March 5, 2021
Strafford Regional Planning Commission Newsletter
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The Cocheco River overlooking Henry Law Park in downtown Dover (SRPC photo).
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Greetings,
This week has felt more like winter with the cold temperatures, worsened by the crazy wind gusts seen earlier in the week. If it helps, I've been channeling the thought that we turn the clocks forward in just nine days, meaning more hours of sunlight and an early sign of spring and summer!
Here at SRPC, we are finalizing the StoryMap for our Promoting Outdoor Play! project, working diligently on the update to our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), and are beginning to develop some new innovative project ideas for the next fiscal year focused on art and culture.
In this issue you will find information on the nomination period for the NH Planners Association award program, planning events of interest, a partner spotlight on the NH Office of Strategic Initiatives, SRPC’s latest report, an extension to the project solicitation deadline for the CEDS, Explore Moose Mountain's USDA Rural Development grant application, opportunities for public input with us you may have missed, and community happenings.
Until Next Month,
Shayna Sylvia
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IN THIS ISSUE
NHPA Seeks Nomintations
Planning Events of Interest
Partner Spotlight: NH Office of Strategic Initiatives
SRPC's Latest Report
Strafford EDD Extends Project Solicitation Deadline
EMM Seeks Match Donations for USDA Grant
In Case You Missed It + Public Input Opportunities
Community Happenings
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STAFF SNAPSHOTS - February |
SRPC staff meet with OSI as part of their road show meetings with RPCs. (SRPC photo)
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New Hampshire Planners Association Seeks Nominations |
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The NH Planners Association is now accepting nominations for its annual awards program. The are seeking nominees for the following categories:
- Citizen Planner of the Year
- Professional Planner of the Year
- Project of the Year
- Plan of the Year
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Planning Events of Interest |
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Pavement Series with Bobby Betsold and guests - Mar. 9, & 23, Apr 6 & 20, and May 4 at 8 a.m.
Join Bobby Betsold, Technical Marketing with All State Materials Group and co-presenters in a five session workshop hosted by the UNH Technology Transfer Center. The themes to be covered and their respective dates include:
- March 9 – Pavement Management
- March 23 – Project Planning
- April 6 – Pavement Preservation
- April 20 – Hot Mix 101
- May 4 – Beyond Preservation
Affordable Housing, Zoning, and the Bottom Line: What Can Other Cities Learn from the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Overlay in Cambridge? - Thursday, Mar. 11 from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University will host an upcoming webinar on "Affordable Housing, Zoning, and the Bottom Line: What Can Other Cities Learn from the 100 Percent Affordable Housing Overlay in Cambridge?" on Mar. 11.
The webinar will address the new 100 Percent Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which encourages the production of permanently-affordable housing through density bonuses and a streamlined design review process, could be a model for other cities and towns with high housing costs.
Learn more and register online.
PLAN NH Workshop #1: Pop-Ups - Lessons Learned (Restaurants) - March 23 at 9 a.m.
In the spring and summer of 2020, many New Hampshire communities developed Covid-safe plans to expand outdoor dining opportunities to support local businesses and repurpose public and privately-owned spaces. Ensuring that options were accessible to all customers was an additional challenge. This webinar includes lessons learned from three NH communities that stepped up to the challenge.
During this virtual roundtable, experts in planning, community and economic development will discuss the challenges their communities faced when trying to adapt to Covid-safe outdoor dining; the specific community planning and design ideas used to create Covid-safe outdoor dining options; and the challenges presented by providing accessible dining options for all community members and visitors.
Learn more and register online.
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Tools for Equitable Climate Resilience: Fostering Community-Led Research and Knowledge |
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The River Network, an entity empowering and uniting people and communities to protect and restore rivers and other waters, recently published a new Community-Led Toolkit. As explained on its website, this resource provides "guidance and lessons learned on how to effectively engage with community members to understand climate impacts and to develop more equitable climate resilience strategies."
The toolkit is designed to inform planners, scientists and other stakeholders on the benefits of and strategies for community-led research, which is defined as, "“A process through which community members come together to gather and synthesize their collective wisdom and knowledge in order to more fully understand how a problem—or set of problems—impact their community, to identify solutions that will work best for their specific community, and to build a case for support.” Learn more from the report and included case studies. |
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The New Hampshire Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) recently launched a monthly webinar series, Planning Lunches at Noon (PLAN). These free trainings take place the third Thursday of the month from noon to 1 p.m. and will cover various planning and zoning topics.
Each PLAN webinar will be conducted live with a presentation and question and answer session and will also be recorded and available for viewing on OSI’s YouTube channel. The next PLAN is scheduled for Mar. 18 and will include a regional housing initiatives roundtable. Moderated by Noah Hodgetts, NH OSI Assistant Planner, the session will explore innovative solutions to the state’s growing housing shortage. Panelists include Olivia Uyizeye of the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, Todd Horner of the Southwest Region Planning Commission, Kaela Tavares of the North Country Council, and James Vayo of the Southern NH Planning Commission. Register by email Noah.
Other upcoming events being held by OSI included its 27th Annual Spring Planning and Zoning conference which will be virtually held on May.15. Registration for the Conference will open on March 29, 2021, and more information can be found on OSI's website.
Staff at OSI also recently followed up with each regional planning commission (RPC) after another successful roadshow season. This program, started in 2019 was created as a way for OSI to connect with each RPC's staff yearly in an effort to explore areas for collaboration and get and understanding for resources RPCs need from the state.
