The Dover Open Lands Committee is responsible for monitoring properties on which the city holds conservation easements. Monitoring is conducted to confirm conservation easement provisions are upheld and the land maintains the conservation values that made it worthy of protection.

In 2022, the Open Lands Committee has monitored properties and will complete 12 corresponding reports to agencies such as the Southeast Land Trust of NH, NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, NH Department of Transportation, and NH Department of Environmental Services.

There are more than 860 acres of conservation land in Dover. Monitoring activities include reviewing the easement deeds and maps before the visit, walking the property, taking photographs of the conditions and then preparing a written report to document the visit.

To keep up with the work of the volunteers of the Open Lands Committee, follow their Facebook.

The Dover Energy Commission held the first of two public hearings on its draft Electric Aggregation Plan (EAP) on Wednesday, Nov. 16, as part of efforts to initiate a Dover Community Power program.

The draft plan, available here, once finalized and enacted, would serve as the blueprint for the Dover Community Power program's operation. The Dover Energy Commission, which the City Council designated as the city's Electrical Aggregation Committee (EAC) for the program, will take feedback at the public hearings before finalizing the EAP and sending it to the Council for its consideration. If approved by the Council, it would require further steps, including review by the Public Utilities Commission.

The steps being taken, prior to approval by Council, can be reviewed in the graphic below.

Presentations were given at the public hearing on Nov. 16 by Energy Commission Chair Bill Baber and Resilience Manager Dr. Jackson Kaspari. The slides from their presentations can be found here.

The second public hearing on the draft EAP will be scheduled for December at a subsequent Energy Commission meeting.

Questions can be directed to Resilience Manager Kaspari at j.kaspari@dover.nh.gov or 603-516-6008.

In addition to each week's email edition of Dover Download, the City of Dover offers a weekly podcast. The podcast is hosted by Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker, who chats each week about the city's programs, services, public bodies, and projects. Each episode also takes a brief detour to the past with a look back at the week in Dover's history.

In this episode of Dover Download, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker discusses infill development and how it's used in Dover. Infill development typically involves reusing underutilized urban land for new construction. Parker is joined by Dover's Director of Media Services, Mike Gillis.

In This Week in Dover History, we revisit a terrible tragedy atop Garrison Hill.

The podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and at https://anchor.fm/cityofdovernh.

Planning Word/Phrase of the Week: Easement

An easement, as defined by the Dover Code, is the right or privilege that a person may have in another person's property, usually for the purposes of installing and maintaining utilities and drainageways.

Another example, as discussed in this newsletter, could be an easement granted by property owners for conservation purposes that would subsequently be monitored by the Open Lands Committee in the City of Dover.

If you have a word of the week or topics that you want to hear about, please email E.Bassegio@dover.nh.gov.