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Conference addresses housing needs: Is Montana an example for NH? – NH Business Review

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Conference addresses housing needs: Is Montana an example for NH? – NH Business Review


Montana State Sen. Forrest Mendeville talks about the “Montana Miracle” of legislation to encourage more housing at New Hampshire Housing’s 2024 Housing & Economic Conference. (Photo by Paul Briand)

When it comes to increasing the amount of affordable housing, can the state of New Hampshire take a lesson from the state of Montana?

The NH Housing Finance Authority thinks so.

The agency invited a Montana state senator, who’s been instrumental in housing-related legislation, to its annual conference held Oct. 23 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord.

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Forrest Mandeville, a Republican state senator from Columbus, Montana, was one of several presenters at the conference that addressed challenges and possible solutions to the housing crisis in the Granite State.

Mandeville reviewed legislation brokered in a bi-partisan fashion in 2023 designed to increase Montana’s housing supply.

Montana, like New Hampshire, is a mostly rural state that has experienced a housing dearth that makes homes expensive to buy and apartments expensive to rent. Montana, in fact, has it worse than New Hampshire in that it is the least affordable state in the country, according to National Association of Realtors tracking.

Montana, like New Hampshire, passed legislation easing the creation of ADUs — accessory dwelling units on residential property. Montana’s legislation also eased restrictions on duplexes.

The Montana Legislation in 2023 passed the Land Use Planning Act (LUPA), which requires that cities in Montana with populations over 5,000 people that are located in counties with populations over 70,000 people update their land-use plans and zoning and subdivision regulations within three years of its passage. LUPA’s ultimate goal is to ensure sufficient housing for the growing population and for different income levels through coordinated and planned growth across the state.

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Politically, both the Montana House and Senate are controlled by Republicans, similar to New Hampshire.

Mandeville, who titled his presentation “Montana Miracle,” pointed to a governor who wanted to see more housing and a coalition of stakeholders — including politicians, builders and planners — who wanted to give him something he could sign into law.

“We streamlined a lot of processes,” said Mandeville. “We legalized a lot of stuff that’s not always been legal. Some of the main things we did that are often lumped into the ‘Montana Miracle’ is we legalized ADUs in single-family zones, legalized duplexes in single-family zones. We allow residential development in commercial areas, and we passed the Land Use Planning Act.”

Creators of the legislation did not pursue items they knew the governor wasn’t going to approve of, according to Mandeville.

“We focused really on the supply side and on the ability to address the demand, the ability of developers to meet the market demands, because that’s what was going to fly in Montana,” said Mandeville. “I’ve had some people tell me: You know, the Land Use Planning Act should have included a climate action plan. That was not going to pass. We were not going to vote for that because the governor was not going to sign. So as much as some people might want to see it, it’s not going to happen. So understand the political factors and take what you can get. You can always work on fixes later.”

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Mandeville had four pieces of advice for housing stakeholders to navigate the political divide: take what you can get, know when you lost on an issue and move on, know when to compromise, and build a coalition.

Besides Mandeville, other presenters at the 2024 Housing & Economy Conference included:

  • Linlin Liang, principal associate at Pew Charitable Trusts, who spoke about policy approaches to improve housing supply and affordability.
  • Tina Lund from Urbanonics, who presented data that debunks the notion that more families with school-age children in a community means higher property taxes.
  • Angela Brooks, president of the American Planning Association, whose topic was “Overcoming Housing Obstacles.”
  • Lisa Prevost, freelance journalist and author, who spoke on how zoning in New Hampshire throws up roadblocks to affordable housing.
Rob Dapice Nh Housing Event2

Rob Dapice, executive director and CEO of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, opens the 2024 Housing & Economic Conference held Oct. 23 at the Grappone Center in Concord. (Photo by Paul Briand)

NH Housing’s executive director and CEO, Rob Dapice, set the stage for the day by illustrating the need for purchased and rented housing in the Granite State. About 300 people registered for the event.

Dapice said the 2024 legislative session in New Hampshire produced a lot of activity with respect to housing but with few results, which he called “disappointing.”

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“The market can’t do it all itself,” said Dapice, “and so we desperately need more money for the affordable housing fund so we can build more housing for Granite Staters. In addition, there are a number of great ideas and opportunities to lower regulatory barriers to housing.”

He noted that the state needs almost 60,000 new units between 2020 and 2030, nearly 90,000 new units between 2020 and 2040. To meet production needs, he said, local authorities need to increase permits by 36% over recent levels.

During her presentation, Liang tied lack of rental property to increasing rents to increasing homelessness here.

She noted that the median monthly rent in New Hampshire increased 57% from January 2017 to September 2024. At the same time, homelessness in the state grew by 68%.

