“You can get stuck in one place or the other, and you can languish there for a while,” she said. “We all know that if that happens, money dries up, opportunity dries up, especially when we’re thinking about an interest rate environment like you’ve been in that makes a big difference in terms of how you can finance the project.”
She pointed to four state agencies where housing developments can get delayed: the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Services, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and the Department of Cultural and Natural Resources.
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“Unfortunately, there’s no one system,” she said. “There’s not congruency between all those agencies.”
Ayotte also said she will look at different financing structures that have been successful in other states, such as commercial property assessed clean energy, or CPACE, where building owners borrow money for energy efficiency, renewable energy, or other projects and repay it through an assessment on their property tax bill.
It doesn’t require upfront costs and can be used to finance new construction, retrofits and rehabilitation, Mansoor Ghori, a C-PACE provider explained in Forbes.
It’s increasingly being used to fund the construction of new buildings, according to the US Department of Energy. There is enabling legislation in 40 states and D.C. and 32 states and D.C. have active programs, according to PACE Nation.
Senator Daniel Innis, a Bradford Republican, has requested legislation on the topic that Ayotte said she will be watching.
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The housing crisis Ayotte is inheriting remains challenging.
New Hampshire is among the top 10 states for rising housing prices, according to Katy Easterly Martey, executive director of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority who also serves on the New Hampshire Council on Housing Stability.
“When you have rising housing prices as acutely and quickly as we’ve had here in New Hampshire, we’re going to have rising housing instability, a lot in the form of homelessness,” Easterly Martey said.
She said housing instability will continue to rise for a few more years, until the supply of housing catches up with demand. And she said the cost of providing shelter has increased since the pandemic because there are fewer volunteers providing services.
“The cost of providing shelter and the complexity of doing so in a meaningful way has really increased,” she said.
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In the past three years, there has been little to no change in the amount of buildable area for most kinds of housing, according to the latest data from the New Hampshire Zoning Atlas, a statewide database and interactive map on zoning laws.
“In most communities in New Hampshire, it’s still difficult to build anything but large-lot, single family homes,” said Noah Hodgetts, a principal planner at the N.H. Department of Business and Economic Affairs.
He said the solution is for communities to change their zoning and make it easier to build smaller, more affordable homes on smaller lots.
Recent polling found that a majority of respondents want the state to push communities to make it easier to develop housing: 63 percent of New Hampshire voters agreed, showing “growing skepticism about local control,” according to a 2024 statewide survey from Saint Anselm.
Ayotte made clear her approach to working with local communities will involve more carrot than stick.
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“If the state models good behavior, it’s a lot easier for me to say to local planning and zoning and going, like, listen, we’re modeling good behavior. How do we work with you to make sure you’re modeling good behavior too in your communities,” she said.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
CONCORD – While Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she opposes increasing highway toll rates across the state, the Senate voted Thursday to increase rates for out-of-state license plate holders.
It now goes to the House for consideration.
This would be a $1 increase for those who have out of state plates going through the tolls at Hooksett, Hampton and Bedford for out-of-state plates, a 75 cent hike for those taking Hampton’s Exit 2 and on the Spaulding turnpike at Rochester, and a 50 cent hike for those taking the exit off I-93 to Hooksett.
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An analysis in the bill shows that this would increase toll revenue by $53.3 million in fiscal year 2027 and go up each year to generate $81.4 million a year in 2036.
Senate Bill 627 passed on a voice vote with two Republicans, Senators Regina Birdsell of Hampstead and William Gannon of Sandown opposing.
Senator Mark E. McConkey, R-Freedom, moved to take the bill off the table and offered an amendment. He said the last time there was a systemwide increase to the turnpike toll was 19 years ago.
“I am sure we could all agree the cost of operations…has continued to escalate when revenue is not rising with it,” and he noted that with an enterprise fund, the state can only spend what it takes in.
The state has just completed a 10-year highway plan and there was a $400 million shortfall in projects that could not be paid for under the current income.
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McConkey said the measure would not increase tolls for New Hampshire drivers with a state license plate.
“Why don’t we ask our neighbors,” to pay a toll increase. “We are getting the best of all worlds,” by passing the bill, he said, including “protecting our residents” and having resources for improvements to the turnpike system.
Sen. Gannon, R-Sandown, asked McConkey if there are any studies on impacts near the border on businesses.
If implemented, McConkey said the state will be the 27th lowest in per mile cost still. McConkey said the bill would also increase from seven to 14 days the amount of time for those with NH license plates to pay for a toll adding there are other states that also have different rates for out-of-state users.
The Hampton toll cost would go from $2 to $3, while Hooksett and Bedford would rise from $1 to $2 for out-of-state plates.
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New Hampshire currently has the lowest rate per mile among states with tolls roads. The governor said she does not support a toll increase.
“We are not going to put a burden on drivers for a toll increase,” Ayotte said. “Families are struggling.”
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
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