Is Derry, NH a town or a city for zoning purposes?

Derry is legally a town, governed by town meeting and a council, but it uses the same RSA 674 zoning framework as any New Hampshire city — a Planning Board, a Zoning Board of Adjustment, and a locally adopted zoning ordinance.

How do I find zoning for a Derry, NH property?

Derry's Community Development Department maintains the official zoning map and the Town of Derry Zoning Ordinance text, and can confirm a parcel's district before a formal application.

Are ADUs allowed in Derry, NH?

Yes. New Hampshire's statewide ADU law (RSA 674:73) requires Derry to allow at least one accessory dwelling unit by right on a lot with an existing single-family home.

Derry, New Hampshire · city zoning districts · 10 districts

Derry, NH zoning map & districts

Derry is governed as a town rather than a city, but New Hampshire's RSA 674 enabling framework applies the same way: a Planning Board reviews subdivisions and site plans under the Town of Derry Zoning Ordinance, and a Zoning Board of Adjustment hears variances and special exceptions. Derry is one of the largest municipalities in the state by population without city status, and its zoning has faced growth pressure along the Route 28 and Route 102 corridors that connect it to the Manchester and greater Boston commuter markets.

The code Town of Derry Zoning Ordinance

Derry zoning map

The interactive map needs JavaScript. See the official Derry NH GIS Parcel Viewer (Town of Derry) instead.

Residential 7
Industrial 5
Commercial 4
Mixed-use 2
Other / unclassified 1
Downtown / core 1

Source: Derry NH GIS Parcel Viewer (Town of Derry), retrieved 2026-09-04. Basemap: © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Find a district by address

District lookup only. No bulk standards and no ordinance citations are held for this city yet. Not a zoning verification.

Source: the official Derry NH GIS Parcel Viewer (Town of Derry) , retrieved 2026-09-04 — the authoritative source for current boundaries.

Derry's Community Development / Planning Department maintains the zoning map and ordinance text; the Planning Board's office handles rezoning and site plan applications.

A published summary is never the authority. The adopted ordinance and the city's official zoning map govern, and both change — verify the district and every standard on your parcel before you rely on it.

How zoning works in Derry

As with every New Hampshire municipality, Derry must permit at least one accessory dwelling unit by right on single-family lots under the state's 2022 ADU law (RSA 674:73).

Derry zoning districts by family

The 10 district codes below are the ones that decide most projects in Derry, grouped by what they are for rather than by the order the ordinance prints them.

Key districts in the Town of Derry Zoning Ordinance — a curated reference, not the exhaustive list. Confirm against the current adopted code.
Code	District	What it is for
Residential 4 districts
MFR	Multi Family Residential	Purpose-built multifamily zone, separate from the density-tiered single-family districts.
LDR	Low Density Residential	Large-lot base zone covering most of outer Derry.
MDR	Medium Density Residential	Mid-tier density step between LDR and the high-density districts.
MHDR	Medium High Density Residential	Denser residential tier closer to the village center.
Mixed-use 1 district
OBD	Office Business District	Office-oriented zone bridging commercial and light institutional uses.
Commercial 2 districts
GC	General Commercial	Standard arterial commercial zone.
GC2	General Commercial II	Curated code "GC-II" is not attested anywhere: the ingested DB (zone_class, from this same layer) carries GC, GC2, GC3, GC4 -- no GC-II; the Town of Derry's own GIS parcel service (extranet2.derrynh.org MapServer/54, field LND_ZONE coded-value domain, per data-pipelines/zoning-map-sources/evidence/new-hampshire--derry.json) independently gives "GC2-GENERAL COMMERCIAL II". Code corrected to the attested spelling; name/family unchanged.
Downtown / core 1 district
CBD	Central Business District	Derry's downtown core; the dataset's former 'CBD-T' code does not exist in the current ordinance.
Industrial 2 districts
IND1	Industrial I	Curated code "I-I" is not attested anywhere: DB zone_class carries IND1, IND3, IND4, IND5, IND6 -- no I-I; Town of Derry's own GIS field domain gives "IND1-INDUSTRIAL I". Code corrected to the attested spelling; name/family unchanged.
IND3	Industrial III	Curated code "I-III" is not attested anywhere: DB zone_class carries IND3 (4 features) -- no I-III; Town of Derry's own GIS field domain gives "IND III-INDUSTRIAL III". Code corrected to the attested spelling; name/family unchanged.

Derry zoning — common questions

Is Derry, NH a town or a city for zoning purposes?: Derry is legally a town, governed by town meeting and a council, but it uses the same RSA 674 zoning framework as any New Hampshire city — a Planning Board, a Zoning Board of Adjustment, and a locally adopted zoning ordinance.
How do I find zoning for a Derry, NH property?: Derry's Community Development Department maintains the official zoning map and the Town of Derry Zoning Ordinance text, and can confirm a parcel's district before a formal application.
Are ADUs allowed in Derry, NH?: Yes. New Hampshire's statewide ADU law (RSA 674:73) requires Derry to allow at least one accessory dwelling unit by right on a lot with an existing single-family home.

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The parcel layer lands in the order demand does. Illinois went first because that's where the deals were; the next state is decided by who tells us what they're trying to underwrite. Tell us where you're building and what you wanted to run — you'll hear from us when New Hampshire opens, and sooner if we need a test parcel.

Keep reading

← New Hampshire zoning — who holds the zoning power in New Hampshire, under which enabling statute, and the reforms that override local rules.

Other New Hampshire cities

The zoning reference → — every state, plus city-level district guides like this one.

Derry zoning summaries on this page are provided for information, not legal advice. Confirm every project against the current adopted code for the jurisdiction.