**UPDATED VERSION**

We had a small error in our transportation article where we incorrectly identified COAST's acronym. COAST stands for the Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation. Sorry for the error, must have been a case of the Fridays! Have a great weekend.

-SRPC

David Carpenter, Dover’s community development planner, presents on "Implementation & Action: Climate Adaptation and Resiliency in Seacoast New Hampshire" at the NNECAPA conference Source: SRPC
Planning
Executive Director Jen Czysz met with officials in Dover and Barrington during the week of Oct. 22 as part of her initiative to get to know SRPC’s member communities and establish open lines of communication with the municipalities of the Strafford region. The meetings also gave Jen an opportunity to share information about SRPC's history and programs and to discuss opportunities for partnership and collaboration.

At Dover's select board meeting, Jen discussed joint projects with the city such as Dover's Climate Adaptation Plan through the Setting SAIL project and the Climate Risk in the Seacoast (C-Rise) project . She said SRPC is preparing to launch a strategic planning process that will involve many of SRPC's stakeholders, and she provided details concerning an upcoming source water protection grant application that will require letters of support from SRPC member communities.

In Barrington, Jen talked with municipal staffers and volunteers about SRPC's role in updating the community facilities and utilities chapter of the town’s master plan. SRPC staffers are also working on a GIS spatial analysis project, the town's natural resource assessment, she said.

At both meetings, Jen discussed the statewide Ten Year Plan and the ongoing solicitation of transportation projects that feed into it. She also explained the role of SRPC Commissioners and the importance of Commissioner engagement. She encouraged municipal volunteers and staff members to talk regularly with Commissioners and invited them to attend a meeting at SRPC to learn more about the organization.
 
Jen has met with seven communities in the region so far, with several more meetings scheduled out to December and more to come.
Pieces of Interest

Transportation
The Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) is collecting public input as it evaluates its services with an eye toward reshaping them to better serve its customers. Colin Lentz, SRPC senior regional planner, attended a public feedback forum in Rochester on Monday, Oct. 22, one of seven sessions COAST is holding throughout its service area. The forums are part of a comprehensive operations analysis COAST has undertaken to help it plan for the future.

COAST asked participants in the Rochester forum to discuss different trade-offs that COAST faces. For example, COAST wanted to know what the attendees thought about the frequency of bus service versus the amount of area buses serve. Participants were asked whether it would make more sense for COAST to operate a limited route regularly, or have more stops but serve each one less frequently. COAST also asked participants if they thought COAST should invest in amenities like better bus stops and lighting, or spend money on improving or expanding its service.
 
The Rochester forum had about 15 participants. An earlier forum in Farmington drew about 25 attendees.
 
Upcoming forums are scheduled for Dover and Portsmouth. Dover's morning forum will take place on Monday, Oct. 29, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County meeting room. The evening Dover session will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital - Garrison Auditoriums ( Note: This location was changed from the prior venue at Dover City Hall ) . Portsmouth's session will be held in the council chambers in Portsmouth City Hall from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8.
 
Learn more on COAST's website .
Pieces of Interest

Economic Development
The Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association (NNECAPA) held its Annual Conference this week from Wednesday to Friday in Northport, Maine. Kyle Pimental, principle regional planner, and James Burdin, regional economic development planner, attended the event, which provided a unique opportunity for networking with planning professionals and learning about new and innovative approaches to important planning topics.
 
James and Kyle also presented at the conference. James participated in a panel presentation titled "Community Character Across the Rural to Urban Spectrum." The panel explored innovative approaches to enhance the quality of development in rural to urban settings, with a focus on small New England towns. Also on the panel were Vanessa Farr, principal/planner at Maine Design Workshop; Michael Behrendt, Durham town planner; and Ben Frey, a selectman from Newcastle, Maine. Discussion centered on identifying different sectors to craft a future land use plan for Durham; Newcastle’s innovative work with coding around natural and landscape features to avoid disrupting the town’s desired land-use patterns; and general strategies for regulating place and building types to preserve much-loved rural character.
 
Kyle was part of a panel presentation on "Implementation & Action: Climate Adaptation and Resiliency in Seacoast New Hampshire." He was joined by David Carpenter, Dover’s community development planner, and Julie LaBranche, senior planner at Rockingham Planning Commission. They presented case studies of how nine inland tidal communities implemented climate adaptation and resiliency actions. The panelists highlighted actions such as coastal hazards and climate adaptation master plan chapters, new floodplain development standards, updated stormwater management regulations, community outreach initiatives, and innovative messaging about the impacts of climate change.
 
Learn more about NNECAPA here .

Pieces of Interest


Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org
October 26, 2018