HB1540

We need to solve the housing crisis, but we also need to protect our lakes. Our lakes are at a tipping point. Increasing human impacts (soil compaction, run-off, clearing, etc) along our fragile shorelines would be detrimental to water quality, which is directly linked to the tourism and tax bases of municipalities and the state as a whole. The municipalities should be able to decide if ADU’s within the protected shoreline will cause more harm than good.

As a resident of New London who owns two properties in the Pleasant Lake Watershed, very near the shoreline, I fully appreciate the degree to which the protected shoreland is one of the most critical areas for lake and river health. This natural buffer is the last line of defense, filtering pollution, stabilizing soils, and reducing runoff water before it reaches lakes and rivers. Automatically allowing ADUs in the protected shoreland can - AND WILL - lead to more impervious surfaces, soil compaction, land clearing, and polluted runoff, increasing the risk of water quality impacts. Human nature, in all its glorious entitlement, assumes an attitude of domination over the natural world as well as over those who are marginalized. I know: I am a clinical social worker who researches, studies, and works with diverse populations to treat trauma resulting from attitudes of power and control. HB 1540 is a targeted fix that applies only to the protected shoreland. It restores a municipality’s ability to decide whether detached ADUs are appropriate near the water, helping communities balance housing flexibility with the shoreline protections our lakes depend on. Our lakes cannot speak for themselves. We must listen to them, hear their silent cries as so many reach environmental tipping points, and advocate for their health, which translates into health for human populations as well.

I feel that towns should have the right to manage ADUs given beack to them. Particularly in sesitive areas of own like protected shoreline.

Decisions about environmental impacts on lakes should be made on a case by case basis. Local expertise should be paramount. Requiring blanket approvals makes no sense. Local zoning, local topography, local conditions of density, pavement, run-off, etc. should be deciding factors in permitting.

This change is needed in order to enable individual towns to protect the water bodies of our state. Water quality is critical to the economy of our state and critical to the health of citizens whose towns draw their drinking water from the lakes.

The main concern is the effect on water quality caused by runoff and erosion if accessory dwelling unit construction is not carefully regulated.

I believe in a change because I think we should be able to decide for ourselves, as a town, whether and under what conditions to allow ADUs in protected shorelands.

I support this change because I believe that we should be able to decide for ourselves, as a town, whether and under what conditions to allow ADUs in protected shorelands.

This presents a balanced approach and respects the rights of local communities to set standards.

Towns need to have power to make discretionary decisions to protect our lakes.

ADUs are a fabulous idea to create more affordable housing, however, municipalities should always have the last say in how they control and protect their shorelines.

As President of the Mascoma Lake Association, I know how important it is to protect our shorelines. This bill will aid in that critical work by giving communities flexibility to balance housing needs with shoreline impacts. Our state faces both a housing crisis and an environmental crisis for its 1,000 lakes, particularly the widespread rise of cyanobacteria. While all our lakes are threatened by multiple factors degrading water quality, conditions vary widely by location. Restoring municipal authority over ADUs in protected shoreline areas will give local officials the room they need to make the right decisions for a given town and its waterbodies. I urge you to vote HB1540 OTP. Thank you.

The protected shoreland is one of the most critical areas for lake and river health. This natural buffer is the last line of defense, filtering pollution, stabilizing soils, and reducing runoff water before it reaches lakes and rivers. Automatically allowing ADUs in the protected shoreland could lead to more impervious surfaces, soil compaction, land clearing, and polluted runoff, increasing the risk of water quality impacts. HB 1540 is a targeted fix that applies only to the protected shoreland.

I support the bill because it will protect the shore land by restricting ADUs by right. ADU by right would facilitate development along our precious lake and river fronts and diminish the natural defenses that keep our waters pure and safe. HB 1540 is a piece of targeted legislation that applies only to protected shore land and restores local decision making to the community.

Chair and Members of the Committee, I am in support of HB 1540. HB 1540 is a thoughtful, targeted bill that restores local decision-making in one of New Hampshire’s most environmentally sensitive areas: the protected shoreland—land within 250 feet of our lakes, rivers, ponds, and coastal waters. Accessory dwelling units can be an important housing option, and nothing in this bill prevents communities from allowing them. What HB 1540 does is clarify that municipalities may choose whether detached ADUs are appropriate in the protected shoreland, rather than being required to allow them by right. This distinction matters because the protected shoreland serves as the last line of defense for our water resources. Natural shoreline buffers filter pollutants, stabilize soils, absorb stormwater, and reduce runoff before it reaches our lakes and rivers. Even small increases in impervious surfaces, land clearing, or soil compaction in this zone can have outsized impacts on water quality. The 2025 change to state law removed local discretion and required detached ADUs by right in all single-family zones, including protected shoreland areas. That one-size-fits-all approach does not reflect the unique environmental risks associated with shoreline development, nor the differences among New Hampshire’s communities. HB 1540 restores balance. It applies only to the protected shoreland and simply returns authority to municipalities to decide what makes sense for their local landscape, infrastructure, and water resources—while still allowing ADUs where communities determine they are appropriate. Protecting water quality and expanding housing options should not be mutually exclusive. HB 1540 recognizes that both goals can be met when communities are trusted to make informed, locally appropriate decisions. I respectfully urge you to support HB 1540. Thank you for your time and consideration.

HB 1540 is a targeted fix that applies only to the protected shoreland. It restores a municipality’s ability to decide whether detached ADUs are appropriate near the water, helping communities balance housing flexibility with the shoreline protections our lakes depend on.

I support this bill to protect the shore land within 250 feet of most lakes, ponds and rivers in NH where new development is most likely to affect water quality.

I support this bill because I am extremely concerned about the quality and usage of water on Mascoma Lake !

This bill addresses both the need for affordable housing and lake protection. Please vote for it!!

The protected shoreland is one of the most critical areas for lake and river health. This natural buffer is the last line of defense, filtering pollution, stabilizing soils, and reducing runoff water before it reaches lakes and rivers. HB 1540 is a targeted fix that applies only to the protected shoreland. It restores a municipality’s ability to decide whether detached ADUs are appropriate near the water, helping communities balance housing flexibility with the shoreline protections our lakes and NH designated protected rivers depend on. I urge you to support this bill.

Allowing ADUs in the protected shoreland could lead to more impervious surfaces, soil compaction, land clearing, and polluted runoff, increasing the risk of water quality impacts. It is important to protect our shorelands and let each municipality decide what is best for their community.

Allowing the Town to grant permission or not to build ADU in protected area seems to be a basic democratic responsibility of a Town management and of no one else.

ADUs should be subject to the same shoreland rules as any other dwelling. Our lakes are under incredible stress and need all the protection we can offer. Thank you for supporting this bill

Automatically allowing ADUs in the protected shoreland could lead to more impervious surfaces, soil compaction, land clearing, and polluted runoff, increasing the risk of water quality impacts. HB 1540 is a targeted fix that applies only to the protected shoreland. It restores a municipality’s ability to decide whether detached ADUs are appropriate near the water, helping communities balance housing flexibility with the shoreline protections our lakes depend on.