Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Kensington, New Hampshire

Town of Kensington’s own rules

• Certificate of occupancyLimited

  Accessory dwelling units in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural (RA) Zone.

  • A Planning Board conditional-use decision must be recorded at the Rockingham County Registry of Deeds and proof provided to the Building Inspector before issuance.

  “Accessory dwelling units shall be required to have a Certificate of Occupancy before occupancy.”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Kensington town, New Hampshire.

  • The town publishes a zoning ordinance amended March 2024.

  “These regulations and restrictions are for the purpose of regulating the use of land and the location and construction of buildings in the Town of Kensington”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside Kensington town.

  • The town publishes a Commercial Zone Map and a zoning ordinance, including a Residential-Agricultural District and overlay districts.

  “SECTION 3.2 DISTRICT OF RESIDENTIAL AND AGRICULTURAL USE – (RA)”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Manufactured housing used as a dwelling unit in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural Zone.

  • A dwelling, including manufactured housing, must have at least 650 square feet of living area.
  • Manufactured housing must meet the land, site, and building requirements applicable to other dwelling units.

  minimum living area: >= 650 square feet

  “Manufactured housing used as a dwelling unit shall be subject to all the land, site and building requirements of any other dwelling unit.”

• Accessory dwellingsAllowed (with conditions)

  Accessory dwelling units in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural Zone.

  • Planning Board conditional-use permit required.
  • The Planning Board must find compliance with all criteria in Section 3.2.3.
  • The owner must occupy one unit as the primary residence; the ADU may not exceed 900 square feet or two bedrooms; two off-street spaces per unit are required.

  maximum ADU living area: <= 900 square feet · maximum ADU bedrooms: <= 2 bedrooms

  “The living area of the accessory dwelling unit shall not be more than 900 square feet. The number of bedrooms in an accessory dwelling unit shall be two or less.”

• Who permits septicLocal (with conditions)

  Subsurface wastewater disposal systems inside Kensington town.

  • State Department of Environmental Services approval is additionally required when applicable.

  “the Town of Kensington Board of Health hereby adopts and requires the following as regulations to assure properly designed and located subsurface wastewater disposal systems.”

• Septic permitRequired

  New or expanded subsurface disposal systems inside Kensington town.

  • Town approval is required; New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services approval is also required when applicable.
  • New-system applications require four plan sets for local review, local Board of Health approval before state submission, and Town Engineer review.
  • In-kind repairs or replacements may begin without plans or approval only within the stated state-rule definition.

  new-system plan sets: 4 sets (For local review.)

  “No subsurface disposal system in Kensington shall be constructed or its use expanded until all criteria contained herein have been satisfied and approval granted by the Town and, when applicable, the Subsurface Disposal Division of the State of New Hampshire, Department of Environmental Services.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Installed septic systems serving dwellings in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural Zone.

  • Approval by the test-pit inspector is required after installation and before the system is covered over.

  “After installation, the septic system must also be approved by the test pit inspector before it is covered over;”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Proposed development in FEMA-designated special flood hazard areas inside Kensington town.

  • The regulation applies to FEMA-designated special flood hazard areas shown in the cited Flood Insurance Study and rate maps.
  • The Building Inspector may not grant a building permit before required federal or state approvals are certified.

  “All proposed development in any special flood hazard area shall require a permit.”

• Permit feesPublished (with conditions)

  Town-issued building permits and certificates of occupancy in Kensington town.

  • After-the-fact permit fee is twice the permit cost.

  residential building permit base fee: 50 USD (Plus $5 per thousand.) · certificate of occupancy residential fee: 25 USD · certificate of occupancy commercial fee: 50 USD

  “Building Permit | Residential $50 and $5 per thousand Commercial $100 and $10 per thousand”

• Permit processPartial

  Town permit processes inside Kensington town.

  • The official page publishes forms for listed permit categories but does not, in the opened material, give a complete consolidated process.

  “Building Permit Fee Schedule-effective August 1, 2023”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Kensington

Town of Kensington does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Minimum dwelling sizeSpecified

  Dwelling structures in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural (RA) District.

  • Applies to every structure, including manufactured housing, used as a dwelling unit.

  minimum living area: >= 650 square feet

  “Every structure including manufactured housing to be used as a dwelling unit shall have a minimum living area of six hundred and fifty (650) square feet.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Dwelling or residence lots in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural (RA) District.

  • A preexisting lot under two acres may support one dwelling only if recorded in the Rockingham County Registry of Deeds when the ordinance passed in 1959.
  • Lots are also subject to soil-based sizing under Table 1 of the town subdivision regulations.

  minimum lot area: >= 2 acres (Recorded pre-ordinance lots as specified in Section 3.2.2(B)(1).) · minimum frontage: >= 200 feet (Must abut a publicly maintained street or road, subject to RSA 674:41 II.)

  “The lot area of any dwelling or residence shall not be less than two (2) acres except that one dwelling may be located on a lot of less than two acres providing this lot has been duly recorded in the County of Rockingham Registry of Deeds at the time of passage of this ordinance.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  New structures and relocation of existing structures in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural (RA) District.

  • The 25-foot property-line setback and 50-foot separation from structures on abutting property both apply.
  • A 25-foot depth is required between the nearest right-of-way and any structure.

  property-line setback: >= 25 feet · abutting-structure separation: >= 50 feet · right-of-way setback: >= 25 feet

  “A structure or addition shall not be located nearer than 25 feet from the property lines of any a butter and not nearer than 50 feet from any structure on an abutter’s property.”

• Building heightSpecified

  Structures in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural (RA) District.

  • The highest door or window is separately limited to 32 feet above finished grade.

  maximum door/window height above finished grade: <= 32 feet

  “Structure Height. The maximum height of the highest door or window shall be thirty-two (32) feet, measured vertically from the bottom of the window or door to the finished grade below.”

• Agricultural exemptionConditional

  Agricultural uses in Kensington's Residential-Agricultural (RA) District.

  • Kennels and veterinary hospitals are subject to commercial-land-use requirements.
  • Boarding, breeding, training, treatment, or disposing of racing dogs is not permitted; mink farms are prohibited.

  “All agricultural use is permitted in this zone except as restricted below:”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Kensington or Rockingham County directly.

• Building permit — Residential construction inside Kensington town.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside Kensington town.
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Kensington town.
• Inspections — Building work inside Kensington town.
• Lot coverage — Residential development inside Kensington town.

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Kensington means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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