Strafford Regional Planning Commission, in partnership with the eight other regional planning commissions (RPCs), working with the NH Office of Planning and Development, kicked off the simultaneous Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process in mid-September. The regional housing needs assessment is a mandated function of each RPC per RSA 36:47.
In contrast to prior years, the RPCs and other stakeholders are completing this process in unison to acknowledge the statewide housing crisis, which requires a comprehensive analysis. All regions will use a common methodology and data analysis to allow for comparison between regions.
Planners from across the state are involved on different sub-committees to work on various parts of the RHNA planning process. Communications and outreach planner Shayna Sylvia and equity and engagement planner Nancy O'Connor, who are involved with the Outreach Tips and Trick subcommittee, met for the second time with other planners from Rockingham Planning Commission, Southwest Regional Planning Commission, Central NH Regional Planning Commission and Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission on Tuesday, Dec. 7. They discussed strategies for creating an outreach guidance document and assessing gaps in the RHNA data outline, which could be supplemented by qualitative data.
Outreach will be tailored to a variety of audiences like homeowners, renters, housing authorities, etc. Each region will also be putting out an online survey with a set of questions that are standard across all RPC surveys.
