CHAPTER 105
HB 236 – FINAL VERSION
05/05/05 1274s
2005 SESSION
06/10
HOUSE BILL 236
AN ACT relative to the time period for filing for rehearing or appeal of a zoning or planning decision.
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill changes the calculation of the period for filing a motion to rehear a zoning decision or to appeal a planning board decision to conform to the general rule for the state by excluding the date of decision from the calculation of the period.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05/05/05 1274s
05-0800
06/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Five
AN ACT relative to the time period for filing for rehearing or appeal of a zoning or planning decision.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
105:1 Motion for Rehearing of Board of Adjustment, Board of Appeals and Local Legislative Body; Method of Calculation Changed. Amend RSA 677:2 to read as follows:
677:2 Motion for Rehearing of Board of Adjustment, Board of Appeals, and Local Legislative Body Decisions. Within 30 days after any order or decision of the zoning board of adjustment, or any decision of the local legislative body or a board of appeals in regard to its zoning, the selectmen, any party to the action or proceedings, or any person directly affected thereby may apply for a rehearing in respect to any matter determined in the action or proceeding, or covered or included in the order, specifying in the motion for rehearing the ground therefor; and the board of adjustment, a board of appeals, or the local legislative body, may grant such rehearing if in its opinion good reason therefor is stated in the motion. This 30-day time period shall be counted in calendar days beginning with the date following the date upon which the board voted to approve or disapprove the application in accordance with RSA 21:35; provided however, that if the moving party shows that the minutes of the meeting at which such vote was taken, including the written decision, were not filed within 144 hours of the vote pursuant to RSA 676:3, II, the person applying for the rehearing shall have the right to amend the motion for rehearing, including the grounds therefor, within 30 days after the date on which the written decision was actually filed. If the decision complained against is that made by a town meeting, the application for rehearing shall be made to the board of selectmen, and, upon receipt of such application, the board of selectmen shall hold a rehearing within 30 days after receipt of the petition. Following the rehearing, if in the judgment of the selectmen the protest warrants action, the selectmen shall call a special town meeting.
105:2 Court Review of Planning Board Decisions. Amend RSA 677:15, I to read as follows:
I. Any persons aggrieved by any decision of the planning board concerning a plat or subdivision may present to the superior court a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal or unreasonable in whole or in part and specifying the grounds upon which the same is claimed to be illegal or unreasonable. Such petition shall be presented to the court within 30 days after the date upon which the board voted to approve or disapprove the application; provided however, that if the petitioner shows that the minutes of the meeting at which such vote was taken, including the written decision, were not filed within 144 hours of the vote pursuant to RSA 676:3, II, the petitioner shall have the right to amend the petition within 30 days after the date on which the written decision was actually filed. This paragraph shall not apply to planning board decisions appealable to the board of adjustment pursuant to RSA 676:5, III. The 30-day time period shall be counted in calendar days beginning with the date following the date upon which the planning board voted to approve or disapprove the application, in accordance with RSA 21:35.
105:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
(Approved: June 15, 2005)
(Effective Date: August 14, 2005)