By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — House committees heard two bills Thursday with potential impacts on affordable housing, which is a scarce commodity in the state.
One bill Senate Bill 249 would prohibit local community zoning and planning ordinances from banning short-term rentals, while the other — Senate Bill 210 —would clarify how manufactured housing parks could become resident-owned cooperatives.
SB 249 was opposed by most people who testified at the public hearing before the House County and Municipal Government Committee, while a changed SB 210 was largely supported before the House Commerce Committee.
Originally SB 210 would have required the majority of residents of a manufactured housing park to approve forming a cooperative or Resident Owned Community (ROC) before approving a mortgage from the Community Loan Fund.
The high threshold brought out advocates for resident-owned parks, affordable housing and others when the bill was before the Senate, which amended it to do away with the threshold and make it clearer and more inclusive for park residents to determine if they want to purchase a park.
Some residents of Bear View Crossing in Allenstown had pushed for the higher threshold after fewer than 25 percent of the residents voted to purchase the 300-unit park for what was eventually $21 million.
The residential cooperative that purchased the park, has instituted a $300 membership fee and a rent differential of $200 for non-members.
When an owner puts a park up for sale, it first has to be offered to the park residents who have an opportunity to purchase the land they live on through a mortgage from the Community Loan Fund.
Currently there are 142 resident-owned communities in New Hampshire, and all are successful, said Tara Reardon of the Community Loan Fund.
With the original threshold of at least 50 percent of residents needing to approve establishing a resident owned community, only outside investors and companies would be able to purchase the parks when they go on the market, opponents said.
Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, who worked with the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, to change the bill, said the voting threshold has been removed, but the bill encourages more involvement of residents and caps the cost of voting memberships at $5 instead of some cooperatives that require much higher fees.
The bill requires all residents to be notified of the terms and costs of the mortgage for a self-owned park, through a letter that may be hand-delivered and proven with a cell phone photo, Soucy said.
The bill also allows residents to vote by absentee ballots so there may be greater participation, she said.
“This is another form of affordable housing,” Soucy said, “so there should be some restraint on what you can charge (non-members) but that is a determination made by the residents.”
She said the amended bill provides good guardrails for the process, and encourages greater participation in determining if they want to become a resident owned community with self governance.
“This is a better way to start,” Soucy said, “and to provide affordable housing in the state.”
Louise Rideout, who is a member of the Bear View Crossing park, said few people were informed or knew what the change would cost. “They neglected to tell us how the loan amount was determined,” she said. “All residents should have access to the mortgage terms before purchasing the park.”
She said the provisions in the bill are a great way for more people to be informed, know what they are getting into and provide more transparency from the Community Loan Fund.
Tara Reardon said her organization discourages the kind of differential that exists at Bear View Crossing. “Going forward we will flag those things where neighbors do not have their neighbors’ best interest in mind,” she said.
The committee did not make an immediate recommendation on the bill.
Short-term rentals
The mayors of most of the state’s cities signed a letter opposing SB 249 saying local decisions on zoning and planning should remain with communities and not be overridden by the state.
“I believe zoning and planning boards and city councils can make these decisions,” said Portsmouth mayor Deaglan McEachern, “without the State of New Hampshire making them for us.”
He said the bill is anti-affordable housing, noting short-term rentals are much more lucrative than long-term rentals, and that increases property values and rents.
McEachern said including a requirement for owner occupancy could help, because the problem is out-of-state investors and companies buying up property and converting it into short-term rentals.
He noted there are two Portsmouths, one people see on WMUR and the other of people and families who have lived in the city their entire lives who come into his office and say their building has been sold and the new owner raised the rent $200 a month and they have 60 days to get out.
“This will tear the community apart,” McEachern said. “This will not make it better or benefit residents of New Hampshire, instead it favors outside investors and developers who want to turn our community into giant hotels.”
The prime sponsor of the bill, Sen. Harold French, R-Franklin, said historically short-term rentals have existed in this state for many years, but just recently municipalities have started restricting them.
He said as a property owner, he has a right to have whoever he wants to stay at his house for any period of time.
“It’s only when I get paid for it, do you have a problem with it,” French said. “You’re saying I cannot do for compensation what I have the legal right to do anywhere in the state.”
He said he does not believe short-term rentals are an expansion of a non-conforming use, and when asked if the state should become involved in what was always controlled locally, he said he does when property rights are at issue.
“There’s a point when no section of government should infringe on certain rights of ownership,” French said.
However, others testifying urged the committee to either kill the bill or send it to interim study.
Rep. Karen Umberger, R-Kearsarge, who opposed the bill, said where she lives is part of both Conway and Bartlett and has had its own zoning since 1957 by an act of the legislature.
Her community and Conway voted recently not to allow short-term rentals.
Her community passed an ordinance in 1982, that an owner had to live at the property to have short-term rentals, which stood up to a court challenge, she said.
Umberger proposed an amendment that would exempt her community from the provisions of SB 249, and said there are other problems with the bill such as it does not address home-owner or condominium associations declarations or covenants forbidding short-term rentals and other issues.
She suggested the committee recommend interim study to resolve a number of issues as did others.
The committee did not make an immediate recommendation on the bill.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.