HB 462 – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 462
AN ACT relative to site plan review of agricultural operations.
SPONSORS: Rep. O’Connell, Hills 6; Rep. Tobin, Belk 2; Rep. B. Williams, Graf 8
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill allows municipalities to presume that agricultural operations are below the threshold for site plan review.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0620
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to site plan review of agricultural operations.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Declaration of Purpose Amended. Amend RSA 672:1, III-b to read as follows:
III-b. Agriculture makes vital and significant contributions to the food supply, the economy, the environment and the aesthetic features of the state of New Hampshire, and the tradition of using the land resource for agricultural production is an essential factor in providing for the favorable quality of life in the state. Natural features, terrain, and the pattern of geography of the state frequently place agricultural land in close proximity to other forms of development and commonly in small parcels. Agricultural activities are a beneficial and worthwhile feature of the New Hampshire landscape and shall not be unreasonably limited by use of municipal planning and zoning powers or by the unreasonable interpretation of such powers, nor shall agriculture be limited by other governmental agencies or political bodies;
2 Declaration of Purpose Amended. Amend RSA 672:1, III-d to read as follows:
III-d. For purposes of paragraphs III-b, III-c, and III-e, “unreasonable interpretation” includes the failure of local land use authorities and others to recognize that agriculture, forestry, and commercial and recreational fisheries, when practiced in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, are traditional, fundamental, and accessory uses of land throughout New Hampshire, and that a prohibition upon these uses cannot necessarily be inferred from the failure of an ordinance, [or] regulation, law, or administrative rule to address them;
3 Site Plan Review Thresholds; Agriculture. Amend RSA 674:43, IV to read as follows:
IV. The local legislative body of a municipality may by ordinance or resolution establish thresholds based on the size of a project or a tract below which site plan review shall not be required. If a municipality establishes a size limit below which site plan review shall not be required, the planning board shall adopt or amend its regulations to clearly reflect that threshold. Agricultural operations conforming to the definition of agriculture in RSA 21:34-a may be presumed to be below the threshold for site plan review. Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the planning board from establishing such thresholds in the absence of action by the legislative body.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.