The Peterborough Select Board postponed the vote on a new third-party building inspection policy until its next meeting to allow further discussion around the town’s response to the new state law.
The proposed policy addresses Senate Bill 188, enacted in July 2025, which allows property and business owners to hire private building inspectors approved by the local municipality with the goal of accelerating development in the state.
Over the past year, the Planning and Building Department has worked to improve turnaround times, addressing public feedback on permit processing speeds.
“My whole goal of working for the town of Peterborough is improving customer services and efficiency,” Director of Planning and Building Danica Miller said.
Miller said the department has conducted interdepartmental staff training to ensure all members understand permit applications, has synced its phones and email to guarantee every caller receives a response and instituted courtesy calls to check in and notify applicants of email responses or previous call attempts.
To improve the application process, Miller said the department is working to accept credit card payments, instead of only cash or check. In collaboration with the Geographic Information System (GIS), the department plans to launch an app that allows applicants to view their place in the queue and be notified if their application is incomplete.
The online app will be presented to the select board at a future meeting.
Town Administrator Nicole MacStay pointed out that Peterborough is one of the first to address the new state law, which remains a work in progress.
“This isn’t a set-in-stone policy. This is our first run at it, and we are one of the few communities in the state that say they’re adopting a formal policy at this point,” Nicole MacStay said.
One of the main concerns was the state law’s 14-calendar-day deadline for the town to issue or deny a permit upon submission, given the town’s four-day workweek. For a certificate of occupancy, the town has 10 days to approve or deny.
“It’s a little challenging for us,” MacStay said. “We’ll make it work because it’s state law.”
Ivy Vann, owner of Ivy Vann Town Planning and former state representative for Peterborough, said she testified in support of this new law in Concord.
“The goal of this bill was to expedite inspections in places that need it. Likely enough, most people will not hire a third-party inspector unless they’re in a pinch or in a big hurry or have money and don’t care how they spend it,” she said.
The select board will revisit and vote on this policy at its next meeting.