Hearing landowners: Legislators are finally listening

The Union Leader editorializes about changes to New Hampshire's Shoreland Protection Act, and is glad landowners are standing up against a massive increase in the state's power over private property, and that lawmakers are listening:

In the last legislative session, lawmakers updated the act by piling on a whole bunch of new regulations. Property owners objected, saying the new rules were onerous, but they were ignored. Thankfully, it didn't take long for legislators to get the message that they had messed up.

Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, has introduced a bill, which has already passed the Senate, to undo some of the regulations passed last year. It clearly needs to pass, though with amendments.

Current law does not allow people with homes on protected waterways to build walkways or driveways. It allows municipalities to seek exemptions for commercial or industrial construction, but not for residential construction. SB 134 changes these and other overly strict regulations.