House passes bill reducing parking requirements for housing developments

Yahoo

01-05-2025

Housing advocates say parking requirements can hamper and even prevent some housing projects from moving forward. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin)
The New Hampshire House passed a bill Thursday to prevent cities and towns from requiring more than one parking space per housing unit, a move intended to ease burdens on developers and encourage more housing.
But in passing the bill, the House made some changes that could create a tussle with the Senate.
Under current law, municipalities are capped at requiring 1.5 parking spaces per unit, or three for every two units.
As originally introduced by Sen. Keith Murphy, a Manchester Republican, Senate Bill 284 limited municipalities from mandating more than one parking space but included some exceptions. For developments containing 10 units or more, or for one-bedroom and studio apartments that qualify as workforce housing, cities and towns could continue requiring 1.5 parking spaces.
In April, the House Housing Committee proposed an amendment to Murphy's bill that would remove those exceptions, limiting all municipal parking minimums to one spot per unit.
Housing advocates say parking requirements can hamper and even prevent some housing projects from moving forward, by raising costs and creating some logistical barriers. Opponents to the bill, such as the New Hampshire Municipal Association, argue cities and towns should have the flexibility to require parking minimums for housing developments in order to reduce the strain on other parking options in town.
Rep. Joe Alexander, the chairman of the House Housing Committee, said the House's version was a better way to encourage the market to produce housing.
'The majority of the committee believes that the free market is the best determinant of what sufficient parking is needed for each residential unit and property owners are the best decision-makers when it comes to how much parking is necessary for their property,' Alexander wrote in an explanation in the House calendar. 'This bill as amended still allows municipalities to regulate parking up to one space per unit.'
The bill was recommended by the Housing Committee 14-1, and passed the House 197-144.
'The state is imposing a one-size-fits-all mandate that may not reflect local realities, such as geography, population density, public transit availability, or tourism demands,' said Rep. Kim Rice, a Hudson Republican. 'What works in a compact urban area like Portsmouth may be entirely unworkable in the rural town with limited transportation alternatives.'
Rice said the requirements could affect residents elsewhere who might not have access to parking, and could lead to 'poorly planned developments.'
The bill will now head back to the Senate, which must vote on whether to accept the House's changes, reject them and kill the bill, or move to a committee of conference with the House to try to negotiate.