use by municipal governments in New Hampshire. It provides a primer on important cartographic and geographic concepts underlying GIS technology and its use by cities and towns. The guidebook offers suggestions and additional sources of information to local officials considering or planning a GIS to help them make well-informed decisions and thereby avoid potentially costly mistakes. (No longer in print.) |
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"Status of Municipal Planning & Land Use Regulations"
This was an annual publication of OSP summarizing the status of planning and land use regulations for each municipality in the state by planning region. It has been replaced by reports available online in the reference library. |
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Adobe Acrobat Reader format. You can download a free reader from Adobe.
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 Microsoft Excel format. You can download a free reader from Microsoft.
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Microsoft Word format. You can download a free reader from Microsoft.
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