Using the example of Minneapolis, she said the city made a concerted effort to increase its rental housing supply. Rents decreased and homelessness decreased by 13%, according to Liang.

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Lund said Urbanomics, a consulting group that serves businesses and government in the areas of economics, public finance and urban planning, studied the perceptions and numbers of whether more school-age children in a community drives up property taxes.

“The perception is development, particularly multifamily housing, leads to additional public school children, which leads to higher property taxes on single-family homes,” said Lund. “Now our hypothesis, based on all the work we’ve done elsewhere in the country, is that developmental multifamily does indeed yield some additional public school children, but it also yields significant additional property taxes, so there is no additional implicit property taxes to existing residents.”

This notion supports prior data offered by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors (NHAR) that also addressed the issue as being false.





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New Hampshire

A New Hampshire school learned sign language to communicate with its only deaf student

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A New Hampshire school learned sign language to communicate with its only deaf student


Campton, New Hampshire — Seven-year-old Ben O’Reilly is deaf and has other special needs. A first grader at Campton Elementary in Campton, New Hampshire, his aide, Cheryl Ulicny, says that Ben had felt isolated at school. 

“He didn’t have relationships with his peers or teachers, for that matter,” Ulicny said. “He was very alone. And he acted very alone.” 

New Hampshire is one of the few states in the nation that doesn’t have a dedicated school for the deaf. In fact, Ben is the only deaf student in his whole school district. So, aside from Ulicny, there was virtually no one in this whole school community he could talk to. At least at first.

The transformation began when some of Ben’s classmates, including Reid Spring, started picking up on a few signs.

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“If he’s your friend, you can play with him, and he’s my friend,” Reid said of Ben.

Then, the rest of the class decided to learn sign language. Eventually, other teachers in other grades began taking sign language classes and speaking in sign, even when Ben wasn’t around.

“It’s fun communicating with Ben and playing with him,” Reid said.

Ben’s adoptive mothers, Etta and Marlaina O’Reilly, were in shock when they found out how well he was being treated at school.

“It’s incredible,” Etta O’Reilly told CBS News. “I could barely breathe. Like it was just so overwhelming.”

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Today, just about every Campton student and staff member knows at least some sign language. Ben’s parents say this has had a profound impact on their son.

“It clicked for him that the sign language had value,” Etta O’Reilly said.

Said Ulicny: “You could just watch his world open up with communication. It was amazing.”



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New Hampshire

Video: Light icy mix, slick spots possible

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Video: Light icy mix, slick spots possible


