Welcome from the Planning Director |
Next week, our new Resilience Coordinator starts. It's safe to say his plate is full. There are some great projects we want that person to work on. Now, I’ve been advised not to overload him on his first week, and I get that. At the same time, there is so much opportunity here, so maybe I won’t overload him, but I do want to get stuff done. We have accomplished a lot in regards to recognizing climate change/coastal management. We also have accomplished a lot in the closely related area of land conservation. Below you’ll read more about that.
An early project he’ll be working on is a project with the University of New Hampshire's Cooperative Extension, the Energy Commission and the Conservation Commission to redesign and layout the Sustainable Dover web page. This site was created in 2010 when we had a sustainability coordinator, thanks to a grant. This person worked with the Energy Commission to develop the page. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been maintained. We now have the opportunity, thanks to some technical assistance, for a refresh. This will be the new hub for resilience information about the City and focus on the new resilience plan we are developing. What’s the URL? Nope, not sharing yet. Wait for the big reveal this winter.
This week’s fun fact: Opening on August 30, 1906, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital was part of the City of Dover until 1982, when it separated from the City and was incorporated as a non-profit community hospital.
Enjoy,
Christopher G. Parker AICP
Assistant City Manager: Director of Planning and Strategic Initiatives
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Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Committee, 8/31/2021
The Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Committee (CWDAC) provided conditional approval to the Carthartes’ development plans at its meeting Tuesday, Aug. 31, allowing the project to move forward to Planning Board review.
The development plans include site plans and architectural renderings. CWDAC also recommends the project receive a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Board for building height, which is 55 feet for that district.
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The Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Committee approved site plans and architectural renderings for the waterfront project planned on River Street. |
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The approval includes the condition for CWDAC for developer Cathartes, the City of Dover’s planning and recreation staff, and the CWDAC’s Park Planning Subcommittee to “work diligently and closely with the paddlesports community to ensure cooperation in any future plans for the design, permitting and construction for a paddle sports facility.”
CWDAC’s approval also encourages cooperation for the developer, city staff, CWDAC and the paddlesports community to create an access plan to the Cochecho River paddle sports dock, to the greatest extent possible, during the period of project construction. CWDAC members noted it would not be possible to always maintain access during site construction because of safety concerns.
Some members of the paddlesports community have expressed concern about development plans to remove the metal storage shed leased and utilized by the Great Bay rowing and the UNH rowing clubs. The developer and the City have been working with stakeholders to locate a new space for boat storage.
The development process now moves to the Planning Board for review, including initial review by the Planning Board’s Technical Review Committee (TRC), once Cathartes submits their complete site review application.
CWDAC will continue to meet to work on the paddlesports facility and environmental permitting.
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No meetings scheduled for the week of Sept. 6 |
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History of Dover's land conservation |
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1973 marked the beginning of organized efforts to protect and conserve land in Dover. The Conservation Commission was appointed in that year, and they held their first meeting on May 17, 1973. Also in that year, the Planning Board and Conservation Commission prepared the first natural resources inventory in Dover with the assistance of the Strafford Regional Planning Commission. Since these important early efforts, Dover has continued to value the importance of protecting environmentally sensitive lands and conserving natural resources. Over the last 48 years, significant progress has been made in land conservation.
While some limited success in the area of land conservation was made in the early years, the land conservation efforts took a giant leap forward in 1999, when the City Council created the Conservation Fund, and in 2000, when they approved the creation of an advisory committee of the Conservation Commission, known as the Open Lands Committee (OLC).
The OLC is composed of dedicated volunteers and City staff who work with willing landowners to conserve Dover’s important natural and cultural resources, including drinking water, forests and farmlands, critical fish and wildlife habitat, and the preservation of scenic vistas. The OLC works closely with interested landowners to explain and facilitate the land conservation process after evaluating their property to determine if it qualifies for conservation. Over the last 21 years, the OLC has written numerous grants to secure funds to help pay for project costs. The OLC also organizes and sponsors educational workshops that focus on environmental and conservation topics.
Accomplishments include:
- More than 3,000 acres conserved in Dover – almost 20% of the city's total area
- OLC has protected more than 855 acres since 2000
- The OLC has used $5.9 million of City funds to leverage an almost equal amount from state and federal funding sources
- Highlights: Tuttle Farm, Cassily property, Strafford County easements, Community Trail
One of the most important and time-consuming tasks that the OLC and staff complete is conservation easement monitoring. The existing conservation easements are monitored to ensure the allowed uses and use limitations in the deeds are being complied with. More than 30 easements are monitored annually, and they are working on training more OLC members to monitor more conservation easements.
Local funding for conserving land in Dover is from the Conservation Fund, comprised of revenue from the current use change tax payments made by property owners that remove land from current use. Since 2018, funding is also derived from payments made by developers using the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) ordinance.
The OLC and staff continue to work to identify lands worthy of protection so that all citizens will be able to enjoy the scenic beauty of the preserved open land and benefit from the protection of wildlife and natural resources.
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"The Watergate: Inside America's Most Infamous Address" by Joseph Rodota
Like me, I’m sure you are aware of at least the idea of Watergate. Maybe you were alive in the early 70s and experienced the break-in first hand. Perhaps you’ve known about it tangentially. Maybe you’ve visited it. The history and culture of this area is very interesting to me, as I attended college in the Washington, D.C., area where the Watergate is.
The building was never something I appreciated the design of, but after reading the goals and vision, I can see how it is a more complex building than I imagined. I also did not explore the sheer size of it at the time.
The author does a superb job of weaving together a story with a web of tangents. There are snippets of the various lives and events surrounding Watergate. Between architecture and politics, you read a biography of a complex building as opposed to a complex person. The breadth of the story starts in pre-wartime D.C. There are multiple controversies involved with developing the site. This is followed by a long struggle to build the building as designed and the challenges of construction and business struggles due to market fluctuations. Finally, there is an interesting post-construction look at marketing and efforts to maintain prestige.
As expected with a bio about a building, there are multiple accounts of architects, builders, financiers, politicians and the variety of residents who have lived there. This is a residence, office, hotel and shopping complex, so there is a lot of depth to explore.
The book's only less than enjoyable aspect is the level of gossip. Take the pre-planning and development portion and the post-1998 section, and you have a great read.
Does the public library have this book? Yes
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DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CITY OF DOVER NEW HAMPSHIRE
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City Hall, 288 Central Avenue
Dover, NH 03820
(603) 516-6008
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Monday - Thursday
8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Friday
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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