Below is my report to the City Manager, for activities the Planning and Community Development department undertook/completed in the month of December, 2011.
Continue to communicate with the community through hosting of periodic ward and
neighborhood meetings such as quarterly Dover Discussions along with exploring
new methods to increase interaction and participation by citizens in local
governance and community forums.
The Department of Planning and Community Development
continued to update its blog, face book page and twitter feed to communicate
with the public. The Department of Planning and Community Development has 139
Facebook (City of Dover NH Planning) friends and 271 followers on Twitter
@DoverNHPlanning).
During the month of September, eight (8) Planning blog posts
were drafted, including one on announcing a winter sign sweep; one thanking Ron
Cole, former Planning Board member for his twenty (20) years served; two about
shopping local, one about the launch of the Gundalow, and one about the tenth
anniversary of the Downeaster. Finally
there were two encouraging people to come to meetings (one for FastTrans and on
for the Capital Improvement’s Program).
The Department of Planning and Community
Development promoted the Dover Community Trail through the facebook fan page
for the trail (with 294 fans), as well as a Sustainable Dover facebook fan page
for the trail (with 122 fans).
The Director of Planning and Community
Development attended a public meeting, on December 29, 2011, on changes that
are required to maintain funding for portions of the FastTrans intra-city bus service
the City and COAST offers.
Finally, this month the Department of Planning and Community
Development sent out 56 letters to new homeowners congratulating them on their
purchase, as well as informing them of the current zoning for their property
and alerting them to the various methods the department uses to inform and
update the public.
Attend workshops and participate in other education opportunities to further continuing
professional development.
In December, Planning
and Community Development staff participated in one (1) webinar. The topic was
blue urbanism –how sea level and climate change affect cities and towns.
Develop a closer working relationship with the School Department and all other
City Departments. Further explore and pursue opportunities where City and
Schools can combine and/share services for the benefit of the community and
report to the City Council.
The Planning Department worked with the
School Department to formalize the request process to utilize impact fees.
The City of Dover, NH and Johnson
Controls, Inc (JCI). entered into a performance contract in September in 2009.
The installation phase was completed with the receipt of the certificate of
completion on October 16, 2011. The guaranteed savings portion of the contract
(ten years) started on November 1 of 2011 and will end on October 31, 2021.
The original annual savings guarantee of
$304,510 includes $256,990 in energy cost avoidance, $13,680 in operations and
maintenance (O&M) cost avoidance, and a future capital cost avoidance of $33,840.
This initial savings guarantee was increased from the original amount to
$319,463 due to Change Order (CO) # 9236-0142-CO2 which comprised of a lighting
retrofit project at the McConnell Center. The annual guaranteed energy savings
amount escalates by 3% and the O&M savings escalates by 4% each year to
compensate for inflation. Total term benefits are $3,623,746. Facility improvement
measure (FIM) savings are not guaranteed individually; the savings guarantee reflects
the whole project. Therefore deficiencies from one FIM can be overcome by
another FIM to result in overall project savings.
As JCI has completed the installation
phase baseline information was collected on the FIMS. Installation savings are
realized when individual measures are completed but the overall job has not yet
been completed. Since measures are completed at different times, they save
energy while the other measures are still being worked on. Over the course of
the installation period the estimated savings for all measures total 1,043,577
kWh & 1,962 kW ($123,804), 20,739 MMBTU’s ($266,359) and 2,031 kGals of
water/ sewer savings ($22,431). There was no operation and maintenance
(O&M) savings or capital cost avoidance during the installation period.
Total installation period savings are estimated to be $402,233.
GENERAL DEPARTMENT
UPDATES:
FOCUS/GOALS:
The
Director of Planning and Community Development spent much time in December
working on reviewing performance standards. This included reviewing three books
(Extreme Government Makeover, Measuring Up 2.0, and We Don’t Make Widgets), and
participating in online research and one on one conversation with others in the
field.
In
addition to the day to day activities in the Planning Department, staff
facilitated the following applications before Boards and Commissions:
Planning Board
·
An
extension of a Conditional Use Permit for Thornwood Commons LLC, located on
Thornwood Lane. (P05-62)
o
The
permit was needed to extend the Conditional Use Permit beyond the original five
year approval.
·
An
extension of a Conditional Use Permit for VC Dover Investments LLC, located on
Grapevine Drive. (P06-25E)
o
The
permit was needed to extend the Conditional Use Permit beyond the original five
year approval.
·
A
Site Plan Review of land for VC Dover Investments LLC, located at Grapevine
Drive. (P11-62)
o
This
plan will construct a 9,100 square foot retail building.
Zoning Board
·
One
Administrative Appeal was dismissed as moot by the Board for property located
at 26 Horne Street.
