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May 5, 2023
STRAFFORD REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION NEWSLETTER
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Greetings,
Happy Friday! It’s been a wet couple of weeks but there is more color in the trees and more daylight every day. It’s been another busy month at SRPC, with new staff joining the team, the completion of the annual Data Snapshot, and many, many grant applications!
Staff are working hard to wrap up FY23 work in preparation for FY24 efforts beginning July 1, and are excited for what's coming down the pipeline. In this issue you will find information on SRPC’s latest videos and job postings; NHPA’s spring conference; several planning events of interest & funding opportunities; public input opportunities you may have missed; recent regional planner trips; and community happenings.
Happy Planning,
Autumn & Mark
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IN THIS ISSUE
Happy Municipal Clerk's Week!
SRPC's Latest: Welcome Aboard
Planning Events of Interest
Grant Corner
Community Happenings
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James Burdin, the Business Development Coordinator at the City of Dover and former SRPC employee, was interviewed on the Dover Download! The March 28 episode is found Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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You’re invited! SRPC’s Annual Meeting & Luncheon is Thursday, June 22, 2023. It will be held at the Governor’s Inn in downtown Rochester once again.
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Reminder to review the 2022 Municipal Land Use Regulations Survey completed by the New Hampshire Office of Planning and Development (OPD). Submit any necessary corrections by June 1, 2023.
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Road Safety Audit (RSA) submissions are due June 1. An RSA is completed for intersections and roadways where crashes resulted in fatalities and serious injuries. They involve state, RPC, and local staff completing observational site visits and results in a professional report with recommendations and alternatives from an engineering consultant. Applications are facilitated by the RPC.
Contact Senior Transportation Planner Colin Lentz to learn more.
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The Holloway Competition People’s Choice Award nomination is live. Six groups of UNH students have submitted varying sustainability projects with help from the Paul College of Business. The winning group will receive $2,000 of funding. Submit your vote here!
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The New Hampshire Municipal Association is now accepting session proposals for the 2023 annual conference, to be held on Wednesday, November 15 and Thursday, November 16, 2023 at The DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown Hotel in Manchester. The deadline for submitting proposals is 5pm Friday, June 30, 2023. Speakers will be notified if their proposal has been accepted in August 2023.
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HAPPY MUNICIPAL CLERK'S WEEK!
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Municipal Clerk's week is from April 30-May 6th this year. Along with the Tax Assessor, the Municipal Clerk is one of the oldest governmental positions! Please take a moment this Friday to thank your local clerk for all they do to keep your community running. We couldn’t do it without them! | |
SRPC'S LATEST: WELCOME ABOARD!
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On April 25 and May 1, SRPC welcomed its newest staff members to the team. We are excited to introduce you all to Lisa and Angie!
Angie Cleveland is a seasoned regional planner with 22 years of experience providing public and private sector planning services, focusing on community development, economic development, and housing. She brings expertise in planning using the lenses of sustainability and resilience. Angie holds a Master’s in Resource Management from Antioch University New England, and a Bachelors in Environmental Science from Western Washington University. She is the past President of both of the Northern New England and Massachusetts Chapters of the American Planning Association, served on the APA Board of Directors from 2010 to 2014, and continually serves on APA and Chapter Committees and Task Forces. She and her husband are stewards of an old golf course and will be working to regenerate this land working with local community groups to provide access to open space and rebuild this special place.
Lisa Murphy comes to us with over 25 years of professional experience in community and regional planning including municipal master plans and ordinances, site plan review, transportation planning, emergency management, and resource protection. Over her career, she has completed over 50 local hazard mitigation plans and emergency operations plans for towns in the Southwest Region of New Hampshire! Lisa holds a Master's in Urban Planning from Southern Connecticut State University, and a Bachelors in Parks and Recreation with a concentration in Planning from Michigan State University. She, her wife, and her dog Murphy love football and are fans of the Steelers, Patriots, and Bills!
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DATA COLLECTION SEASON IS HERE!
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On Thursday, April 27, Regional Planner Mark Davie installed bicycle & pedestrian counters in downtown Dover, the first of over 30 such counts planned across the region from now until November. Reach out to Mark or Planning Technician Stephen Geis as soon as possible if you would like a count conducted on a trail, sidewalk, or bike lane in your community. They are free to all dues paying communities.