Video: Light icy mix, slick spots possible

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AND NOW THERE’S SOME ICE UP NORTH THIS MORNING. SO SOME LOCALIZED SLICK SPOTS POSSIBLE NOW AND PROBABLY THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS, SAY THROUGH ABOUT 9 OR 10 A.M. AS THE TEMPERATURES HOVER NEAR FREEZING, ESPECIALLY NEAR AND NORTH OF THE LAKES REGION. SO ANYTHING UNTREATED MAY BE A BIT SLICK. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR GRAFTON, CARROLL AND COOS COUNTIES THROUGH 10 A.M. AND THIS IS WHERE MOST OF US ARE SEEING TEMPERATURES NEAR OR BELOW 32. WE’RE RIGHT THERE IN PLYMOUTH AND IN LACONIA, SOME HIGHER ELEVATIONS THROUGH CHESHIRE AND SULLIVAN COUNTIES AS WELL. SITTING VERY CLOSE TO FREEZING. SO BASICALLY ANYWHERE YOU SEE THIS BLUE COLOR HAS AT LEAST THE CHANCE FOR HAVING SOME LIGHT FREEZING RAIN. IT’S A HEAVIER RAIN IN NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND EVEN WITHIN JUST THE PAST COUPLE OF MINUTES. FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE GREATER CONWAY AREA. YEAH, YOU SEE THIS LIGHTNING BOLT ON THE RADAR. SO SOME THUNDER WAKING YOU UP IN THE MOUNT WASHINGTON VALLEY AND RIGHT ALONG ROUTE 16. AND AGAIN, IT IS KIND OF FUNNY THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. THE TEMPERATURES ARE SO CLOSE TO FREEZING. REALLY DOESN’T HAVE MUCH OF AN IMPACT ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON UP IN THE CLOUD, BUT CERTAINLY DOWN AT GROUND LEVEL. ANYWHERE YOU SEE THIS PINK COLOR, THAT RAIN COULD BE FREEZING ON CONTACT. IT’S A LITTLE BIT MILDER RIGHT ALONG THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, BUT YOU GET JUST EAST OF THERE, OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS AND UP INTO THE GREAT NORTH WOODS AS WELL, THROUGH, SAY, ERROL BERLIN, GORHAM. THAT’S WHERE THEY’RE LIKELY SOME SLICK SPOTS TO CONTEND WITH THROUGH THIS MORNING. YOU SEE THE PINK COLOR LINGERING IN NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE THROUGH ABOUT 7 A.M. ON FUTURECAST. NOT COMPLETELY DRY. FARTHER SOUTH, THOUGH, THE DRIZZLE, THE LOW CLOUDS. THE FOG MAKING FOR A CHILLY, MURKY MORNING COMMUTE OUT THERE, THERE MAY BE A POP UP SHOWER OR DOWNPOUR MID MORNING, EVEN FAR SOUTH, AND THEN FROM MIDDAY AND BEYOND, THE CLOUDS WILL SLOWLY START TO BREAK APART FROM WEST TO EAST. THAT SHOULD ALLOW FOR SOME SUNSHINE THAT WILL WARM OUR TEMPERATURES UP A BIT LATER ON. TODAY. ONE LAST FRONT COMES IN LATER ON THIS EVENING. ALONG. IT COULD COME IN ADDITIONAL SPOT SHOWER OR DOWNPOUR. MUCH OF WESTERN AND SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE MAKES A RUN TOWARD THE UPPER 50S TO NEAR 60 DEGREES TODAY, WITH THAT SUN BREAKING OUT THIS AFTERNOON, BUT LIKELY SOME COOLER POCKETS IN THE LAKES REGION IN THE MOUNT WASHINGTON VALLEY THAT KEEP TEMPERATURES THERE A BIT CLOSER TO THE 50 DEGREE MARK. ITS OPENING DAY DOWN AT FENWAY. FIRST PITCH THERE IN BOSTON, COMING UP AT 210. THINGS SHOULD BE DRYING OUT, BUT YOU SEE THE TEMPERATURES A LITTLE BIT COOLER GIVEN THEY’RE RIGHT ALONG THE COASTLINE, THOUGH IN THE LATE INNINGS THERE COULD BE SOME SUNSHINE. NOT A BAD APRIL DAY FOR OPENING DAY DOWN AT FENWAY PARK. AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE GOING TO GET IN OPENING DAY AT DELTA DENTAL STADIUM. THAT’S WHERE WE FIND OUR FRIEND, METEOROLOGIST KEVIN SKARUPA. THIS MORNING, KEVIN, THE FISHER CATS FIRST PITCH COMING UP LATER ON TONIGHT. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR THAT? YEAH, IT’S A GOOD THING THAT WE’RE NOT HAVING THE THE GAME AT 6:03 A.M. BECAUSE YOU SEE THAT. YEAH. 30S AND A LITTLE BIT OF DRIZZLE OUT HERE EARLY THIS MORNING. WE ARE LOOKING AT IMPROVING CONDITIONS AS YOU’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. AS WE GRADUALLY GO THROUGH THE DAY. WE CLIMB THROUGH THE 40S THIS MORNING, THROUGH THE 50S THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE BUILDING BREEZE AND WITH ANY SORT OF SUNSHINE AT ALL. YOU’RE TALKING UPPER 50S. THAT IS FOR FIRST PITCH JUST AFTER 6:00 THIS EVENING. THEY ARE FACING THE BINGHAMTON RUMBLE PONIES, WHICH JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE DEFENDING CHAMPS OF THE DIVISION. SO THEY’RE RIGHT OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE. RIGHT TONIGHT. 6:03 P.M. A LOT OF NEW STUFF TO CHECK OUT HERE WITH THE FISHER CATS. WE WILL HAVE MUCH MORE COMING UP FROM THE GIFT SHOP COMING UP IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. BACK TO YOU. SOUNDS GREAT, KEVIN, THANKS FOR THAT. AND IT’S GOOD TO SEE THAT WE’LL HAVE SOME BRIGHT AND WARMER WEATHER FOR FIRST PITCH LATER ON THIS EVENING. WE’LL HANG ON TO THE BRIGHT SKIES TOMORROW, BUT THE TEMPERATURES FALL ON SATURDAY, LIKELY REACHING THE 50S IN THE MORNING AND PROBABLY BACK IN THE 40S FOR THE AFTERNOON. UNFORTUNATELY FOR EASTER EGG HUNTS ON SUNDAY, IT IS LOOKING DAMP WITH TIMES OF CLOUDS AND SHOWER

Milder air gradually returns today after a damp start. The weekend is split with some sun Saturday, then shower chances on Easter. Cooler air will follow a front that moves in later Sunday.A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties until 10:00 a.m.Drizzle and light icing in higher elevations continues this morning, and a quick downpour can’t be ruled out. Clouds should gradually erode for some sunny breaks this afternoon. Temperatures will climb to near or just above 60 degrees in southern and western New Hampshire, though we may only get to near 50 in parts of the Lakes Region and Mt. Washington Valley.A spot evening shower or downpour is possible, otherwise partial clearing tonight with lows in the 40s.Partly sunny on Saturday. Temperatures may briefly climb into the 50s during the morning, then an easterly breeze will knock readings back into the 40s for the afternoon.An approaching front will keep Easter cloudy and unsettled. There may be some scattered showers early in the morning, with steadier light rain possible during the afternoon. Clearing skies but cooler air for early next week.

