679:5 Authority; Duties. –
I. It shall be the duty of the board and it shall have power and authority to hear and affirm, reverse, or modify, in whole or in part, appeals of final decisions of municipal boards, committees, and commissions regarding questions of housing and housing development. This includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Planning board decisions on subdivisions or site plans.
(b) Board of adjustment decisions on variances, special exceptions, administrative appeals, and ordinance administration.
(c) The use of innovative land use controls.
(d) Growth management controls and interim growth management controls.
(e) Decisions of historic district commissions, heritage commissions, and conservation commissions.
(f) Other municipal permits and fees applicable to housing and housing developments.
(g) Matters subject to the board's authority may include mixed-use combinations of residential and nonresidential uses. Such different uses may occur on separate properties, provided such properties are all part of a common scheme of development.
II. In exercising its authority under this chapter, the board shall have the power to award all remedies available to the superior courts in similar cases, including permission to develop the proposed housing.
III. Relative to RSA 674:58 through RSA 674:61, the board shall have the power and authority to hear and determine appeals of decisions of local land use boards regarding proposals for workforce housing, including but not limited to whether the municipality's land use ordinances and regulations provide a reasonable and realistic opportunity for the development of workforce housing; whether the local land use board has imposed conditions of approval that render the proposal economically unviable; and whether a denial by a local land use board was unreasonable or unlawful.
IV. After local remedies have been exhausted, appeals may be brought before the board by an applicant to the municipal board, committee, or commission, or by any other aggrieved or injured party who can demonstrate legal standing to appeal pursuant to RSA 677:4 or RSA 677:15. The municipality shall be a party to the action. If the applicant is not the party initiating the action before the board, then the applicant shall automatically be an intervenor. The board shall grant intervenor status to abutters and to any other aggrieved or injured party who can demonstrate legal standing to appeal pursuant to RSA 677:4 or RSA 677:15.