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October 7, 2022
STRAFFORD REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION NEWSLETTER
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Pawtuckaway in the fall. (SRPC photo) | |
Greetings,
Leaf peeping season is upon us once again, and according to the state's foliage tracker this is the peak weekend to enjoy the views. Luckily with a long weekend ahead of us, we have the extra day to take advantage. Here's to being tourists in our own state!
Here at SRPC we are diving into outreach analysis and the writing phase for our Regional Housing Needs Assessment, beginning to draft our town reports detailing the work we've done with each community over the year, and getting ready to kick off our bike/ped steering committee for our Active Transportation Plan.
In this issue you will find information on Mark Davie's attendance at an APA Conference in PA; SRPC's latest map, reports and videos; CMAQ funding; a recap of Strafford EDD's CARES programming; planning events of interest; staff news and community happenings.
Until Next Month,
Shayna Sylvia
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IN THIS ISSUE
SRPC Intern Attends PA APA Annual Meeting
SRPC's Latest
Grant Corner
Recap of Strafford EDD's CARES Programming
Planning Events of Interest
Partner Spotlight: Rollinsford and Milton
Staff News
Community Happenings
| Executive Director Jen Czysz leads a barriers and needs exercise during SRPC's Housing Forum. (SRPC photo) | |
SRPC Intern Attends Annual American Planning Association Pennsylvania Chapter Conference | |
View of downtown Lancaster, PA. (SRPC photo) | |
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From Sunday to Tuesday, Oct. 2-4, data collection intern Mark Davie attended the annual conference of the Pennsylvania chapter of the APA in historic Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Davie is in his last semester of completing his Masters of Urban & Regional Planning at West Chester University and attended with his cohort and faculty.
Davie attended sessions regarding form-based code; public engagement before, during, and throughout the pandemic; and trails and park space from a public health lens. Davie connected with Carolyn Ristau, the author of “Zoning Adventures: A Home Addition Paper Chase.” Ristau’s short story details the often tedious application process when seeking improvements or additions to the home in a condensed format that is approachable to non-planners. Davie also connected with Connect the Dots, a Philadelphia-based community engagement specialist that is currently assisting the Greater Portland (Maine) Council of Governments in transit promotion events. Other events included a (cold and wet!) morning run tour of downtown Lancaster and opportunities to browse the Central Market, the longest continually-operating farmers’ market in America.
SRPC staff look forward to connecting with other planners and community advocates at the Northern New England conference in Newry, Maine later this month and the national APA conference in Philadelphia next spring.
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MAP - Somersworth Historic Sites Map Viewer
On Friday, Sept. 30, GIS planner Jackson Rand launched SRPC's latest map viewer, a project completed in partnership with the City of Somersworth and funded through the National Park Service via the Certified Local Government program.
The map viewer highlights 12 historic properties within the Somersworth Historic District and includes information and photographs for each site. View it via SRPC's ArcOnline site.
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REPORTS
Dover Building Equity Final Report
In last week's edition of Bits and Pieces we shared that regional planner Autumn Scott presented on SRPC's Building Resilience by Building Equity in Dover project, which sought to engage the City’s historically underserved communities (HUCs) in climate change conversations as they are often disproportionately vulnerable to its impacts.
The final report from this project is now available on the SRPC website, and includes links to all of the project’s work products.
ICYMI: SRPC FY 2022 Annual Report
SRPC released its FY 2022 Annual Report on Sept. 22. This report details the work of the Commission, MPO, and EDD over the past fiscal year (July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022), highlighting important projects and processes; new staff members, measurable outcomes, and the FY 2023 budget. View the report on the SRPC website.
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Resiliency Roundtable – “Protecting Our Local Food Systems” Part II
As part two of its Resiliency Roundtable focused on “Protecting Our Local Food Systems”, SRPC hosted Theresa Walker, Amy Manzelli, and Ellen Karelitz on Friday, Sept. 23 from 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Theresa and Amy presented on the Local Regulation of Agriculture Toolkit, followed by Ellen, one of the Wagon Hill Community Garden founders, speaking about the gardens success and how others can start up a community garden.
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SRPC September ‘22 Commission Meeting – RHNA Commissioner Workshop
On Thursday, Sept. 22, SRPC held its quarterly Commission meeting. Business items included approval of the minutes from the previous Commission meeting, acceptance of the FY 2022 Annual Report and FY 2024 dues rates, and Regional Impact Committee (RIC) appointments. Following the business items, Commissioners engaged in outreach activities related to housing for the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) facilitated by SRPC staff.
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Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement Program - LOIs due Nov. 4
On Sept. 26 NHDOT released information about the 2022 round of Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement program funding
For regional projects, questions about project eligibility or development can be directed to senior transportation planner, Colin Lentz. SRPC can also assist with additional data collection to quantify project impacts in relation to emissions. Related requests should be submitted as soon as possible.
Learn more via NHDOT.
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Recap of Strafford EDD's CARES Programming | |
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With funding received through the CARES Act grant, and in response to the conditions posed by Covid-19, the Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) launched several programs designed to support economic recovery and resiliency planning for the region’s municipalities and businesses as they worked to navigate the constantly evolving circumstances faced as a result of the pandemic. Through outreach and engagement efforts with municipalities and businesses, which in large part came from the meetings with the Seacoast Economic Development Stakeholder (SEDS) group, a collective entity of economic development stakeholders at the local, regional, and state level who meet regularly to work collaboratively to promote the economic vitality of our region, SRPC was able to obtain a clear understanding of what some of the urgent needs of our communities were. In response, this allowed staff to design programs accordingly to ensure those needs were being met.
