The NH Office of Strategic Initiatives annually surveys municipalities regarding their land use regulations pursuant to RSA 675:9 as well as for other general municipal information.
RSA 675:9 establishes the New Hampshire Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) as the state repository for all local land use regulations including master plans, zoning ordinances, historic district ordinances, capital improvement plans, building codes, subdivision regulations, historic district regulations, and site plan review regulations. RSA 675:9 also authorizes OSI to conduct an annual survey of all municipalities in order to collect information pertaining to new and/or amended land use ordinances.
The survey includes those municipalities that lack a comprehensive, traditional zoning ordinances, as several have other types of land use regulations including residential subdivision regulations, non-residential site plan review regulations, a wireless telecommunications ordinance, sign regulations, and/or a drinking water protection ordinance. Several of the municipalities that lack comprehensive, traditional zoning ordinances are also participating communities in the National Flood Insurance Program and have separate floodplain development ordinances, which are tracked by our office’s State Floodplain Management Program separate from this survey.
2019 - 2020 Survey Results - updated November 2020
The 2019 survey was completed by all, but of five of the state's 234 municipalities as well as nine village districts with zoning authority and Coos County, which has zoning authority over 23 unincorporated places in the North Country. In addition, 130 communities submitted zoning amendment updates after their 2020 Annual Town Meetings.
The survey results including 2020 zoning amendment updates are available in various forms noted below. OSI welcomes the use of the survey data for further analysis, but we ask that all data be attributed to OSI's 2019 Municipal Land Use Regulation Survey and would appreciate notification if your analysis produces any noteworthy results.
- The State of Local Land Use Regulations in New Hampshire - 2020 Update
- Article summarizes the results of the 2019 - 2020 survey.
- Interactive Map - Map depicts by community all topics covered on the 2019 survey in the order it was presented on the survey.
- Community-By-Community Snapshot
- Survey results for each community including links to land use regulations, master plans, and zoning ordinances. You can search by community or village district by entering the command "Ctrl +F" (Command+F on a Mac), which opens the search window, after the PDF opens.
- Subject Specific Tables - The data collected from the survey is categorized by topic below in the order it was presented on the survey
Municipal Planning Organizational Structure | Land Use Regulations | Master Plan Topics | Housing Information | Building Code Information | Economic Development | Planning & Development Techniques | Water & Shoreland Regulations | Energy Information
Municipal Planning Organizational Structure
- Planning Staff (Excel workbook)
- RPC Contractual Circuit Rider Planning Assistance (Excel workbook)
- Planning Board (Excel workbook)
- Zoning Board of Adjustment (Excel workbook)
- Agriculture Commission (Excel workbook)
- Conservation Commission (Excel workbook)
- Energy Committee/Commission (Excel workbook)
- Heritage Commission (Excel workbook)
- Historic District Commission (Excel workbook)
- Housing Commission (Excel workbook)
- Parks/Recreation Commission (Excel workbook)
Land Use Regulations/Documents
- Land Use Regulation Status (Excel workbook)
- Capital Improvement Plan (Excel workbook)
- Driveway Regulations (Excel workbook)
- Excavation Regulations (Excel workbook)
- Historic District Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Master Plan (Excel workbook)
- Site Plan Review Regulations (Excel workbook)
- Subdivision Regulations (Excel workbook)
- Wireless Telecommunications Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Zoning Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Municipalities with No Zoning (Excel workbook)
- Village Districts with Zoning (Excel workbook)
Master Plan Topics
Housing Information
- Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance (RSA 674:72) (Excel workbook)
- Workforce Housing Ordinance (RSA 674:58) (Excel workbook)
- Inclusionary Zoning (Excel workbook)
- Age-Restricted Housing Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Short-Term Rentals & Tiny House Regulations (Excel workbook)
Building Code Information
Economic Development
- Economic Development Organizational Structure (Excel workbook)
- Community Revitalization Tax Relief Incentive Program (RSA 79-E) (Excel workbook)
- Coastal Resilience Incentive Zone (RSA 79-E:4-a) - no communities have adopted this RSA to date
- Coastal Resilience and Cultural & Historic Reserve District (RSA 12-A:68) (Excel workbook)
- Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Districts (RSA 162-K) (Excel workbook)
- Public Water & Sewer System (Excel workbook)
Planning & Development Techniques
- Architectural Design Standards (Excel workbook)
- Cluster Development (Excel workbook)
- Complete Streets Policy (Excel workbook)
- Conservation Zoning (Excel workbook)
- Density Bonus (Excel workbook)
- Form-Based Code (Excel workbook)
- Growth Management Ordinance & Impact Fees (Excel workbook)
- Low-Impact Development (Excel workbook)
- Mixed-Use Zoning (Excel workbook)
- Outdoor Lighting Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Performance Standards (Excel workbook)
- Phased Development Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Planned Unit Development (PUD) Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Sign Regulations (Excel workbook)
- Soil-Based Lot Size (Excel workbook)
- Steep Slope/Ridgeline Protection Regulations (Excel workbook)
- Stormwater Management Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Transfer of Development Rights (Excel workbook)
- Village Plan Alternative Subdivision Regulations (Excel workbook)
Water & Shoreland Regulations
- Groundwater Protection Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Shoreland Protection Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Surface Water Protection Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Wetlands Protection Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Watershed Protection Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Well-Water Testing Required for New Construction (Excel workbook)
Energy Information
- Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy District (RSA 53-F) (Excel workbook)
- Outdoor Wood-Fired Hydronic Heater Ordinance (RSA 125-R:7) (Excel workbook)
- Small Wind Energy Systems Ordinance (Excel workbook)
- Solar Energy Systems Ordinance (Excel workbook)
Past Presentations
- Presentation slides for Overview of the 2019 – 2020 Municipal Land Use Regulation Survey Results webinar on December 9, 2020
If you have any questions about the survey results or specific data requests please contact Noah Hodgetts at Noah.D.Hodgetts@livefree.nh.gov or (603) 271-2157.
DISCLAIMER: The 2019 - 2020 results are reflective of data submitted via survey response by local officials. While information submitted is believed to be a reliable reflection of current local land use regulations, this data should be relied upon for reference purposes only and no warranty is given for its accuracy.