May 15 is the planned start date for the new Data Collection Intern, a position held by planner Mark Davie from May 2021 until this past January when he transitioned to his current full-time role at SRPC. One of the primary responsibilities of this position every year is the annual traffic counts conducted region wide. Davie, Geis, and the intern will plan, operate, and retrieve data from over 130 locations on roads of every class (except Route 16 – we let DOT do those counts!) in all corners of the region. The counters are attached to tubing that is nailed to the roadway. The pressure within this tube changes momentarily as vehicles drive over them. The counter records this “hit” and can recognize the number of axels passing over as well as the speed. Staff retrieves the data from the counter and formats it in a way that is useful and standardized for NHDOT. It is effectively the “census of the road” and allows citizens and planners alike to gauge traffic near schools and businesses and make informed budgeting decisions about maintenance and wear and tear. As Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO), SRPC and neighboring Rockingham Planning Commission use this data to formulate a traffic demand model. The MPOs may select additional count locations to add data points to this model. Every year, a number of municipalities reach out to SRPC about additional locations where DOT does not have a triennial count planned and may be project- or land use-specific. These additional counts, known as “supplementals” by staff, are free to dues-paying municipalities. Reach out to Mark or Stephen as soon as possible if your community is interested.
As part of the model described above, a development record is kept by SRPC to supply data in the form of net changes in units – this is largely housing units, but occasionally a significant commercial or industrial development that is known to impact commuting patterns is included as well. To accomplish this, SRPC staff reach out to the building and/or code department of each of the 18 municipalities for a record of all building permits issued in the previous calendar year. This data is also asked by the Office of Planning & Development (OPD) and was instrumental in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment completed early this year by all nine RPCs in New Hampshire. The RPC/MPOs seek this data to contribute to the transportation model and frequently adapt them to their other planning purposes. For example, last year, SRPC began recording accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as they have been of significant interest to the individual planning boards of towns. Mark and Stephen will be in touch with your municipality’s building department for this information very soon if it has not yet been received yet.
SRPC has other routine data projects. The Road Surface Management System (RSMS), commonly referred to as “pavement assessments” is a forecasting tool primarily used by the region’s public works departments to accurately budget for road repairs and repaving. Planning Technician Stephen Geis is in the final stages of completing an RSMS forecast for the town of Milton. The cost of this service varies by municipality. SRPC can also conduct turning movement counts at intersections and sidewalk assessments and inventorying.
Outside of transportation, other field data of the recent past has included trail mapping, street tree and tree canopy inventorying, and the region wide Promoting Outdoor Play! (POP) recreation inventory project. Not sure where to start? Reach out to Mark or Stephen.
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PLANNING EVENTS OF INTEREST
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Granite State Clean Cities: Green Your Fleet
Friday, June 9, all day – New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon
“GYF is the biggest Alternative Fuel (AF) and Electric Vehicle (EV) event hosted at the NH Motor Speedway! GYF spotlights diverse vehicle, equipment, fuel, technology, and infrastructure alternatives: biodiesel, electric, hydrogen, natural gas, and propane for commercial and municipal LD/MD/HD onroad and offroad, vehicles and equipment, as well as other fuel efficiency strategies in transportation.” Register here.
Coffee and Conversations: Housing Affordability Challenges in New Hampshire
Wednesday, May 10, 8:15am - Zoom
“Though housing affordability has experienced a new wave of attention in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has proven to be a pervasive obstacle in New Hampshire for decades. What does affordable housing in the Granite State look like today? Are current strategies to address the issue making an impact? Join us for a conversation with Robert Tourigny, Executive Director of NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire, about the current state of housing affordability in New Hampshire and what – if anything – can help relieve the crisis.” Register here.
Food for Thought: How We Can Build a Climate-Resilient Food System in New Hampshire
Monday, May 8, 5:30pm - Zoom
“Everyone, from farmers and clean energy advocates to school gardeners and local food distributors, plays a part in building a food system that is resilient in the face of our changing climate. But how? Colleen Stewart, of the NH Food Alliance, will share a presentation about building a climate-resilient food system in New Hampshire.” Register here.
Unveiling the NH Zoning Atlas (Online & In-Person)
Tuesday, May 9, 8am - Zoom
The Center for Ethics in Society, in partnership with NHHFA and OPD, proudly launch the New Hampshire Zoning Atlas, the result of a 16-month effort to research, catalog, digitize, and graphically display all of New Hampshire’s zoning regulations, community-by-community, district-by-district with a distinct housing focus. The launch will include a presentation of the atlas, a panel discussion, and remarks from special guests, including Sara Bronin, catalyst of the original Connecticut Zoning Atlas. This was a landmark project of the DesegregateCT group and has spread to over half of US states, including all of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Register here.
