Zoning › State preemptions › New Hampshire

NH RSA 675 — Procedure for Adoption of Zoning, Subdivision, and Site-Plan Regulations (NH)

Tracked preemption from the New Hampshire overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1983-01-01
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:NH
Other New Hampshire preemptions
NH HB 631 / Chapter 201 (2025) — Multifamily / Mixed-Use By Right on Commercial LandNH RSA 674:72 — Accessory Dwelling Units (HB 577 / Chapter 197 Rewrite)NH RSA 674:71 / 674:58–61 — Workforce Housing Reasonable Opportunity MandateNH RSA 483-B — Shoreland Water Quality Protection ActPease ANG (Air National Guard) AICUZ — Federal Airspace and Noise OverlayNH RSA 674:32 — Manufactured Housing Anti-Exclusionary MandateHubbard Brook Experimental Forest — USFS Research Watershed Carve-OutWhite Mountain National Forest — Federal Land Carve-Out (USFS)
Primary-source summary
The **planning board** drafts / holds public hearings on proposed zoning amendments (RSA 675:2-3). Amendments go to **Town Meeting** (RSA 675:3) where registered voters adopt them by ballot — majority vote, with the "SB 2" / official-ballot referendum option (RSA 40:13) available to many towns. In cities (Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Portsmouth, Dover, Rochester, Keene, etc.) the **city council / board of aldermen** adopts, with planning-board recommendation (RSA 675:2). All zoning amendments must go through **public notice and hearing** (RSA 675:7).

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

always true

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
review_typerequirepublic_notice_and_hearing_per_rsa_675_7All zoning amendments must go through public notice and hearing under RSA 675:7
review_typerequiretown_meeting_or_council_adoptionTown Meeting towns (~90% of NH municipalities) adopt by majority vote at annual Town Meeting (second Tuesday in March) or special meeting; SB-2 towns use official-ballot referendum (RSA 40:13); 13 cities use city council / board of aldermen with planning-board recommendation (RSA 675:2)

Citation

Authority source
NH RSA Chapter 675 (procedural companion to RSA 674)
§ RSA 675:2, 675:3, 675:7
https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-LXIV-675.htm

Research notes

Procedural framework, not substantive preemption — but determines how state mandates (674:71, 674:72, 674:32) reach the local zoning text. State mandates control as a matter of law on the effective date, but a non-conforming local ordinance remains on the books until Town Meeting amends it. Practical consequence: local conformance can lag the statutory effective date by years in Town Meeting towns. 13 NH cities (Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Dover, Franklin, Keene, Laconia, Lebanon, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Rochester, Somersworth) operate on a faster council-adoption cycle.