Manchester needs more homes of all shapes and sizes, for all our neighbors. Today, Granite Staters cannot find housing options that meet their needs and budgets.

Manchester has a shortage of 8,500 homes according to the 2022 Housing Underproduction report from Up for Growth, due to underbuilding and exclusionary zoning rules.

Why do we need to update the zoning code?

The zoning code not only determines what areas are allowed to build homes in, but specifies what kind of home can be built, separating different types of homes such as apartments. 

The zoning code essentially determines how many homes can be built in Manchester and whether those homes will be naturally affordable to working families or only to more affluent people.

Why aren’t we building more home types today?

Our zoning code has deliberately outlawed some of the more affordable home types - duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, small apartment buildings, and backyard cottages. Instead, our zoning code has prioritized the most expensive home type - the single detached home - on a huge percentage of our land in Manchester.

What’s at stake for Manchester?

What’s at stake is the future of our city - today, people cannot find homes they can afford that meet our needs. Will we allow more homes to be built that are different sizes and price points, or will we continue our exclusionary trajectory, and ensure only the wealthy few can live in Manchester? We can choose a different path forward that allows for more abundant homes, more homes of different sizes and prices, and for more community members to live in Manchester. Our zoning code can create the opportunity for new and more attainable homes here in Manchester, but only if we allow more homes in more parts of our city.