Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter at the Tidewater NH Film Premiere
 Source: SRPC     
Planning


Principal Planner Kyle Pimental attended the NH premiere of the film "Tidewater" on Monday, Aug. 7, at the Hugh Gregg Coastal Center. This new film from the American Resilience project explores how the military and municipalities in Virginia are working to strengthen national security and enhance economic prosperity. The showing of the documentary was sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Environmental Defense Fund, NH Businesses for Social Responsibility, NH Coastal Adaptation Workgroup, and Natural Resources Council of Maine. 
 
The film was preceded by remarks from Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter. State Senator David Watters; Roger Stephenson, Stratham representative to the Coastal Risks and Hazards Commission; and Emmie Theberge, Natural Resources Council of Maine, led an audience discussion following the film.
 
To learn more about the film, or to purchase it, visit:
 


Transportation

An article in the July issue of Forbes,  American Coasts Are Preparing Public Transportation For Rising Sea Levels ,   addresses the potential effect sea level rise will have on transportation infrastructure in the country and internationally. Cities across the U.S. have begun to plan for changes in sea level using different predictive analysis tools. New Hampshire GRANIT and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Coastal Program are launching a new website and training program for the New Hampshire Coastal Viewer mapping tool. The tool makes spatial datasets about community assets, natural resources, and hazards within New Hampshire's 42 coastal watershed communities publicly accessible in one place. While the Coastal Viewer's uses are numerous, users can track sea level rise scenarios to see their effect on areas such as transportation infrastructure. 
 
An upcoming workshop offered by the New Hampshire Association for Conservation Commissions, the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Coastal Training Program, the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, New Hampshire GRANIT, and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program will introduce users to the NH Coastal Viewer. The workshop will include a series of hands-on exercises to familiarize participants with the Viewer's data and tools. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to access the Viewer, explore data relevant to coastal land conservation, and make simple maps focused on conservation priorities in their communities, including conservation for drinking water source protection, flood mitigation, and nutrient filtration.

To learn more about the tool visit:

To learn more about the training and how to register visit: 
 

Economic Development

The 2016 Annual Building Permit Inventory was released on Wednesday, Aug. 9. This yearly report provides a look at new development and growth in the Strafford region. Through contractual agreement with NHDOT, SRPC collects and analyzes yearly building permit information from each municipality. The data is then used for the report and for an update to the Strafford Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation and Land Use Model and for municipal development planning purposes.

The current permit inventory includes new construction from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016. The report contains a summary analysis of activity within the region, a table of permit totals for 2016 by municipality, a chart illustrating permit allocation, line graphs showing changes in residential and commercial construction since 2008, and a map of new building locations in the region.
 
View the report online at  http://strafford.org/noticesDetail.php?293 . 

Pieces of Interest


Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org


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