In Warner, a small town along Interstate 89 west of Concord, the question isn't whether housing costs too much. It's what the town is willing to change to fix it.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Jackie Harris reported Oct. 5 on a forum put on by the town's Housing Committee, where residents and housing experts gathered in the elementary school cafeteria to debate zoning changes that would allow more homes to be built.
"It's heartbreaking," one resident said. "Every day that goes by, I see a larger amount of people who can't get a home."
Five-acre lots
One proposal residents are considering is reducing the lot size needed to build a home. In Warner, 67% of the land zoned for residential construction requires a home to be built on at least 5 acres, NHPR reported.
The town's own land use guide shows how the rules stack up. In the Village Residential district, the minimum building area is 0.459 acres with public sewer and water, or 0.918 acres without. The Medium Density Residential district requires 0.918 acres with public sewer and water and 2 acres without. The Low Density Residential district requires 3 acres, and the Open Conservation and Open Recreation districts require 5 acres, with 300 and 500 feet of road frontage, respectively.
Matt Monahan, a senior planner with the Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission, presented at the forum. His family has been in New Hampshire for centuries, he told NHPR, but he doesn't think his teenage son will be able to afford a home in the state.
"The problem with zoning is that it's usually being done for good reason," Monahan said. "And then there's an unintended consequence that affects another part of the population."
Not everyone is on board. One resident said he would only support the change if conservation and recreation areas weren't touched. "It's zoned that way for a reason," he said. "To keep the woodlands, the density low so that, you know, all the animals can run through the woods."
Residents echoed concern that zoning changes could alter Warner's rural character. One idea many supported was easing restrictions so more vacant buildings could be converted into apartments or condos.
"There might be an old farmhouse on a property that you could divide into three units, but it would still look like an old farmhouse," said Laura Hallahan, a real estate agent and member of the Housing Committee.
According to the town's Housing Committee page, the committee was formed under the Select Board's June 24, 2025, minutes to carry out the second phase of a Housing Opportunity Planning grant, and Warner was awarded $27,930 for the work. Its tasks include a housing needs assessment, audits of the zoning ordinance and site plan and subdivision regulations, community engagement, and proposing new or revised rules for the Planning Board and Select Board to review. The committee makes suggestions; it doesn't write ordinances.
The committee plans to review feedback from the forum and work on revised proposals, aiming to bring them to residents at Town Meeting in spring 2027, NHPR reported.
Even then, change won't come fast. "If you were to snap your fingers and say all the solutions are in place tomorrow morning, it'd still take probably 10, 15, 20 years for it to play out to the point where it would lower cost," Monahan said.
Why it matters for Contractors
Warner is one small town, but NHPR notes many New Hampshire communities are weighing the same tradeoffs. Large-lot zoning drives up the land and site cost of every new house, and it limits how many homes a builder can put on a piece of land. If Warner voters approve smaller lots in spring 2027, it could open more parcels to modest single-family homes.
The farmhouse idea is worth a close look for remodelers and renovation contractors. Converting old farmhouses and vacant buildings into two or three units, while keeping their outside appearance, is careful, detailed work: structural upgrades, fire separations, new egress, separate utilities and mechanical systems, all inside an old building.
None of it is approved yet. Contractors who work in central New Hampshire should follow the Housing Committee's proposals and the spring 2027 Town Meeting warrant, and be ready to show the town what this kind of housing can look like.