Reference Library

Conditional Use Permits

• "Look Before You Leap: Understanding Conditional Use Permits"
  All New Hampshire municipalities are familiar with land use regulation. Even the smallest towns face questions of growth, development, compatibility of uses, conservation of resources, and the need for infrastructure. Municipalities have a number of well-worn tools at their disposal to address these questions, including the master plan, subdivision and site plan review, special exceptions, and variances, to name a few. One option that local officials may know less about, however, is the “conditional use permit,” sometimes called a special use permit. These permits are useful but can be a bit confusing, and that confusion may lead a municipality astray. What are conditional use permits, exactly, and how is a municipality supposed to use them?  January 2006, Town & City NH LGC
• List of municipalities with conditional use permits as of 1/25/07 (from Municipal Land Use regulation Database)