The Temple Planning Board is asking residents to weigh in on potential zoning changes aimed at encouraging housing growth in town, particularly small, clustered or affordable homes.

As part of Temple’s ongoing Housing Opportunity Grant process, the Planning Board held one of a series of forums last week to discuss possible zoning amendments that could appear on the March Town Meeting ballot.

Sarah Bollinger, a representative from the Southwest Regional Planning Commission who moderated the forum, told residents that this stage is about “shaping, not deciding” potential ordinances. Feedback from the forums will be used to draft proposed zoning amendments.

Bollinger said that through the grant, the Planning Board has already identified housing gaps in Temple and adopted measures such as allowing up to two accessory dwelling units — one attached and one detached — per property, permitting conversions of existing homes into up to three housing units, and reducing parking requirements for developments.

Planned residential developments

One proposed change would allow more homes to be built in Planned Residential Developments, or PRDs — the town’s cluster development option.

Currently, PRDs must conserve at least 40% of their land as open space, and one house is allowed per three acres of developable land after subtracting roadways, steep slopes and wetlands. The Planning Board is considering removing the requirement to discount unusable land, basing the allowed number of homes on total parcel size instead.

Bollinger said that normal subdivisions do not discount unbuildable land, which can make PRDs less attractive despite their benefits of less infrastructure, less terrain disturbance and preserved open space.

“To have the subdivision rules match the PRD rules makes sense,” said Bill Ezell, selectman ex-officio to the Planning Board.

Residents asked questions about how the current rules work but did not object to the proposed change.

Density bonuses and unit caps

To encourage smaller, more affordable or environmentally friendly homes, the board is also proposing density bonuses.

Temple currently allows a 25% density bonus for PRDs that include homes affordable under New Hampshire’s workforce housing definitions, although none have been built under that incentive.

The board proposed keeping that bonus and adding new ones — up to 25% for small units under 1,200 square feet, 10% for developments that share services such as wells or septic systems, and 10% for those built with low-impact standards.

Bollinger said bonuses could potentially be combined, or “stacked,” up to a maximum percentage. By a show of hands, residents favored a 30% cap over a 50% one.

The group also discussed a possible structure cap — allowing the same number of units but limiting the number of buildings, meaning some would be duplexes or triplexes. Most residents said it would make little difference to them whether a structure cap was included.

The group also discussed allowing new triplexes to be built in PRDs. Currently, triplexes can only be created by converting existing buildings. The proposed rule would allow new triplexes to be built on at least nine-acre properties, without density bonuses.

Workforce housing overlay

One idea that received little support was a proposed workforce housing overlay district on an 18.45-acre, town-owned parcel adjacent to Temple Elementary School.

The overlay would allow workforce housing to be built outside of the rural, residential and agriculture zone, which is the only place it is currently allowed. The property could potentially support up to nine units with a 50% density bonus.

Ezell spoke about how such a development might work, functioning under a long-term lease, partnership, or housing trust. He said there is no development proposed at this time and the town isn’t in discussion with developers.

Several residents said they preferred not to move forward with the overlay without a concrete proposal and expressed reluctance about the town becoming a landlord.

The Planning Board will hold a second forum on the proposed changes on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Temple Town Hall. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.