Conservation Commission
·
NHDES
Minimum Impact Expedited Permit for NH Department of Transportation located at Hilton Park on US Route 4/NH Route
16
o
This
is connected to the Little Bay Bridge project. Proposal is to impact 200± sq.
ft. of shore land to construct a natural gas pipeline.
·
A
Conditional Use Permit was tabled for Michael and Shelby Brewer located on
Fourth Street
o
This
would allow encroachment into the wetlands buffer for a house and driveway.
Ensure timely preparation and presentation
of the FY13 – 18 Capital Improvements Program.
The
Capital Improvement’s Program was approved by the City Council on December 14.
Coordinate update of Land Use and
Transportation chapters of the Master Plan, through development and
implementation of Speak Out Dover and associated survey programs.
Staff
drafted and released a request for proposals for a consultant to assist the
committee in gathering community information and views to develop the visioning
and goals for the Master Plan.
Three
teams were interviewed by a panel, and one consultant, Roger Hawk, was selected
for the work. The City Council awarded the bid on December 14, 2011, and this
work should begin in January.
The
Master Plan steering committee met for the first time on Wednesday December 28.
It elected Planning Board member Kirt Schuman as its chair.
Planning
and Community Development Staff worked with PlanNH, the Workforce Housing
Coalition of the Greater Seacoast and the Urban Land Institute to develop a
charette and education program that will be held in the late winter/spring for
the downtown.
Review, and update as needed, the
Community Development Block Grant program to ensure compatibility with Best
Management Practices.
Department of Planning and Community
Development staff continued to review how neighboring communities administer
their Community Development Block Grant programs. This review is part of the
overall review staff is completing on our program.
Promote streamlining plan review through
use of electronic means amongst internal staff (smart board at TRC etc).
Pricing
of the installation of a smart board in the Second Floor conference room in
City Hall has placed this project on hold.
Analyze the City Code to ensure that
City regulations encourage sustainable practices in city operations and
encourage green practices by residents and business owners.
The
Planning Board approved 10 of the 15 land use amendments suggested by the EPA
Building Blocks report. These amendments act to promote alternative energy
sources, reduce the City’s carbon footprint and encouraging use of
sustainability through resource allocation. The City Council will review these
zoning amendments.
The
Planning Board posted 22 subdivision and 9 site review regulation amendments. A
public hearing for these amendments will be held on January 10, 2012.
Develop educational opportunities for
staff and board/commission members that are low resource cost, whether through
staff presentations to boards/commissions, or web based education.
The
Director of Planning and Community Development worked with the Planning Board
Chair to develop an educational program for the 2012 workshops that occur the
second Tuesday of the month for Planning Board members. There are 9 workshops
scheduled with topics ranging from legislative updates, to low impact
development.
Increase outreach and education to
business and residents on benefits of infill development and transit oriented
development as means to develop and redevelop in Dover’s urban core.
The
Director of Planning and Community Development and the Economic Development
Director have discussed options for increasing education about signage for the
business community.
Coordinate discussions and
implementation of improved pedestrian and vehicular way finding signs in
downtown Dover.
Notes
and ideas from the May wayfinding meeting have been reviewed, by planning staff
and are being coordinated for follow up.
DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION & ENHANCEMENTS
The Planning Department worked with the
Community Services Department to identify needs on the Community Trail. This
work included requesting bids for extended the section on Whittier Falls Way to
the Spaulding Turnpike.
Planning and Community Development staff
assisted the Community Services and Inspection staff with a review of
outstanding issues on several projects, and took the lead on reaching out to
the developers. The plans/projects are as follows:
·
Gladiola
Way
·
Nye
Lane/Pacific Landing
·
Willand
Pond
·
375
Sixth Street
Planning staff worked with land owners
of property at the following locations on development or redevelopment
opportunities:
- NH Coffee on Sumner Drive
- 385 Sixth Street
- 1 Washington Street
- 3 Dover Street
- 35 Second Street
- Intersection of Oak Street and Central Avenue for redevelopment
- Intersection of Court Street and Central Avenue for redevelopment
- Thornwood Commons project
- Robbins Auto properties throughout the City
- Property on Mast Road
- Property on Tolend Road
- 6 Brick Road
DEPARTMENTAL ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS
After 20 years on the Dover Planning
Board, Ron Cole, chairman for 17 years, has stepped down from the Board. Ron’s
last meeting was December 20, 2011. Ron was a fixture on the board for his
tenure offering a positive outlook, strong citizen planning skills, and a
desire to improve Dover on a daily basis.
The Director of Planning and Community
Development was selected as one of the 2012 participants in the Leadership
Seacoast program. This program is 9 full days, spread out over 4 months, designed
to challenge personal assumptions about critical issues while exploring diverse
ideas, resources and practices. This is all done with a focus of the seacoast
region.
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