CHAPTER 39
SB 328 – FINAL VERSION
2010 SESSION
03/04
SENATE BILL 328
AN ACT relative to approval procedures on plats.
SPONSORS: Sen. DeVries, Dist 18; Rep. Cooney, Graf 7
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill prohibits a planning board from treating an application as incomplete solely because it is dependent upon the issuance of permits or approvals from other governmental bodies. This bill also modifies the requirements for conditional approval by the planning board of a plat or application.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2850
03/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to approval procedures on plats.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
39:1 Board’s Procedure on Plats; Completed Application. Amend RSA 676:4, I(b) to read as follows:
(b) The planning board shall specify by regulation what constitutes a completed application sufficient to invoke jurisdiction to obtain approval. A completed application means that sufficient information is included or submitted to allow the board to proceed with consideration and to make an informed decision. A completed application sufficient to invoke jurisdiction of the board shall be submitted to and accepted by the board only at a public meeting of the board, with notice as provided in subparagraph (d). An application shall not be considered incomplete solely because it is dependent upon the issuance of permits or approvals from other governmental bodies; however, the planning board may condition approval upon the receipt of such permits or approvals in accordance with subparagraph (i). The applicant shall file the application with the board or its agent at least 15 days prior to the meeting at which the application will be accepted. The application shall include the names and addresses of the applicant, all holders of conservation, preservation, or agricultural preservation restrictions as defined in RSA 477:45, and all abutters as indicated in the town records for incorporated towns or county records for unincorporated towns or unorganized places not more than 5 days before the day of filing. Abutters shall also be identified on any plat submitted to the board. The application shall also include the name and business address of every engineer, architect, land surveyor, or soil scientist whose professional seal appears on any plat submitted to the board. Since construction of any structure near streams or rivers downstream of a dam can increase the hazard classification of the dam established by the department of environmental services, the application shall identify the nearest dam upstream and include the name and address of the dam owners.
39:2 Board’s Procedure on Plats; Conditional Approval. Amend RSA 676:4, I(i) to read as follows:
(i) A planning board may grant conditional approval of a plat or application, which approval shall become final without further public hearing, upon certification to the board by its designee or based upon evidence submitted by the applicant of satisfactory compliance with the conditions imposed. Such conditions may include a statement notifying the applicant that an approval is conditioned upon the receipt of state or federal permits relating to a project, however, a planning board may not refuse to process an application solely for lack of said permits. Final approval of a plat or application may occur in the foregoing manner only when the conditions are:
(1) Minor plan changes whether or not imposed by the board as a result of a public hearing, compliance with which is administrative and which does not involve discretionary judgment; or
(2) Conditions which are in themselves administrative and which involve no discretionary judgment on the part of the board; or
(3) Conditions with regard to the applicant’s possession of permits and approvals granted by other boards or agencies or approvals granted by other boards or agencies, including state and federal permits.
All [other] conditions not specified within this subparagraph as minor, administrative, or relating to issuance of other approvals shall require a hearing, and notice as provided in subparagraph I(d), except that additional notice shall not be required of an adjourned session of a hearing with proper notice if the date, time, and place of the adjourned session were made known at the prior hearing.
39:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: May 18, 2010
Effective Date: July 17, 2010