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SRPC recently released its 2019 Annual Building Permit Inventory Report.
The Annual Building Permit Inventory provides a look at new development and growth in the Strafford Region. Through contractual agreement with the NHDOT, building permit information from each municipality is collected and analyzed. This data is used to update the Strafford Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation and Land Use Model and for municipal development planning purposes.
The most recent permit inventory includes new construction from January 1 to December 31, 2019. This 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
As presented in this year's report, there were 32% less housing units built in 2019 than in the previous year, with 10% fewer permits issued. When considering unit type, there was a 10% decrease in the number of multi-housing units permitted in 2018.
To find more specific information about this data, and statistics for your town, view the report on the SRPC website.
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Strafford EDD Extends Project Solicitation Deadline |
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Strafford Economic Development District (EDD) has extended its project solicitation deadline for the ongoing update to its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The projects collected during this process are included as part of each CEDS update and hold value in that being listed in the CEDS ensures regional communities and non-profits eligibility for Economic Development Administration funds.
The form for submitting projects can be found online. Strafford EDD staff have extended the deadline to Mar. 26 and forms can be submitted to senior regional planner James Burdin. Questions can also be directed to James.
For Nottingham, Northwood and Newmarket, which are in the Strafford Regional Planning Commission's planning region but not in the EDD region, projects can be submitted to Regional Economic Development Center (REDC). REDC is running its project solicitation through Mar. 12. Their The REDC form can also be found online.
For more information, or for assistance with filling out the form, contact James.
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Explore Moose Mountains Seek Match Donations for a USDA Rural Development Grant Application |
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Explore Moose Mountains (EMM), a grassroots, non-profit initiative to showcase the WONDERFUL businesses and destinations in the scenic villages of the Moose Mountains, is pursuing a USDA Rural Business Development Grant. In doing so, they are fundraising to match a portion of the $30K grant request. For those not familiar, EMM includes the seven towns of Farmington, New Durham, Milton, Middleton, Wakefield, Brookfield, and Wolfeboro.
EMM organically grew from a series of community conversations in 2014 and has since operated on limited donations from a few generous members of the community and a 2016 grant from the NH Charitable Foundation. Through its social media persona, The Moose, New Hampshire, EMM promotes local eateries, artisan shops, cottage industries, farm stands, museums, hiking trails and fun events in our region to over 6,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram.
If successful, the grant would allow EMM to re-vamp our website as a regional marketing tool, continue to promote businesses and destinations through our highly successful social media channels and create a region-wide marketing campaign to draw visitors and customers to our seven towns following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Want to learn more or interested in donating? visit:
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In Case You Missed It + Public Input Opportunities |
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SRPC Wants to CHAT with You!
As part of its Communities for Healthy Aging Transitions (CHAT) project SRPC staff are seeking input on “how your community provides an inclusive, welcoming, supportive, and healthy environment for people of all ages?”
To accomplish this, many different outreach approaches have been prepared including a survey that was launched on Feb. 12. The survey will allow the CHAT team to hear from the people that know their communities best, those who live and work there!
For those more creatively minded, SRPC has created a postcard art activity. This will allow SRPC staff to gather input via printed postcards which will be delivered and handed out across the region. If you have a group interested in completing the activity SRPC staff can coordinate delivery of copies, and can even provide postage paid versions to be mailed back. The postcard template is also available online for digital submissions, or to print. Digital submissions can be emailed to srpc@strafford.org.
The CHAT team is also scheduling community Zoom forums in the region, so stay tuned to the event section on their homepage or the CHAT project page.
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Draft 2021-2024 TIP and Metro Plan Update Public Comment Period
The TIP is a prioritized list of federal and state funded regional transportation projects, like intersection safety improvements to the US 4/NH 152 intersection on the Northwood/Nottingham line, or constructing all electronic tolling at Dover and Rochester Tolls.
In line with the TIP update, Strafford MPO must also update its Metropolitan Transportation Plan to incorporate the TIP. Following the approval of both documents, Strafford MPO will continue making update to its MTP, to be finalized in spring 2021.
Comments and questions to be sent to senior transportation planner Colin Lentz.
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Dover 400th Series: Archeological Discoveries at Dover Point
Mar. 9 from 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Dover400, a committee of residents organizing Dover’s 400th Anniversary, continues its virtual historical lecture series on March 9, 2021 at 7 p.m. with an online presentation detailing an important recent archeological dig at the site of the First Parish Church’s 1654 Meetinghouse on Dover Point Road.
The March lecture features Dr. Meghan Howey, UNH anthropology professor, and Diane Fiske, First Parish Church historian, who will present their research on the early colonial landscape of Dover Point.
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Local Food in the Year of the Pandemic
Mar. 16. from
6:30 -8:00 p.m.
Join Seacoast NH Permaculture for a panel discussion on New Hampshire and New England local food initiatives.
The Seacoast Region is rich in local food, small farms, and organizations that support growers and work to expand the reach and breadth of local food systems. NH and New England are also home to several organizations that are addressing our food system on a larger scale.
The panel created for this virtual event consists of five organizations focused on different branches of this work.
Those interested are invited to come learn about local and statewide efforts, how they can support and participate in them particularly during this time, ask questions, be part of the discussion and contribute to the re-localization of the food system.
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