Housing & Agricultural Lands Workgroup

sunflowers on a farm

The Housing & Agricultural Lands Workgroup is open to all housing, planning, farmland conservation, and land use professionals interested in working together to address issues that arise at the intersection of housing development and agricultural land use in New Hampshire. The workgroup will meet regularly to foster dialogue, find alignment on common interests, and discover collaborative solutions with a particular focus on moving forward recommendations made in the Land Use Planning and Farmland Conservation, Access, and Succession Briefs of the New Hampshire Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan.

This workgroup is led by:

  • Noah Hodgetts, Principal Planner for the Office of Planning and Development, Department of Business and Economic Affairs
  • Sarah Wrightsman Manager of Community Engagement and Education for New Hampshire Housing
  • Jamie Pottern, Senior New England Program Manager for American Farmland Trust

The H&AL workgroup will be launching in September 2025. The group will decide on its specific focus over the course of the first 2-3 meetings. If you are interested in joining this workgroup, please fill out the form linked below.

 JOIN THE WORKGROUP

Recommendation Status Brief Topic Type of Action
Convene housing and agricultural advocates on land use issues
Host conversations throughout the state between housing advocates and agricultural advocates to foster dialogue, find alignment on common interests,…
In Progress Land Use Planning Program creation, support, or expansion
Incorporate agricultural preservation into the Master Planning Process
Add “Agriculture & Food Production” as a section on the list of optional sections in the Master Plan statute (RSA 674:2) and encourage Master…
Goals & Tags: Legislators, State/NH
Not Started Land Use Planning Policy/Regulation
Identify high-value agriculture soils and prime farmland
Create a map viewer identifying high-value agriculture soils and prime farmland in support of farmland protection and smart decision-making at the…
Goals & Tags: State/NH, Researchers
Not Started Land Use Planning Resource/tool creation, support or expansion, Research/Study
Launch and fund a circuit rider program for regional planning commissions
A circuit rider program would provide funding for New Hampshire’s regional planning commissions to support communities with the adoption of farm-…
Not Started Land Use Planning Program creation, support, or expansion, Investment/Funding
House agriculture-friendly tools and land use regulations on a central website
Create a central website with tools and local land use regulations that communities can adopt to become agriculture-friendly. The site could be…
Not Started Land Use Planning Resource/tool creation, support or expansion, Research/Study

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