NH Listens: Advanced Facilitator Training
Wednesday, May 10, 12pm - Zoom
“Many of us are trained to remain neutral when we serve as facilitators. However, that doesn't mean we are passive in the face of bias and misunderstandings. This workshop helps enhance confidence to remain neutral, productively address issues, encourage, and move conversation in a constructive manner.” Register here.
NH Listens Local People, Local Work, Local Change: Navigating Public Life in a Diverse Democracy
Wednesday, May 31, 4pm – Zoom & New England Center, Durham
“A speaker series that explores practitioners' journey working with communities to generate meaningful change.” Register here.
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EECBG Competitive Program
The EECBG Competitive Program will award $8.8 million in nationwide funding to cities, counties, towns, municipalities, state-recognized tribes. Funds are available for a wide variety of projects that lower energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, or improve energy efficiency. All SRPC communities except Dover and Rochester are eligible to apply. The US Department of Energy will prioritize applicants from States with populations of fewer than two million such as New Hampshire, and projects that will create meaningful impacts on local economies, engage a variety of community partners, and have a strategy to deliver on the goals of the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. For more information about the EECBG Competitive Program, please visit the US Department of Energy’s website.
The US Department of Energy will hosting a webinar with information about the grant structure, design, and application process on Monday, May 15th at 2pm ET.
USDA Housing Preservation Grants
USDA Housing Preservation Grants provide funding to sponsor organizations for the repair or rehabilitation of housing owned or occupied by low- and very-low-income rural citizens. USDA will award a total of $18,500,000 in Housing Preservation Grant Program funding for the repair and rehabilitation of rural housing units. $2,500,000 of this funding is for organizations to help people repair homes damaged during 2022 in a
Presidentially declared disaster areas ($50,000 maximum award).
Applications are due June 5, 2023.
USDA Community Facilities Technical Assistance & Training Grant
USDA grant opportunity available for municipalities to receive technical assistance and/or training with respect to essential community facilities programs. The program will assist communities, Indian Tribes, and Nonprofit Corporations to identify and plan for community facility needs that exist in their area. Once those needs have been identified, the Grantee can assist in identifying public and private resources to finance those identified community facility needs.
Paper submissions must be received by the Agency no later than 4:00 p.m. local time on June 20,2023 and electronic submissions must be received no later than June 30, 2023.
Community Development Block Grants: A How-to
The New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) will be conducting a virtual workshop for organizations interested in applying for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds or learning more about the program. The workshop is encouraged for grant administrators, grantees and any projects that intend to apply for the following programs: Housing, Public Facilities, Economic Development, Emergency or Planning.
Interested applicants can REGISTER HERE for the online workshop taking place on Friday, May 19 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The application deadline is Friday, July 7, 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact Mollie Kaylor, Director of Housing and Community Development, at 603-717-9112 or mkaylor@nhcdfa.org. Additional information on the Community Development Block Grant program administered by CDFA can be found on the organization’s Resource Hub.
Arts for Community Engagement (ACE) project grant
This funding category supports community enrichment and public benefit by providing access to high quality arts events and activities presented by community-based organizations, Main Street programs, and municipalities. The ACE grant supports a wide range of activities across a range of disciplines and includes performances, concerts, exhibits, workshops, community arts programming, and collaborative public art projects. The goal is to engage and benefit New Hampshire residents and communities through the arts, especially people who are underserved or under-represented; encourage collaborative and cross-sector community partnerships; stimulate local economies through cultural tourism and the arts; and enhance the vibrancy of New Hampshire communities and quality of life for New Hampshire citizens.
Awards are available for up to $6,000, funding projects that occur between November 1, 2023 and October 31, 2024.
Northern Border Catalyst Program 2023
The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is making available up to $44 million1 in grant funds to be competitively awarded through the Catalyst Program. The Catalyst Program brings multiple investment priorities together to stimulate growth and inspire partnerships for rural economic vitality in the northern border region. These projects will be partially funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Non-infrastructure projects will have an award size ranging up to $500,000. Infrastructure projects will have an award size ranging up to $1,000,000, with consideration of awards up to $3,000,000 for projects that demonstrate their ability to meet the eligibility criteria and address priorities identified by NBRC and member states.
