The purpose of this chapter is to provide a mechanism to encourage
the development of affordable units for moderate and lower-income
households to meet the needs of the Town of Conway, to foster economic
and social stability within the larger community by providing opportunities
for home ownership and long-term rental units and provide for the
sustainability of affordable units in the future through the use of
deed restrictions and other legal mechanisms and to further the intent
of the Town of Conway to meet the requirements described under New
Hampshire RSA 674.
This chapter is adopted under the authority of New Hampshire
RSA 674:21 and is intended as an "inclusionary zoning" provision as
defined therein which states in part that inclusionary zoning shall
"provide a voluntary incentive or benefit to a property owner in order
to induce the property owner to produce housing units which are affordable
to persons or families of low- and moderate-income. 'Inclusionary
zoning' includes, but is not limited to, density bonuses, growth control
exemptions, and a streamlined application process."
This chapter shall apply to the following Districts:
A. Residential/Agricultural District, subject to the limitations set
forth below;
B. Conway Village Residential District;
C. North Conway Village Residential District;
D. Center Conway Village Commercial District;
E. Conway Village Commercial District;
F. North Conway Village Commercial District; and
G. Highway Commercial District.
Notwithstanding the minimum lot size, density requirements and frontage standards set forth in the zoning districts listed above and as more particularly described in §§
190-13 through
190-14, and §§
190-16 through
190-20, lot size, density requirements and frontage standards for affordable units and market-rate units within an affordable housing development shall be as follows:
A. Lots serviced by a municipal water system and a municipal sewerage
system shall have at least 1/4 acre for the first unit and 5,000 square
feet for each additional unit on the same lot.
B. Lots serviced by a municipal water system shall have at least 1/2
acre for the first unit and 5,000 square feet for each additional
unit on the same lot; provided the loading capacity for the septic
system complies with, or obtains all appropriate waivers relating
to, NHDES Code of Administrative Rules Chapter Env - Wq 1000, as amended.
C. All other lots shall have at least 1/2 acre for each unit that may be located thereon; provided the loading capacity for the septic system complies with, or obtains all appropriate waivers relating to, NHDES Code of Administrative Rules Chapter Env. - Wq. 1000, as amended. The density requirements set forth in this Subsection
C shall not apply to the Residential/Agricultural District and the density requirements set forth in §
190-13B(3) shall govern and control.
D. All lots must front on a state or Town highway with a Class I, II,
III, IV or V classification, a private road, cul-de-sac all constructed
to Town standards as required by the Planning Board or a Class VI
road proposed to be improved as stipulated by the Planning Board.
To qualify as frontage the lot must have access rights to the subject
highway or road. The minimum distance for frontage on a road shall
be 75 feet.
E. All roads shall comply with the Town of Conway Road Standards described in the Subdivision (Ch.
130) regulations of the Town of Conway.
F. No parking shall be within the front setbacks of any lot located
within the Center Conway Village Commercial District, Conway Village
Commercial District, Highway Commercial District and North Conway
Village Commercial District. In instances where a development does
not require site plan review, no parking shall be within the first
15 feet of the front setbacks of the Center Conway Village Residential
District, North Conway Village Residential District and Residential/Agricultural
District measured from the right of way.
G. At least 25% of dwelling units within the affordable housing development
must meet the definition of "affordable units." When the number of
affordable units is calculated to a fractional number, any fraction
of less than 1/2 shall be rounded down to the next whole number; any
fraction of 1/2 or greater shall be rounded up to the next whole number
and treated as a whole inclusionary unit. For example, a three-unit
development would be calculated as 3 x 25% = 0.75, which would be
rounded up to one affordable unit. Mobile homes or manufactured housing
as defined in RSA 674:31 are not permitted; however pre-site built
units as defined in RSA 674:31-a shall be permitted.
Any subdivision and/or site plan submitted to the Planning Board
in connection with this chapter shall contain the following information:
A. The number of affordable units created and the percentage of affordable
units relative to the percentage of market-rate housing.
