Strafford Regional Planning Commission recently received draft maps from GeoSyntec created as part of the Lee Floodplain Study, a 13-month effort to create new floodplain maps with updated topographic and stream flow data. This project builds off a 2014 initiative in which an ad-hoc working group and SRPC staffers reviewed floodplain data along the mainstem of the Lamprey River and developed recommendations based on that data. The Lee planning board subsequently asked SRPC to investigate funding sources to assess the other rivers in town including the North, Little, and Oyster rivers. This led to the current NHDES Coastal Program grant to support this effort.

The maps provided by Geosyntec show the preliminary results of a simulated model that depicts planning level detail of the flood inundation extent and depth along the North, Little, Oyster, and Lamprey rivers. The next step in the project includes a review of the maps by the Lee planning board at a meeting in April and a subsequent review of the town’s existing floodplain regulations.

For more information on this project contact Kyle Pimental at 603-994-3500. 

Pieces of Interest



Housing Our Communities: A Strong Towns Perspective

LCHIP Announces Grant Orientation Workshops

On Thursday, Mar. 14, James Burdin, regional economic development planner attended UNH Cooperative Extension and Plan NH's Nature & Economy: Recognizing and Leveraging Natural Assets for Economic Vibrancy workshop. Led by Shannon Rogers. Ph.D, Nature Based Economic Development Specialist, the workshop demonstrated skills that would enable participants to identify natural capital and assess whether a community is taking full advantage of those resources for economic vibrancy. 

 

Rogers also provided information on economic return of natural resources, including ways to categorize different types of economic benefit (such as increased property values, direct sales to visitors, or improved resilience resulting in deferred infrastructure costs), and provided ways for communities to increase access to such recreation for all residents and visitors.

 

More information on the UNH Cooperative Extension and Plan NH is available on their respective websites. For information about how SRPC may be able to assist with natural capital planning or to incorporate this analysis into existing master planning or natural resource activities contact James Burdin at 603-994-3500.

Pieces of Interest

Rochester’s Long-Time Economic Development Manager To Leave Post This Month