New Hampshire Superior Court Launches Newly Authorized Land Use Review Docket with Presiding Judge Michael Klass

Manchester, NH – With today’s swearing in of Presiding Judge Michael Klass, the New Hampshire Superior Court today officially launched its new Land Use Review Docket.  The Docket will be based in  Hillsborough County Superior Court North in Manchester, but will have statewide jurisdiction.

The Docket was authorized by legislation enacted in 2023 and now codified in RSA 491: 7-b. It is intended to hear appeals from decisions of local land use boards, such as municipal planning boards, zoning boards, historic district commissions, and conservation commissions.  The Land Use Review Docket is not authorized to hear appeals of decisions by state agencies. The authorizing statute sets up an accelerated timeline for the hearing and adjudication of land use appeals, requiring the court to hold a structuring conference within 30 days of receiving the notice of appeal. The court must then set a deadline for the filing of records related to the appeal and schedule a hearing on the merits within 60 days of receiving the certified record from the municipality. Decisions on the merits of land use appeals must then be made within 60 days of the hearing.

“With an acute shortage of housing units in New Hampshire, it is important to expedite to the greatest extent possible the hearing and adjudication of land use appeals so developers, local boards and interested parties can resolve outstanding matters as they arise,” said Judge Mark E. Howard, Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court. “The legislature, in collaboration with the courts, seeks to reduce unnecessary delays in land use appeals so shovels are not waiting to get in the ground for months or years.”  

In December 2023, Chief Justice Howard issued an Administrative Order setting forth the procedures for creating and administering the docket.  The Superior Court Center, with the assistance of the Superior Court Clerks, identified all pending land use cases in the Superior Courts as of the end of 2023.  There were approximately 70 such cases.  Each of these cases was then reviewed to determine whether it should be transferred to the Land Use Review Docket or remain with the local Superior Court.  Of these, a total of 38 cases have been transferred.  All new pending cases filed after January 1, 2024, will be automatically transferred to the Land Use Review Docket. 

Going forward, attorneys and litigants should file any land use appeals in the ordinary course with the Superior Court covering the municipality involved.  Cases will be assigned docket numbers associated with their county of origin, and the appeal will then be handled by the Land Use Review Docket.  Most preliminary proceedings will be conducted virtually, while any hearings on the merits will be in person.  Most final hearings are expected to take place at Hillsborough County Superior Court North, however Judge Klass has discretion to travel to the county of origin to hear the case. 

Chief Justice Howard swore in Judge Klass today.  Judge Klass received his J.D. from Vermont Law School and is authorized to practice law in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He served as a law clerk for the Massachusetts Land Court in Boston before going into private practice litigating cases with a specialization in land use and property issues. Klass has served as the only attorney on the New Hampshire Housing Appeals Board, a three-person panel appointed by the Supreme Court to hear housing related land use appeals. Judge Klass was nominated to serve on the Land Use Review Docket by Governor Sununu.  He was confirmed by the New Hampshire Executive Council on November 29, 2023.

“Judge Klass is very experienced in land use law in New Hampshire and has worked with many local jurisdictions both in private practice as well as his time serving on the Housing Appeals Board,” said Chief Justice Howard. “He is familiar with historic, zoning, building and environmental regulations and is sensitive to the impacts housing development projects can have on abutting property owners as well as the municipalities in which they are located. Judge Klass is a great fit for this new docket, and the hope is that having one judge in the state focused on land use appeals will bring consistency to the review process and a more efficient use of judicial resources.”

Though he will be primarily focused on land use appeals statewide, Judge Klass will also be authorized to hear and rule on other matters within the Superior Court’s jurisdiction.