In December, Concord’s work to clear the path for more housing hit a new level.

New Hampshire designated the city as a Housing Champion for its strides in progressive zoning and land use regulations, development as a regional hub for affordable housing and investments in transportation and infrastructure.

The classification made Concord and 17 other municipalities eligible for state grants to help build affordable housing. However, that grant funding is now on the chopping block.

In the state budgeting process, Republican lawmakers have declined to allocate the proposed $5 million per year to the fund. If finalized, the decision means Housing Champions will lose $10 million in incentives and grant assistance over the next two years.

Concord has already received an $859,689 grant to supplement a $25 million sewer project anticipated to support several housing developments in the Heights, according to Matt Walsh, a deputy city manager. The program’s dissolution likely won’t affect that grant, which awaits final approval from the governor and the state’s Executive Council. 

Mayor of Concord Byron Champlin said the city will continue its housing-friendly policies amid a razor-thin vacancy rate under 1%, but it may see impacts from surrounding towns.

“The policies that won us the Housing Champion award were policies that were very intentionally adopted, and that’s not going to change,” Champlin said. “I think what is possibly going to change is that other communities who should step up now will not be incentivized and encouraged.”

He favors the “carrot approach” of providing incentives over the “stick approach” of top-down zoning mandates from the state. While Concord aims to cut red tape and make it easier to build, Champlin said other towns shouldn’t be required to do the same.

Scores of housing bills have come before the Legislature this year, and lawmakers have favored several that would strong-arm municipalities into permitting certain zoning changes and clearing the way for more housing. Legislators and others who oppose those policies say they override local control.

Nearby Boscawen was also lauded as a Housing Champion alongside Concord. Kellee Jo Easler, who oversees the town’s planning and community development, said new policies helped Boscawen achieve this status. For example, the town now allows duplexes by right in every zone and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to single- and two-family homes.

“We were very excited about it and very proud of it, and it was a lot of work trying to go through the process,” Easler said of the designation. “It was nice to show that Boscawen’s flexible with our housing, and we’re trying to make it easier for people to build because there is such a shortage.”

The other towns that received Housing Champion status were include Derry, Dover, Enfield, Farmington, Hinsdale, Hooksett, Jaffrey, Keene, Lebanon, Manchester, Nashua, Newport, Portsmouth, Rochester, Salem and Somersworth.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.