RSA 79-E:1: Declaration of Public Benefit.

I. It is declared to be a public benefit to enhance downtowns and town centers with respect to economic activity, cultural and historic character, sense of community, and in-town residential uses that contribute to economic and social vitality.

II. It is further declared to be a public benefit to encourage the rehabilitation of the many underutilized structures in urban and town centers as a means of encouraging growth of economic, residential, and municipal uses in a more compact pattern, in accordance with RSA 9-B.

II-a. In instances where a qualifying structure is determined to possess no significant historical, cultural, or architectural value and for which the governing body makes a specific finding that rehabilitation would not achieve one or more of the public benefits established in RSA 79-E:7 to the same degree as the replacement of the underutilized structure with a new structure, the tax relief incentives provided under this chapter may be extended to the replacement of an underutilized structure in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

II-b. It is further declared to be a public benefit to encourage the rehabilitation of historic structures in a municipality by increasing energy efficiency in the preservation and reuse of existing building stock.

III. Short-term property assessment tax relief and a related covenant to protect public benefit as provided under this chapter are considered to provide a demonstrated public benefit if they encourage substantial rehabilitation and use of qualifying structures, or in certain cases, the replacement of a qualifying structure, as defined in this chapter.