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SRPC staff have been on a housing kick! The current round of InvestNH Housing Opportunity Planning (HOP) grant series concluded for most New Hampshire municipalities at the end of July. Cities and towns of all sizes applied for HOP grants to utilize housing navigators, update master plans, conduct zoning audits, and coordinate housing needs assessments.
Not sure what any of these words mean? All of these items are “tools” for local governments to address the housing crisis. The housing crisis is a nuanced situation affecting the entire nation for different reasons. Planners everywhere are tasked with working with much of the “red tape” that comes with housing programs, regulation, and access at every level of government. In New Hampshire, municipalities had the option to turn to the regional planning commissions like SRPC to assist with or conduct these efforts. The four most recent projects include:
A master plan housing chapter and zoning audit for Somersworth, completed July 17.
- A master plan housing chapter and zoning audit for Somersworth, completed July 17.
- A master plan housing chapter for Newmarket, to be presented to the town’s planning board shortly and part of a comprehensive update to the town’s whole master plan through 2024 and 2025.
- Housing and land use chapters of New Durham’s master plan, to be presented to the town’s planning board shortly
- A zoning audit for Dover.
Pictured: HOP logo (top of article) and June 2024 New Durham community forum with SRPC mapping activity (below).
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