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As part of Governor Sununu’s $100 million InvestNH initiative, $5 million has been allocated to provide grants to municipalities to analyze and update their land use regulations to help increase opportunities for housing development. The NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs has contracted with New Hampshire Housing to administer this program.   

Due to the overwhelming response to the program, the initial allocation was exhausted in the first ten months. In spring 2024, an additional $2.9 million was allocated to the program. The second iteration of the Housing Opportunity Planning (HOP) Grant program will launch shortly. Cities and towns are using these grants to study zoning or other regulatory causes of a lack of affordable housing, identify potential changes to local land use regulations, and/or establish or update those regulations in response to those findings. Community engagement will be an important part of municipal work under these grants.

These grants are administered by Plan NH, with support of a steering committee. The steering committee is made up of:

• Tiffany Tononi McNamara, Executive Director, Plan NH
• Alissa Del Tufo, Program Manager, Plan NH
• Sue Cagle, Field Specialist, Community and Economic Development, UNH Cooperative Extension
• Noah Hodgetts, Principal Planner, Office of Planning and Development, NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs
• Stephen Buckley, Legal Services Counsel, NH Municipal Association
• Molly Donovan, Director of Economic Development, Community Development Finance Authority
• Kirsten Barton, Housing Specialist, Community Development Finance Authority
• Ben Frost, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer, New Hampshire Housing
• Heather McCann, Senior Director, Research, Engagement, and Policy, New Hampshire Housing
• George Reagan, Director, Community Engagement, New Hampshire Housing
• Sarah Wrightsman, Manager, Community Engagement and Education, New Hampshire Housing