Restoring the American Dream in New Hampshire  

For too many New Hampshire residents, the idea of owning a home or finding stable housing remains out of reach.  Earlier this year, the median home price in New Hampshire hit $525,000, a nearly 13% increase from just a year earlier. Rents in New Hampshire have shot up an average 45% since the pandemic, compared to 25% nationally. This is hurting hardworking families in our state and requires immediate action.

While I was Mayor of Manchester, we worked directly with community partners, residents, and developers, to bring over 2,000 new units of housing to the city, including over 500 units of affordable housing. In December of 2023, we broke ground on one of the largest affordable housing developments in the state.

But while I’ve been taking on these challenges and fighting for New Hampshire families, Kelly Ayotte has been profiting from the housing crisis. As a board member for Blackstone, the nation’s largest corporate landlord, Ayotte made millions from a company that jacks up rents and preys on residents across the country. New Hampshire deserves a Governor that will fight for our residents and support local communities, not one who places corporate greed over the lives and security of New Hampshire families.

Kelly Ayotte has shown that her first priority will always be to look out for herself, but as Governor, I’ll always work for you. New Hampshire must take steps to support and be an active partner to our local communities to empower them to develop the housing solutions that we desperately need.

That’s why I am proposing a plan to increase the supply and reduce the cost of houses and apartments so that everyone in the Granite State can access safe, affordable, and sustainable housing. My plan will: strengthen New Hampshire’s communities and downtowns, create stronger partnerships with our cities, towns, and developers, and expand state support for financing tools.

As Governor, I'll work directly with local governments and housing authorities to find housing solutions that make sense for our cities and towns and meet the needs of New Hampshire to bring down the cost of housing. We need housing that is affordable for everyone, and building additional housing units, especially in our existing downtowns, will help every income level - whether you are a person experiencing homelessness, a teacher trying to buy your first home, or a senior looking to downsize.

Our communities come in all shapes and sizes, so different tools will make sense in different locations, and focusing on building upon downtown areas where infrastructure exists is a smart investment in our future.

Strengthen New Hampshire’s Communities and Downtowns. We want New Hampshire to retain and revitalize its beautiful, historic downtown communities - where we run into neighbors, and our generations mix. Using local tools to bring mixed use back to our Main Streets and adding the vitality of mixed-use and residential zoning is a pathway to this vibrant future.

●      Empower Municipalities to Convert Commercial Zones to Mixed-Use Zones. Allow additional stories of residential on top of commercial single-story buildings. Incentivize communities to designate up to 50% of their municipal downtown commercial zone for mixed-use housing projects.

●      Pass Density Bonuses for Affordable Housing Developments. Support zoning ordinances which permit affordable housing developments to build at higher densities than base municipal density in downtown and surrounding areas.

●      Normalize Homeowner Right to Construct ADUs. Allow by right, a single attached or detached accessory dwelling unit and allow for the permitting of a second ADU. Permit the conversion of existing structures on property to ADUs.

●      Reform Parking Requirements. Cap minimum parking requirements for multifamily developments to reduce costly parking mandates and allow developers to meet ‘right-sized’ parking standards in communities.

Partner with our Cities, Towns, and the Housing Industry

●      Increase funding for New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. Specifically, to the Affordable Housing Fund, which is a highly-leveraged fund that brings the most needed projects to life across the state. This can be accomplished through increasing the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) Allocation.

●      Increase Funding for Housing Champions Designation and Municipal Planning and Zoning Grant Programs. These programs have garnered significant interest and the state should provide more funding to assist communities who want to update zoning and make needed infrastructure improvements to build more housing.

●      Expand the Office of Planning and Development. Hire staff to facilitate state regulatory process for housing projects and zoning reform, as well as provide training, oversight, and support for local land use boards.

●      Streamline Housing-Related Approvals. It is important that our driveway permits, alteration of terrain, NHDES, and other state-level approvals support additional housing while maintaining safety and are processed in a timely manner.

●      Streamline Process for Selling State Land for Housing Development. Our disposal process is complicated and is not transparent. We need to undergo a full audit of state property and put forward transparent recommendations for development.

●      Increase funding for Regional Planning Commissions. Support planning commissions to establish and accomplish local housing goals.

State Support for Financing Tools

●      Increase Community Development Finance Authority Tax Credits for Housing Projects. These have proven to be highly-leveraged dollars that make a huge impact.

●      Establish Historic Rehabilitation Housing Tax Credit. Provide a tax credit to convert historic buildings into housing. This would particularly assist with ensuring our historic mill buildings have a new life.

●      Expand First Time Home Buyer Programs. Expand first time home buyer programs to provide additional assistance to workers in high-need professions like teachers, nurses, mental health professionals, first responders and recovery workers.

●      Expand 79-E Program. Expand 79-E tax credits to new construction that includes affordable units on vacant lots in downtowns and village centers, and allow developers to convert underutilized office spaces to housing outside of designated downtown districts where local planning supports it.

●      State-Backed Credit. Establish state-level guarantee and credit support to assist local financing of small developers looking to create residential units.

●      Advocate for Additional Federal Resources. Work with the Federal Delegation to increase Low-Income Tax Credits to fund construction of affordable housing and apply for competitive Federal grants that support the reduction of regulatory barriers like the Department of Housing and Urban Development PRO Housing competition and funding to support manufactured housing, the PRICE Act competition.