BITS AND PIECES

A Weekly Update from the Strafford Region

Planning

EPA Technical Assistance for Communities Program

On Tuesday, August 27^th, assistant director Kyle Pimental, serving in his capacity as Planning Director for the Town of Farmington, attended a meeting hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency to discuss their Technical Assistance Services for Communities Program. It was explained that the program's purpose is to help communities understand complex environmental issues and ensure meaningful community involvement in decision-making.

Kyle was tasked with exploring this opportunity to determine whether the program could be utilized to support local technical assistance throughout the proposed cleanup process for the former Collins & Aikman Superfund Site. He will make a formal recommendation to the Board of Selectmen in early September.

For more information on this project, please contact Kyle Pimental at kpimental@strafford.org. 

Know someone unfamiliar with housing jargon?

This skit on the Town of Peterborough's Facebook page may help!

Check out this Visual Tour of Peterborough's Accessory Dwelling Units

NH Solid Waste Legislation Updates 2024 Session

Harmony Homes: The Lot that Fit 9 McMansions. They Built 44 Small Homes for Locals Instead. Watch the Video

New Hampshire Housing in the News Summer 2024

Upcoming events and webinars:

•  9/4/2024: EPA Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division (WICRD) Cybersecurity Training. Register here.

• 9/17/2024: Plan NH Fall Conference

• 9/19/2024: OPD’s Planning Lunches at Noon Monthly Webinar Series next session: Changes to Planning and Zoning Laws in 2024

• September 19, 2024; 1pm - 2:30pm Join EPA for a free webinar: Flood and Cybersecurity Scenarios. Register Here

• 10/30/2024 and 10/31/2024: NHMA’s 83^rd Annual Conference and Exhibition

Transportation

Governor Signs Ten Year Plan

Governor Sununu signed the New Hampshire Statewide Ten Year Plan on August 9th 2024. The plan comprises all transportation infrastructure projects and programs (such as public transportation) throughout New Hampshire taking place over the next ten years. The plan gets updated every two years, so the Governor’s signature finalizes two years of work that began with the Regional Planning Commissions submitting new candidate projects to NHDOT back in the fall of 2022. Now NHDOT will begin updating the projects that will be moving toward constructing within the upcoming 4 years. This group of projects is known as the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Now that the Ten Year Plan has been approved, the Regional Planning Commissions will begin the process again by submitting draft projects to NHDOT that will be refined and finalized in February or March of of 2025. 

Confused? Call Transportation Planner Colin Lentz for a more thorough explanation. 

Full 10-yr plan project list

Additional 10-yr plan information on the NHDOT website

PIECES OF INTEREST

Federal Highway Data Shows Rural Counties have Higher Traffic Death Rates

Lighted Crosswalks make Pedestrians Safer, Study Shows

USDOT and FHWA Wildlife Crossing Pilot Grant Program

The National Transportation Safety Board reviews the new

DOT 'Vehicle to Everything, or V2X, Plan 

Lack of standard training for EV techs perpetuates shortage

Economic Development

SEDS Tours Prep Partners Group

The Seacoast Economic Development Stakeholders (SEDS) group met in person on Tuesday, August 27 for a tour of Prep Partners Group in Rochester, NH. Prep Partners is a third-party logistics company working in innovative ways to expand their business and build relationships with small and large enterprises throughout the region. Partners including the Business Resource team at N.H. Department of Business and Economic Affairs and the Strafford Economic Development Corporation, along with the leadership team at Prep Partners Group, helped make this tour possible for the SEDS group. Learn more about Prep Partners Group here.

PIECES OF INTEREST

October 23, 2024, 8:00a.m. – 1: 30p.m:2024 Housing and Economy Conference. For More information and to register,

visit the NH Housing website.

New Hampshire Bulletin: A look at how federal plans could make the costs of housing more affordable 

Recreation Economy for Rural Communities  

Announcements

The SRPC office will be closed on Monday, September 2 for the Labor Day holiday.

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

August 30, 2024