Milder air gradually returns today after a damp start. The weekend is split with some sun Saturday, then shower chances on Easter. Cooler air will follow a front that moves in later Sunday.

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A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties until 10:00 a.m.

Drizzle and light icing in higher elevations continues this morning, and a quick downpour can’t be ruled out. Clouds should gradually erode for some sunny breaks this afternoon. Temperatures will climb to near or just above 60 degrees in southern and western New Hampshire, though we may only get to near 50 in parts of the Lakes Region and Mt. Washington Valley.

A spot evening shower or downpour is possible, otherwise partial clearing tonight with lows in the 40s.

Partly sunny on Saturday. Temperatures may briefly climb into the 50s during the morning, then an easterly breeze will knock readings back into the 40s for the afternoon.

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An approaching front will keep Easter cloudy and unsettled. There may be some scattered showers early in the morning, with steadier light rain possible during the afternoon. Clearing skies but cooler air for early next week.



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Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

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Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening


Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

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Now Chief meteorologist Mike Haddad with your storm watch 9 forecast. Oh, the temperatures on the chilly side and then some cold enough for *** touch of wet snow in the last, say, 2 or 3 hours even here in downtown Manchester. But right now *** lot of that has lifted away. The clouds linger, more showers building in from the west, bumping in this cold air. Only 35 at this hour. Normal high 52, so we are nowhere near the normal. For this time of year in early April and even farther north, not *** whole lot warmer despite being away from the ocean influence of that wind coming in off of the chilly Atlantic right now, 30 to 40, not gonna fall off all that much as the night wears on. Band of showers number 1 approaching right now, filling into the Meannock region, places like Keene and Hinsdale and all the way up to about say Charlestown and southern parts of Solomon County near the Upper Valley getting in on. Some light rain or some light mixing, but it’s *** narrow band. It’s not gonna last more than, say, *** couple of hours, and it’ll be gone by about 10 o’clock this evening. And in the wake of that, still lingering clouds, sprinkles of rain, or even *** touch of light icing, and then more filling in by early tomorrow morning, especially to the north. Speaking of the north, winter weather advisories, if we needed any more of that right, central and northern locales of the lake. Region, the White Mountains and points north, 8 p.m. tonight to about 9 or 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. So here’s our timeline of all of that. As I mentioned, the showers building in *** quick hitter in the next 3 or 4 hours, gone by about 9 or 10 o’clock with the clouds lingering, and we’re right near freezing, especially western, central and northern New Hampshire. So there, anything untreated could glaze over. So watch out for that if you’re traveling overnight tonight after *** dry. Overnight period by about 4 or 5 a.m. through the morning drive tomorrow, more showers in the form of rain, but again right near freezing, so *** touch of light icing, especially the farther north you go. But then by the afternoon, totally different story. The winds turn around out of the southwest, the clouds break apart, and here comes that early spring warmth just in time for the Red Sox home opener tomorrow afternoon and the Fisher Cats opener. Right here in the Queen City in the early evening. So again, the highs tomorrow, much better than we are out there right now. So again for the Sox home opener tomorrow, we’re drying out by midday and early afternoon later on in the innings, hopefully with the Red Sox ahead. Peaks of sun and the temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. Next round of showers, unfortunately Easter Sunday. Tough to call the exact timeline, but it looks like *** late morning and afternoon event, dry and cool Monday through Wednesday.

Cold, raw, and damp through early Friday. Pockets of an icy mix are possible over higher elevations north and west Thursday night. By Friday afternoon the skies will try to clear as milder air moves in. Some sun on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, but now it looks wet on Easter Sunday, with morning showers then a steadier rain in the afternoon and evening. Even cooler feel early next week.A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

Cold, raw, and damp through early Friday. Pockets of an icy mix are possible over higher elevations north and west Thursday night. By Friday afternoon the skies will try to clear as milder air moves in. Some sun on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, but now it looks wet on Easter Sunday, with morning showers then a steadier rain in the afternoon and evening. Even cooler feel early next week.

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A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.

Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

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