This editorial appeared in the Union Leader on July 29, 2025
WHILE THERE has been an uproar among conservatives centered around many great Republican bills that Governor Kelly Ayotte has vetoed, we mustn’t overlook a few bills that she has signed — ones that force state mandates on municipalities regarding zoning.
When she ran for governor, Kelly Ayotte’s catchy slogan was “Don’t Mass Up NH” — a rather legitimate and laudable goal. She also campaigned on “working on the housing issue while maintaining local control.”
So much for that. Chalk it up as yet another conservative campaign promise vacated for the sake of left coast socialist policies of extremist ideologues in both parties and as special deals for special interests. We are now far beyond Gov. Ayotte’s pledge of not “Massing up” our state — the Granite State’s been Californicated. With her recent signing of several zoning bills that remove local control and use totalitarian state mandates, she has knowingly put New Hampshire on a path similar to that of left coast metropolitan cities.
The following statement from Ayotte is from a New Hampshire Union Leader article in August of 2024: “Local decision-making is a very important part of the New Hampshire way, and I don’t want the state telling the locals what to do. There is a state role to play, being a helpful partner, and I’m committed to doing that.” And from the Granite Eagle recap of her first 100 days in office, April 2025: “Ayotte emphasized the importance of local decision-making in zoning policies while encouraging the development of accessory dwelling units.”
Ayotte has done the exact opposite of what she promised by removing local control of zoning and creating top-down zoning mandates from Concord. There is no enabling or encouraging; just forced compliance.
Every zoning mandate now being forced upon municipalities was already possible to accomplish by the state’s towns and cities themselves, had they so chosen. How we’ve done things for a hundred years is by the warrant article process. The bills Ayotte signed shift control of local zoning to the state. Does that sound conservative to you?
Ayotte signed HB 577, which creates an expanded mandate on the use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), probably the most detrimental of all the bills put forth. It will change New Hampshire’s landscape over the next few years. Under the new state law, every municipality will have to allow detached housing/rental units on any land zoned for residential use. In other words, your neighborhood of single-family homes will now be transformed into a rental zone as a second home/building is now mandated to be allowed on every lot.
Compounding the negative impact, a prior restriction that required ADUs to be occupied by a family member was eliminated. Other restrictions on ADUs were also tossed. Builders, investors, landlords, real estate brokers, ideologues rejoice! As for all those who bought homes in a single-family neighborhood, they can watch their surroundings forever changed and not for the better.
The second of the many bills Ayotte signed that I’ll mention is HB 631, which forces residential housing into all commercially zoned districts. Oddly enough, most cities and many towns already permit what this bill mandates, which is the point. Municipalities already know what is best for their local zoning ordinances, they thrive or suffer the consequences of their own policies. Call me cynical, but HB 631 appears to have been pushed for the benefit of a few specific developers currently unable build as they wish.
Governor Ayotte has blatantly made a 180-degree turn away from what she promised in her campaign. She was made aware many months ago of the special interest groups and selfish ideologues behind this massive push to chip away at the property rights of Granite State homeowners.
There are several other bills, as well as details on the “players” operating behind the scenes against your town’s best interests, that this op-ed space simply will not provide the room to describe. In the coming weeks, I will be outlining these issues in the “News and Blog” section of my website, LenTurcotte.org. As in previous op-eds on the zoning subject, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the matter. You must get involved before New Hampshire becomes unrecognizable.
The players have repeatedly — in writing, interviews and social media posts — been chipping away at your town’s zoning. They and other special interest groups want to build wherever and whatever. If you don’t want fat cats to “Mass. up” or Californicate our beautiful, livable state, you need to stand up.
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Rep. Len Turcotte, R-Barrington, is in his fifth term representing Strafford District 4.