Rule 55.Appeal from Municipal Actions

Many local board hearings in New Hampshire, planning board sessions, zoning board of adjustment hearings, and similar local land use proceedings among them, are recorded but never formally transcribed. Rule 55 addresses what a party appealing that kind of decision to the superior court can do with a recording of the hearing below. It covers appeals from the action of a state or municipal government body generally, naming planning boards, zoning boards of adjustment, local land use commissions, and other local legislative bodies as examples.

A party can submit an audio or video recording of the proceedings as part of the record on appeal, but only if the recording is accompanied by the relevant portion of the transcript of those proceedings. The rule places responsibility for producing that transcript on the party who wants to rely on the recording. In effect, the rule lets a recording supplement the written record while still requiring a transcript of the parts that matter, so the court can read and cite the proceedings below rather than having to play back a recording during its review.