To be eligible for the higher maximum, projects must either include multiple infrastructure categories or serve multiple jurisdictions. Eligibility will be determined in the LOI review process conducted by both NBRC and the member States (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine).
NHDES Coastal Resilience Grant - Due May 26, 2023 at 4 p.m. EDT.
To support coastal communities as they adapt to climate changes, the New Hampshire Coastal Program administers the Coastal Resilience Grants (CRG) Program, which provides funding for coastal community and habitat resilience projects. The CRG funding opportunity supports projects that build capacity, advance planning and develop designs to increase coastal resilience in one or more of New Hampshire’s Coastal Zone communities. Coastal Zone communities include Dover, Durham, Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Madbury, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, North Hampton, Portsmouth, Rollinsford, Rye, Seabrook and Stratham.
The New Hampshire Coastal Program is accepting Coastal Resilience Grant (CRG) applications for community and habitat resilience projects. The deadline for CRG applications is Friday, May 26, 2023 at 4 PM EDT. Applications may be submitted via the web-based application form linked here.
Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant - Letter of Intent Due June 2, 2023
On March 15, 2023, President Biden declared a major disaster in New Hampshire as are result of the December 22 – 25, 2022, severe winter storm for the Counties of Belknap, Carroll, Coos and Grafton. In addition to authorizing Public Assistance (PA) for those four Counties, the declaration also implements the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) statewide, under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The purpose of HMGP is to provide funding for the implementation of cost-effective measures that reduce or eliminate damage and risk from the effects of natural disasters.
New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) is requesting Letters of Intent (LOI) from Local Governments, Private Non-Profit Organizations and State Agencies that intend on applying for HMPG funds. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, property acquisitions, property elevations, localized flood risk reduction, and soil stabilization. Please reference the attached HMGP flyer for guidance. Once received, HSEM will review the LOIs for eligible projects and potential application submission.
If your organization plans on participating in this program, please complete the attached Letter of Intent form no later than June 2, 2023.
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Housing Opportunity Planning Grants
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Housing Navigator, Courtney Grugnale along with members of the SRPC staff have been working with the Towns of Farmington and New Durham to prepare Housing Opportunity Planning Grants. Farmington is seeking a Phase 2 and 3 grant to focus on a regulatory audit and update of the Route 11 corridor. This grant would allow a deep dive into the corridor to determine what types and where development would be most viable. Additionally, it would enable us to determine areas most suitable for residential development to increase the supply of housing to keep up with the current demand. Route 11 is currently the Town’s main transportation corridor that provides a link between the Seacoast and Lakes Region.
New Durham is applying for a Phase 1 grant which would go towards master plan edits and an analysis of the area. This project would allow the town and the region to increase and improve housing opportunities, analyze, and map data, and create community engagement to motivate advocates on housing barriers. All of which would enable informed decision making, strive for a goal-oriented framework and increase community collaboration.
It is the intent to submit these grants within the next few weeks which if awarded could greatly benefit both communities.
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MPO Update: Statewide Ten Year Plan (TYP)
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After a nine-month process, SRPC has submitted new projects to be incorporated into the draft Statewide Ten Year Transportation Plan for all of New Hampshire. At their meeting on Friday, April 21st, the Strafford MPO Policy Committee reviewed a list of six candidate projects totaling $13,915,447. All six projects were proposed with great care and would result in local safety and economic benefits. However, SRPC has been allocated $5,846,797 to new projects, so committee members had a difficult decision to make. Based on engineering analysis and several rounds of ranking and scoring with the Technical Advisory Committee, the Policy members approved projects in Somersworth and Lee to be submitted to DOT. Somersworth will be upgrading downtown sections of Main St (along the river) as a Complete Streets corridor. In Lee, the intersection of NH 155, George Bennett Road, and Lee Hook Road (known locally as the “Five Way”) will be consolidated for safety and traffic flow.
Those projects will be incorporated into the draft Ten Year Plan. The remaining four projects are in the Strafford MPO Metro Plan and are excellent candidates for several other federal funding programs. For example, a Ten Year Plan project proposed by Durham and UNH is likely to be funded through the Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement program.
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Lee Trail Fun/Work Day, Lee Town Forest: Saturday, May 6th 9a-12p
Click here to learn more about the event.
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Strafford Regional Planning Commission
150 Wakefield Street, Suite 12
Rochester, NH 03867
www.strafford.org
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