OPD is the state repository for all local land use regulations, as designated in RSA 675:9. The statute authorizes OPD to conduct an annual survey of NH municipalities to collect updates on new or amended land use ordinances, and to create reports for municipalities and the public.
Documents we track include master plans, zoning ordinances, historic district ordinances, capital improvement plans, building codes, subdivision regulations, historic district regulations, and site plan review regulations.
The survey is completed for the state’s 234 municipalities; nine village districts with zoning authority; Coos County, which has zoning authority over 23 unincorporated places; and Pease Development Authority, which has zoning authority over the Pease International Tradeport in Newington and Portsmouth.
Municipalities that lack zoning ordinances are also included. Several have other land use regulations including for residential subdivisions, historic districts, and stand-alone wireless telecommunication or drinking water protection ordinances.
2023 Survey Results - updated August 2024
In 2023, 144 jurisdictions adopted zoning amendment updates. The results are available in various forms noted below.
- Story Map – Summary of survey results (PDF)
- Interactive Map – GIS map with layers broken down by 2023 survey topic.
- Community Snapshots – Survey results for each community, including links to regulations, master plans, and zoning ordinances. (Enter Ctrl +F on Windows or Command+F on Mac to search by community.)
- Adopted Zoning Amendments – Excel workbook summary.
- Tables by Topic – Data categorized by topic, available to download.
Further analysis of this survey data is welcomed with attribution to OPD's Municipal Land Use Regulation Survey.
If you have any questions about the survey results or specific data requests, please contact Noah Hodgetts at
Noah.D.Hodgetts@livefree.nh.gov or (603) 271-2157.
DISCLAIMER: The 2023 results are a combination of data submitted via survey response by local officials and collected by OPD. While information submitted is believed to be a reliable reflection of current local land use regulations, this data should be relied upon for reference purposes only and no warranty is given for its accuracy.