For municipalities, the Record Digitization Program was created to promote organizational resiliency by increasing efficiency for municipal staff if and when required to work remotely while enabling access to digital records for the public. It is estimated that the program- which was offered at no cost to 13 SRPC municipalities, lasted 9 months and involved the support of 14 staff members (between full or part-time employees and interns)- led to the digitization of over 10,000 municipal documents, including site plans, subdivision plans, tax maps, among other documents.
For businesses, the Consultant Technical Assistance program was created, where SRPC partnered with 5 private consultants to provide free targeted technical support to small businesses in the areas of website development, marketing, advertising, graphic design, audio visual support, IT services, and cybersecurity. By the end of the year-long program, a total of 76 businesses across 13 SRPC municipalities received technical support at no cost to them, representing over 277 hours of assistance at a value of $32,000.
Other efforts put forward to promote economic resiliency included the Promoting Outdoor Play (POP!) tool, monthly resource and information sharing with local businesses, and a Resiliency Subcommittee comprised of SRPC commissioners. To learn more about SRPC’s work under the CARES Act view the Resiliency Addendum of the 2022 Strafford EDD Comprehensive Economic Development Plan.
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PLANNING EVENTS OF INTEREST
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Equity and Walkability: Improving Pedestrian Infrastructure in Underserved Neighborhoods - Thursday, Oct. 13 at 10:30 a.m. - noon
As part of its Walktober 2022, Smart Growth America will be hosting a walkinar on "Equity and Walkability: Improving Pedestrian Infrastructure in Underserved Neighborhoods.
This event will address how, "National conversations about equity have expanded into the pedestrian realm and have prompted increasing numbers of communities to examine how to improve pedestrian infrastructure in underserved neighborhoods."
Participants of the live webinar are eligible for 1.5 AICP CM credits (live attendance required). To register complete and submit the form below.
Learn more and register via gotowebinar.
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STILL TIME TO REGISTER | NNECAPA Annual Conference - Monday, Oct. 17 - Wednesday, Oct. 19
The Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association annual conference is fast approaching. The theme for this year's event is Serendipitous Partnerships, Unique Results.
The conference committee has spent months working on an agenda that will touch on all aspects of the planning world in Northern New England. This year's conference includes an additional half day of programming, kicking off with a lunch keynote speaker on Monday. Between Monday and Wednesday, attendees will have the opportunity to earn up to 10 CM Credits. In addition to the Annual State Cocktail Competition, this year's conference will also see the return of the Annual Awards Program dinner. On Tuesday NNECAPA will host sponsors and exhibitors throughout the day with specific networking times. Check out the agenda for more information, and register online.
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SAVE THE DATE | NH Planners Association Annual Meeting – Friday, Dec. 2
NHPA will hold its annual meeting at Fratello's Italian Grill on Friday, Dec. 2! The meeting will begin with business items and will be followed by a featured presentation and an ethics session (for which CM credits will be offered).
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As a follow-up to SRPC's Milton And Rollinsford Stormwater Regulation Updates project, staff assisted these two towns in applying for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) in spring 2022. An announcement as to the outcome of these applications was sent on Sept. 29.
Towns of Rollinsford and Milton
Rollinsford and Milton received $100,00o each to develop a plan for total nitrogen source reductions, from both point source and non-point sources, for the duration of the Great Bay Total Nitrogen General Permit.
This nitrogen source reduction plan will outline specific actions or projects (locations,
concept ideas) with estimates of load reduction potential and cost to implement these actions or projects. It will serve as a planning tool the towns to best allocate funding for investment and implementation to reduce total nitrogen into the Great
Bay.
The plan will also help each town understand how much total nitrogen they might expect to reduce in the next 4+ years, and will include a nitrogen source identification planning template that could be used by other towns in the Great Bay.
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Recent and Upcoming Staff Milestones
Shayna Sylvia, senior communications and outreach planner, will celebrate ten years in November.
Kathy Foster, financial manager, celebrated nine years in September.
Rachel Dewey, senior data analyst, will celebrate eight years in November.
Jackson Rand, GIS planner, celebrated three years in September.
Natalie Gemma, economic recovery coordinator, will celebrate two years in November.
Blair Haney, Principal Regional Planner, celebrated one year in September.
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New Hampshire Film Festival
Oct. 6 - 9
Various Times
The NH Film Festival is an annual fall event that unites professional filmmakers, screenwriters and film industry experts with film lovers. The festival was recently named an Academy Award qualifying festival for the Short Film Awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this past year.
Four days, over 100 exciting new films, lively discussions, buzzworthy parties and one unforgettable journey are at your fingertips. Whether you are rolling as a VIP or exploring the festival for only one day, your passes are on sale now.
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Voices from the Cemetery
Oct. 22 and 23
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Dozens of reincarnated spirits from Dover’s past will arise from their graves to entertain, amuse, and recount their lives’ achievements (or failures) for current citizens! The Woodman Museum, now in its 106th year, is proud to present its “Voices at the Cemetery" fundraiser event located at Dover’s picturesque and historic Pine Hill Cemetery.
Tours are approximately 40-minutes long and, although walk-ups are welcome, pre-registration for the day and time of your tour is highly recommended to ensure your tour time.
Learn more.
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Strafford Regional Planning Commission
150 Wakefield Street, Suite 12
Rochester, NH 03867
www.strafford.org
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