Revision: Jan. 20, 2009, midnight
HB 446 – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 446
AN ACT defining “unnecessary hardship” for purposes of zoning variances.
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill defines an unnecessary hardship for a zoning variance as an application of the ordinance that denies the landowner a reasonable and economically viable use of a property, has no fair and substantial relationship between the public purposes of the ordinance and its application to the property, and will not injure the rights of others.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0110
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT defining “unnecessary hardship” for purposes of zoning variances.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Powers of Zoning Board of Adjustment; Unnecessary Hardship Defined. Amend RSA 674:33 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:
I-a.(a) For purposes of this section “unnecessary hardship” shall mean that because of the unique and particular characteristics of a property, its setting, and environment, the board finds that:
(1) The property cannot be reasonably used in strict conformance with the ordinance and a variance is therefore necessary to enable a reasonable and economically viable use of it; and
(2) No fair and substantial relationship exists between the general public purposes of the ordinance provision and the specific application of that provision to the property, the proposed use is a reasonable one, and the grant of a variance will not injure the public or private rights of others.
(b) “Unnecessary hardship” as defined in subparagraph (a) shall apply to both use variances and area variances.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.