Additional HOP Grant Funds Now Available to Municipalities

The information contained in this article is not intended as legal advice and may no longer be accurate due to changes in the law. Consult NHMA's legal services or your municipal attorney.

The second iteration of the Housing Opportunity Planning (HOP) Grant program is now available to cities and towns across the state. These grants are part of Governor Sununu’s $100 million InvestNH initiative and provide funding for cities and towns in New Hampshire to create local regulations that will help increase housing supply, especially for affordable and workforce housing.

In 2022, $5 million was allocated to support municipalities to analyze and update land use regulations to increase opportunities for housing development. Funds were exhausted in the first ten months. This spring, an additional $2.9 million was allocated to the program. The NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs contracted with New Hampshire Housing to administer this program.

Municipalities may use these funds to hire consultants for the following activities:

• Update the housing, land use, and vision sections of the master plan, and related aspects of the implementation section, as well as the community facilities section or other relevant sections as they pertain to water and sewer in support of housing development.
• Conduct a housing needs assessment or analysis as part of a larger project.
• Audit a municipality’s land use regulations and make recommendations for changes to promote housing development.
• Create new regulations or revise existing regulations with the stated primary goal of increasing the supply of housing in the community, especially affordable and workforce housing.

Grant-funded activities should generally assist applicants to become eligible for New Hampshire Housing Champion designation pursuant to RSA 12-O:71. Community engagement is an essential component of this work, and all applicants will prepare a community engagement plan with support from Cooperative Extension at the University of New Hampshire.

All New Hampshire cities and towns, including those that have received a Community Housing Navigator Grant or HOP Grant, can apply. Applications are due Monday, September 30, 2024 and will be reviewed and approved by a steering committee through a competitive process. Past grantees will receive priority and remaining funds will be available to new municipal applicants.

For additional program details, visit www.NHHOPGrants.org.