New Hampshire Regional Planning Commissions

New Hampshire's regional planning commissions (RPCs) are statutory bodies that coordinate land use, transportation, environmental, and economic development planning across multi-municipal areas of the state. Nine RPCs operate under authority granted by RSA Chapter 36, each covering a defined geographic region. These commissions occupy a distinct tier between municipal government and state agencies, performing functions that neither individual towns nor state departments are structured to deliver efficiently.

Definition and scope

Regional planning commissions are intergovernmental planning bodies created under RSA 36:45–36:53. Membership is voluntary for municipalities, though the geographic coverage of the nine commissions spans all 10 New Hampshire counties. Each RPC is governed by a commission composed of representatives appointed by member municipalities — typically at a ratio of 1 representative per 10,000 residents, with a minimum of 1 representative per municipality regardless of size.

The nine commissions, as recognized by the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, are:

  1. Nashua Regional Planning Commission
  2. Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (Manchester area)
  3. Rockingham Planning Commission
  4. Strafford Regional Planning Commission
  5. Lakes Region Planning Commission
  6. Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission
  7. Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission
  8. Southwest Region Planning Commission
  9. North Country Council

RPCs are not general-purpose government entities. They hold no regulatory authority over private land use and cannot enact zoning ordinances. Planning authority remains with individual municipalities under RSA Chapter 674.

How it works

RPCs operate through a combination of state-appropriated funds, federal pass-through grants, and dues collected from member municipalities. The New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning serves as the primary state liaison, distributing base funding allocations and coordinating RPCs' roles in statewide planning initiatives.

The functional workflow of an RPC follows a defined cycle:

  1. Data collection and analysis — RPCs compile regional demographic, traffic, environmental, and land use data drawn from municipal records, U.S. Census Bureau datasets, and state agency sources.
  2. Regional master plan development — Each commission is required under RSA 36:47 to prepare and periodically update a regional master plan addressing land use, transportation, natural resources, economic development, and housing.
  3. Technical assistance delivery — Staff planners provide direct assistance to member municipalities lacking in-house planning capacity, including zoning ordinance drafting, site plan review guidance, and capital improvement planning.
  4. Transportation planning coordination — RPCs function as sub-area partners to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the statewide Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) structure for federal transportation funding distribution.
  5. Grant administration — RPCs administer federal and state grants on behalf of member municipalities, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) sub-awards and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) environmental planning funds.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services coordinates with RPCs on watershed management, groundwater protection, and stormwater planning at the regional scale.

Common scenarios

RPCs engage in planning processes across a range of recurring functional areas:

Municipal master plan assistance — A town with fewer than 5 full-time employees and no professional planner on staff contracts with its RPC for master plan updates, which state statute requires municipalities to review at least every 10 years under RSA 674:2.

Transportation improvement programming — When a municipality seeks federal highway or transit funding, the applicable RPC coordinates inclusion of the project in the regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), a prerequisite for federal-aid eligibility under 23 U.S.C. § 134.

Hazard mitigation planning — Under the federal Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. § 5165), municipalities must maintain FEMA-approved local hazard mitigation plans to access certain federal disaster assistance. RPCs frequently prepare multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plans covering all member towns simultaneously, reducing per-municipality cost and administrative burden. The New Hampshire Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management coordinates this process at the state level.

Buildout analysis — RPCs perform regional buildout analyses to project maximum development under existing zoning across member municipalities, providing data used in housing needs assessments required under RSA 36:47.

Inter-municipal coordination — When two or more municipalities share a watershed, road corridor, or school district boundary issue requiring coordinated planning, RPCs convene the relevant parties and produce technical analyses. The New Hampshire school districts planning function often intersects with RPC demographic projections.

Decision boundaries

RPCs function in an advisory and technical capacity. The distinction between RPC authority and municipal authority is definitive: RPCs plan; municipalities decide.

RPC authority includes:
- Preparing regional master plans and technical studies
- Administering grant programs on behalf of member municipalities
- Providing technical assistance to municipal planning boards
- Representing member municipalities in statewide transportation planning processes
- Conducting environmental and demographic analyses

RPC authority does not include:
- Adopting or amending zoning ordinances (reserved to municipalities under RSA 674:16)
- Issuing land use permits or development approvals
- Levying taxes or special assessments
- Exercising eminent domain
- Overriding municipal planning decisions

Contrast with the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, which holds direct financial and programmatic authority over affordable housing development. RPCs influence housing outcomes only through the advisory master plan process and technical assistance — they cannot compel municipalities to adopt inclusionary zoning or affordability requirements.

State agencies, including the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration and the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, engage with RPCs on data sharing and coordinated analysis but retain independent regulatory jurisdiction.

Scope and coverage limitations: This page covers the structure and function of New Hampshire's 9 regional planning commissions as statutory bodies operating under RSA Chapter 36. It does not address federal metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in states other than New Hampshire, county-level planning agencies in other jurisdictions, or municipal planning boards operating under RSA Chapter 673. Regional economic development organizations such as the Northern Community Investment Corporation operate independently and fall outside RPC statutory authority. For the full landscape of New Hampshire government structures, the New Hampshire government authority index provides the broader reference framework, and key dimensions and scopes of New Hampshire government situates RPCs within the state's intergovernmental architecture.

References