HB 616-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2021 SESSION
21-0646
11/06
HOUSE BILL 616-FN
AN ACT relative to review of planning board decisions.
SPONSORS: Rep. Baroody, Hills. 43
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires a bond to be posted in certain appeals of zoning decisions.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 HB 616-FN - AS INTRODUCED
21-0646
11/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT relative to review of planning board decisions.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 New Subdivision; Posting of Bond. Amend RSA 677 by inserting after section 19 the following
2 new subdivision:
3 Posting of Bond
4 677:20 Posting of Bond Required in Certain Appeals.
5 I. Whenever an appeal of the approval of any residential or commercial site plan, including
6 commercial subdivisions and housing projects, is taken to a court of competent jurisdiction, the court
7 shall require the person or persons appealing to file a bond equal to the assessed value of the
8 property, as determined by the municipality in which the project is based to indemnify and save
9 harmless the person or persons in whose favor the decision was rendered from carrying costs and
10 attorneys fees he or she may sustain in case the decision being appealed is affirmed.
11 II. The cost to file an appeal pursuant to this section shall be $1,700.
12 III. If an appeal taken under this section is not successful, the appellant party shall be
13 responsible for paying any attorney's fees incurred by the appellee, as well as the carrying costs for
14 the developer during the period of the appeal. Such sums shall be drawn down from the bond posted
15 pursuant to paragraph I if the appellant does not submit payment within 10 days of the decision
16 which affirms the approval.
17 IV. A full accounting of any fees sought to be recovered by the appellee pursuant to
18 paragraph III shall be submitted within 5 days of the date of the decision which affirms the
19 approval.
20 V. Standing for appeals of approvals of projects pursuant to paragraph I shall be limited to
21 direct abutters only.
22 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
 LBA
21-0646
12/30/20
HB 616-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to review of planning board decisions.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
Estimated Increase / (Decrease)
STATE: FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024
Appropriation $0 $0 $0 $0
Revenue $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
Expenditures $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
[ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Judicial
Funding Source: Branch Facility Improvement Fund (RSA 490:26-c ) and Technology Fund (RSA
490:26-h)
LOCAL:
Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Expenditures $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires the posting of a bond by a direct abutter who wishes to appeal the approval of a
residential or commercial site plan. Such bond shall be in the amount of the assessed value of
the property. The bond shall cover attorney fees for the appellee and developer carrying costs
incurred during the appeal period should the appeal be unsuccessful. The fee to file such appeal
is set at $1,700.
The Judicial Branch indicates the new filing fee of $1,700 would replace the existing $280 filing
fee. The Branch states it has received 25-30 planning board appeals and 27-45 zoning board
appeals per year over the last 2 years. The Branch does not know whether these appeals related
to the approval of residential or commercial site plans. Assuming all such appeals would be
covered by this legislation, on average 52-75 appeals per year would be subject to the new $1,700
fee, yielding an additional $73,000-$107,000 in revenue. However, the Branch expects the new
filing fee, posting of bond and risk of payment of attorney fees would result in less appeals filed.
This in turn may lead to a decrease in filing fees and less resources needed for processing these
cases. Because of these uncertainties, the fiscal impact is indeterminable.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states that while the bill references appeals for
direct abutters and a new fee, there are existing provisions for appeal of zoning board decisions
 (RSA 677:4) and planning board decisions (RSA 677:15) which remain viable and allow for any
aggrieved person to appeal. There may be instances where a municipal governing body appeals
the decision of a zoning board. In such cases, there may be an additional cost for the posting of
the bond required by this bill. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the municipality would incur costs
to pay for the appellee's attorney fees and the developer's carrying costs. These amounts would
vary depending on the circumstances of each case, so the possible additional expenditure is
indeterminable. There will be no impact on municipal revenues.
It is assumed this bill will take effect July 1, 2021.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch and New Hampshire Municipal Association