Committee Summary for House Committee on Housing Afternoon Subcommittee (04/22/2025)

Bill/Time	Type	Title	Sponsor
SB170 00:01:33.439 - 12:00:14 PM	General Working Session	(New Title) relative to development and related requirements in cities, towns, and municipalities.	Perkins Kwoka, Rebecca(D)[D-]2024

SB170: Subcommittee Chair Information Only00:01:33.439 - 12:00:14 PM; The chair opened the subcommittee meeting on SB170, emphasizing the intention to go through the bill section by section to make edits and additions. The chair invited public comments on the bill and highlighted the need to address housing issues in various sections of the bill.
SB170: Representative Hicks Information Only00:04:34.199 - 12:03:15 PM; Representative Hicks raised a concern about the clarity of the term 'educational status' in the bill, suggesting it might be interpreted as whether someone has been to school rather than their current enrollment status. They proposed 'educational enrollment status' as a clearer term.
SB170: Representative Ryford Information Only00:05:41.280 - 12:04:22 PM; Representative Ryford discussed the implications of adding educational status as a protected class, questioning whether it would limit the number of unrelated individuals living together. They supported the idea of 'school enrollment status' for clarity.
SB170: Miss Burns (Public) Oppose00:07:51.720 - 12:06:32 PM; Miss Burns expressed concern over the vagueness of the proposed educational status language and its potential to become a new protected class with broader implications. She also raised issues about zoning mandates and the expansion of group living situations like fraternities and sororities into any area of a town, arguing that universities should handle student housing.
SB170: Rainey Pelletier, Director of Water Division at DEES Information Only00:15:31.440 - 12:14:12 PM; Rainey Pelletier, from the Department of Environmental Services (DEES), provided a detailed explanation on the adequacy of state regulations regarding septic systems and land development. He emphasized that state regulations are protective enough and towns should not impose more stringent requirements.
SB170: Mr. Deay (Public) Oppose00:22:37.840 - 12:21:18 PM; Mr. Deay raised concerns about the bill's potential impact on local aquifer and wellhead protection districts. He noted that some towns require additional testing and larger setbacks to protect groundwater, which could be nullified by the bill's language.
SB170: Joshua Manning, Lewis Builders Support00:25:34.640 - 12:24:15 PM; Joshua Manning, a builder and licensed septic designer, supported the bill's intent to standardize state requirements, arguing that towns' more stringent regulations slow down housing development without adding value. He gave examples of towns unnecessarily complicating the process.
SB170: Senator Murphy Information Only00:29:16.080 - 12:27:57 PM; Senator Murphy explained the inclusion of a provision preventing caps on housing lots on dead-end roads, stating it was raised as an issue by builders at a housing roundtable. He agreed to an amendment to ensure adequate water and sewer capacity.
SB170: Mr. Mayberry Information Only00:35:17.920 - 12:33:58 PM; Mr. Mayberry discussed amendments to the bill, including changing the timeframe for municipalities to accept changes to plans from five business days to seven calendar days. He also addressed concerns about towns significantly altering projects and suggested liability for such changes.
SB170: Brody (Public) Oppose00:44:18.880 - 12:42:59 PM; Brody expressed concerns about the bill's potential conflict with existing state laws and local regulations, particularly regarding shoreland protection. He highlighted the importance of local regulations in preventing environmental issues like cyanobacteria blooms.
SB170: Subcommittee Chair Information Only00:52:56.319 - 12:51:37 PM; The chair summarized the changes made to the bill during the session, including adjustments to educational status, road frontage, setbacks, and the effective date. They also mentioned the possibility of adding housing committee priorities to the bill in future amendments.