B. Descriptions of the affordable units and the market-rate units evidencing
comparable number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footages and complementary
architectural styles and exterior finishes.
C. Any other information as required by the Subdivision (Ch.
130) and/or Site Plan Review (Ch.
110) regulations of the Town of Conway.
D. At the time of Planning Board approval, the affordable units must
be expressly designated as such and shown on a plan with a condition
that they shall remain affordable in compliance with this chapter
and a deed restriction shall be recorded in the Registry of Deeds
as evidence of the same. The deed restriction will be in a form and
substance approved by the Town of Conway.
[Added 4-12-2022 ATM by Art. 6]
In order to encourage the development of affordable primary
residences and enhance residential housing choices in Conway, the
Planning Board may grant a conditional use permit for compact cluster
housing developments, provided that:
A. All dwelling units shall be in single-family detached structures
or duplexes and shall not include manufactured or mobile homes;
B. All dwelling units shall be served by municipal water and sewerage;
C. All dwelling units shall have a floor area of not less than 400 square
feet nor greater than 1,200 square feet;
D. All dwelling units shall be used for long-term residency and as primary
residences, and short-term transient occupancy of any dwelling unit
is prohibited. Legal documents shall be reviewed and approved by the
Planning Board with lease terms of no less than 180 days;
E. The minimum lot size shall be 1/4 acre for the first unit and 5,000
square feet for each additional dwelling unit on a lot;
F. The minimum frontage for any lot shall be 50 feet;
G. The conditional use permit shall not be combined with any other conditional
use permit or special exception, including but not limited to the
special exceptions for accessory dwelling units.
For purposes of this chapter the following terms shall be defined
as follows:
ADMINISTRATOR
A designated officer with the Town of Conway or, at the Town's
discretion, its agent, which agent may be New Hampshire Housing and
Finance Authority, a local housing nonprofit, or such other third-party
administrator as determined by the Town of Conway.
AFFORDABLE UNIT
i) With respect to unit ownership, the purchaser shall be
an eligible buyer (as defined below) and the purchase price of the
affordable unit shall be no greater than the estimated maximum affordable
purchase price as most recently published by the New Hampshire Housing
Finance Authority, and ii) with respect to a rental unit, the renter
shall be an eligible renter (as defined below) and the monthly rent
shall be no greater than estimated maximum affordable monthly rent
for Carroll County as most recently published by the New Hampshire
Housing Finance Authority. Notwithstanding any other provision to
the contrary, the resale price of an affordable unit may be increased
by an amount not to exceed 50%, up to a maximum amount of $10,000,
of documented capital improvements made by the seller and with a value
as stated in a certification from a certified public accountant in
a form reasonably acceptable to the Town of Conway and signed under
the pains and penalties of perjury and delivered to the Administrator.
ELIGIBLE BUYER
Is a household whose income does not exceed 80% of the area
median income for a family of four in Carroll County as most recently
published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The eligible buyer shall occupy the affordable unit as its primary
residence and shall not own or have an interest in any other real
estate.
ELIGIBLE RENTER
Is a household whose income does not exceed 60% of the area
median income for a family of three in Carroll County as most recently
published by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The eligible renter shall occupy the affordable unit as its primary
residence and shall not own or have an interest in any other real
estate.
Units developed pursuant to this chapter, including affordable
units and market-rate units, shall not be used for short-term rentals
such as, and including, without limitation, Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway
or any other similar short-term rental platform. All unit leases shall
be in writing and for a period of not less than six months or more
than 12 months in any one instance. Tenants that occupy a unit for
more than 12 months may continue to occupy the same unit with a written
lease on a month-to-month basis. No tenant in an affordable unit shall
be permitted to sublease all or a portion of the affordable unit to
anyone other than an eligible renter. The foregoing shall be included
in the restrictive covenant in a form approved by the Town of Conway
and shall be recorded with the Carroll County Registry of Deeds.
This chapter shall be effective on the date that is three months
from the date it is approved by the voters of the Town of Conway through
the passage of a warrant article. If any provision of this chapter
is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the reminder
of the chapter shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full
force and effect.