With the adoption of RSA 4-C: 30 in June, 2007 New Hampshire communities now have a new planning grant program designed to integrate the mutual objectives of development of adequate housing; open space and land conservation; and preservation of historic and cultural resources.

The Housing and Conservation Planning Program (HCPP) is being offered through the NH Office of Energy and Planning (OEP) to assist local leaders in creating comprehensive municipal planning policy which embraces housing, conservation and historic preservation, consistent with accepted NH Smart Growth principles, in a balanced and coordinated fashion.

Grants and technical assistance will be available on a competitive basis beginning in spring, 2008 for municipal applicants. HCPP will distribute $400,000 in matching grants to qualifying communities over the first two years of the program. Maximum grant awards for single municipalities range from $15,000 - $30,000 depending upon which stage; multiple communities may also apply. There are four stages of the grant program:

• Stage 1: Research, mapping and data analysis of housing, natural and historic/cultural resources; their values, locations and economic characteristics
• Stage 2: Development of a town-wide Growth and Development Strategy
• Stage 3: Update and amendment of the Master Plan, consistent with the Growth    and Development Strategy
• Stage 4 : Strategy Implementation - through audit and revision of zoning ordinance, sub-division and site plan regulations, local building code, etc.

The HCPP is an outgrowth of the former Growth and Development Roundtable, a statewide planning forum initiated in 2005 by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and charged with addressing the issues of growth and the rising costs and lack of affordable housing in NH. The new program relies upon The 10 Principles which define the interrelated approach to this challenge:
1) Promote development that is consistent with the State's smart growth principles
2) Develop a growth and development strategy the integrated housing and conservation
3) Identify and plan for the full range of current and future housing needs for everyone
4) Identify valuable natural and historic resources and plan for their protection
5) Evaluate conservation and housing issues on a site, community, and regional basis
6) Understand the interrelationship between natural resources and housing development and  the impact each has on the other
7) Encourage higher density, compact development and allow for the infrastructure needed  to support such development
8) Encourage the reuse of existing properties, especially historic structures
9) Integrate the growth and development strategy into the municipal master plan and  implement the strategy through the local regulatory structure
10) Encourage community input and education of citizens about the need to plan for future  conservation and housing growth

Limited technical assistance and oversight, as well as the grantee selection process, will be provided by OEP staff; field work, mapping and advice / recommendations for growth and development strategies, and incentives and regulatory measures, will be provided largely by planning consultants from NH and nearby states, assisting local officials, boards and volunteers. A community may apply for HCPP grant assistance at any of the four stages, providing that informational data and adopted ordinances and policies already exist, which demonstrate that the requirement of preceding stages has been met and meet the 10 Principles and program rules.

For preservation and conservation organizations, advocates and individuals, the launching of the HCPP is a new opportunity to identify, educate, publicize and secure formal protection for  agricultural lands, forests and wildlife habitats and scenic vistas; historic buildings and districts, and the cultural landscapes which so uniquely define NH's character. Conservationists and preservationists alike may find new-found political strength as allies when they combine interests to implement smart-growth principles like increased density, fortifying existing downtowns with development of upper-story housing, transit-oriented development, and more flexible local regulations combined with incentives.

For more information about the Housing and Conservation Planning Program contact the NH Office of Energy and Planning  603 271-2155  www.nh.gov/oep/programs/HCPP/

by Christopher W. Closs

Christopher Closs is a N.H.-based planning and preservation consultant who serves on the advisory committee for the Housing and Conservation Planning Program and the Preservation Alliance's Public Policy committee.