Experts say the state needs to build 60,000 units by 2030 to accommodate current and future demand. (Getty Images)
For Granite Staters, access to affordable housing is a matter of top importance. A June University of New Hampshire poll found 36 percent of respondents cited housing as the top issue facing the state, far above any other concern.
New Hampshire housing prices have hit record highs, rental unit availability is far below what economists consider healthy levels, and government experts say the state needs to build 60,000 units by 2030 to accommodate current and future demand.
But of the four major candidates for governor this year, only one – former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, a Democrat – has released a detailed plan to increase housing.
Craig issued her bullet-pointed plan on Aug. 27, just weeks ahead of the Sept. 10 primary. Other candidates have agreed that housing is a serious issue, but have been more vague on the specifics of their plans.
Here’s what Craig, her main Democratic opponent, Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, and the two leading Republican candidates, former Senate President Chuck Morse and former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte have said – and not said – about what they will propose to increase housing in New Hampshire.
Joyce Craig
Of the four candidates, Craig has so far released the most detailed picture of her plans for housing.
One part of her plan involves the pursuit of legislation to override local zoning laws that currently restrict housing.
That includes a law that would allow property owners to construct one accessory dwelling unit “by right” on their properties – meaning without additional stipulations imposed by the town or city – and allow for a second accessory dwelling unit subject to local permitting requirements. Currently, all towns and cities must technically allow for accessory dwelling units in single-family zoning districts, but many have added onerous restrictions that make doing so difficult.
The New Hampshire House passed a bill this year that would accomplish Craig’s proposal – House Bill 1291 – but the Senate killed it after Republicans argued it would be unfair to homeowners who didn’t want additional housing in their neighborhood.
Craig also called for a cap on the number of parking spaces municipalities can require for new housing developments. This summer, Gov. Chris Sununu signed a law, House Bill 1400, that would cap that at 1.5 parking spaces per unit for housing developments with 10 or more units, as well as for all workforce housing developments and all studios and one-bedroom apartments less than 1000 square feet. It is unclear how far Craig would seek to further restrict municipalities.
Craig would also seek to allow municipalities to pass zoning code updates that would allow for mixed-use zones, allowing for commercial properties to more easily share space with residential properties. The House tabled a bill to do so, House Bill 1053, in March.
And she would also push to empower cities and towns to exempt developments from density restrictions as long as the units are affordable.
Craig has called for boosting funding to the affordable housing fund run by New Hampshire Housing; reducing approval times from the Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Transportation; pushing for the sale of state land to housing developers; expanding state-backed credit options for small developers; and putting money into programs that would make funds available to both new homebuyers and developers.
“We know there’s a lot of red tape with funding that has come from the state,” Craig said during a Sept. 4 WMUR debate. “… So we have to cut through the tape and get these developments built now.”
Cinde Warmington
Warmington has agreed that the housing crisis is a top concern, though she has not released her own plan.
“Everywhere you go across the state, you’re hearing about the lack of affordable housing here in the state,” she said during the WMUR debate. “Small businesses can’t hire people because there’s no place for them to actually live here in the state.”
Warmington has vowed to work with developers to find incentives and approaches to build new housing units across the state.
She also pointed to the need to change zoning ordinances that are a barrier to new housing. But she has not specified whether those changes should happen organically, via changes at the local level, or with state action.
A campaign spokesman did not clarify Warmington’s preferences around zoning code overhauls. Speaking to the Concord Monitor in July, Warmington said she would “incentivize communities to face their zoning ordinances and remove other obstacles from the way of developments so that developers will be encouraged to build in those communities,” but did not give specific examples.
Warmington has also called for using state economic development money to reward cities and towns that are pursuing additional housing. Her campaign has not clarified which funds, but it could be done through the existing Housing Champions program under RSA 12-O:72, or the Invest NH program in RSA 12-O:70.
Warmington has noted that as an executive councilor, she helped push Sununu and Department of Business and Economic Affairs Commissioner Taylor Caswell to add affordability requirements to Sununu’s proposed InvestNH housing program. That program, which was initially paid for with $100 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act, provides developers monetary incentives to pursue projects in the state, but it did not have requirements that the new units be affordable.
After rejections from Warmington, the lone Democrat on the council, and some Republican colleagues, Caswell revised the proposal to include guardrails to require affordable units.
Chuck Morse
Morse has said housing is a top issue he’s heard about from voters.
However, he has not indicated that he would support the state overriding local zoning ordinances. Instead, he has touted his support for local control when asked about housing. A spokesperson for the Morse campaign did not respond to questions seeking to clarify whether Morse would back state-led zoning code overhauls.
As governor, Morse would work to get state and federal funding to municipalities to help build water and sewer infrastructure, which can be a sticking point for many developments.
“I believe what we have to do with the communities that want to work with us and create housing stock in New Hampshire: We have to help them create infrastructure, whether that’s through water or bringing them roads,” he said during a Sept. 3 debate with Ayotte on WMUR. “We can do that.”
He has also criticized Ayotte’s involvement on the board of Blackstone, an investment management company that raised rents in San Diego by 79 percent, according to a recent report by a watchdog. Morse has lambasted corporate involvement in the rental and housing market. Ayotte said Blackstone owns just three developments in New Hampshire and is not the cause of New Hampshire’s housing crisis, and has countered that the state should work with private companies to build housing, not against them.
Morse’s spokesperson did not clarify whether Morse would seek to take action against Blackstone or other rental management companies if elected as governor.
Kelly Ayotte
Ayotte has said she would work with private developers as governor to encourage them to move forward with housing developments and to try to clear any roadblocks.
And like Morse, she has not said whether she would support any state-led overhauls to local zoning codes. A spokeswoman for Ayotte did not respond to a request to clarify her position.
But Ayotte has been most vocal about streamlining the approval processes at the state level. That includes environmental reviews conducted by the Department of Environmental Services and approvals for driveway permits by the Department of Transportation.
“One of the things I hear a lot about is that our state agencies’ permitting process is kind of a mess right now,” Ayotte said at a candidate forum hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business in June. “… At the end of the day, what I think you need to do is actually what we do in manufacturing called the ‘lean process,’ where we look from beginning to end, how long does it actually take to get something done?”
Ayotte has called for the permits to be turned around within 60 days. But Sununu signed a bill in August, House Bill 1202, that would require the Department of Transportation to issue approvals for driveway permits for all residential housing within 60 days – provided the driveway is not classified as a “major driveway.”
It is unclear what further streamlining of the driveway permitting process Ayotte would propose as governor; a spokesperson for the Ayotte campaign did not respond to requests for clarification.
Ayotte has also said she would use transportation infrastructure dollars “to incentivize local partnerships,” which could refer to the Housing Champions program or the Invest NH program.
And she has said she would lobby the federal government to push the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, a major impediment to home buying. “We need new leadership there,” Ayotte said during a Sept. 3 debate.