Dover NH Planning

FastTrans Revisions

2012-01-23T05:10:00.000-08:00

About ten years ago, I moved from the Community Services Department to the Planning Department. I had just finished my Masters in Planning and Community Development, and was actually looking for a planning job. It was one of my lucky moments, that I finished my degree, was looking for a job, and there was an opening, albeit temporary on the surface of it, within the City.

So, with the agreement that I'd have a job for 2002, but need to find a new job by July 2003 (when the funding for my position ended), I moved over to Planning on tax day 2002. So, one of the first projects that I was immersed in was the creation of a downtown transportation loop. The project was one the City had applied for Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality monies from the Federal Government for. The goal of the project was to offer fast, and economical transportation options in and out of the downtown area, to encourage people to not drive into downtown.

The City's goal in designing these routes was to bring dense residential areas, remote parking lots, and transportation centers, with the core downtown area.We knew that COAST was going to be a partner with the City on this project, after all who else would you work with, outside of a bus operator, on developing a intra city bus line? I am sure most of the readers know, COAST is the regional mass transit provider. COAST operates bus service throughout the seacoast, and has been located in Dover for most, if not all of the last ten years.

Dover FastTrans provides regular, hourly bus service from downtown to homes, businesses, and remote parking in the city. Currently, there are three FastTrans routes, numbered 33, 34, and 35, which run every hour, from about 7AM until 7PM, Monday through Friday. Also as part of the FastTrans project, service on COAST Route 1, which serves downtown as well as the Dover Housing Authority, has been increased to hourly frequency.

There are two phases I remember about the project setup. First, working with residents and stakeholders to identify the design and layout of the routes, and the phasing in of the routes. We knew we couldn't have all the routes online at once, so route 33 can online first, in December of 2008. From there we expanded the options to include connections to Durham Road and Knox Marsh Road, as well as Shaws and the Union Street senior housing.

The second phase was the roll out. We had a VIP ride/tour of Route 33, where elected officials, staff and other stakeholders road the trip from the Transportation Center trough the Sixth Street destinations. It was fun hearing people exclaim that they didn't realize buses can be clean and welcoming. This expression has continued throughout the life of the project. We have seen a continual increase in ridership that the project realized year in and year out. It is a very rewarding project to have worked on.

Flash forward to 2011. As we noted in the fall/winter, due to budget concerns, the City and COAST had to look at revising the project. We treated it like a business would treat a service. We looked at where efficiencies can be made, where cuts are required and where we need to change out focus. These changes come in two bursts. The first was January 9, 2012, and the second will come this summer.

Beginning January 9, the hours for the service were trimmed and the schedule was adjusted. You can see the slightly modified schedule, and review the full adjustments by reading the flyer COAST put out prior to January 9th, 2012.

Basically, though the changes are being made to the after-6PM timeframe when ridership is extremely low on each route.

Route 33: service will end at 6:22pm. There will be no 6:36pm or 7:26pm runs. Also the schedule between 4pm and 6:22pm has been adjusted significantly.
Route 34: the 6:30pm run will become outbound only. The 7:30pm outbound run will continue.
Route 35: service will end at 6:38pm. There will be no 6:45pm run.

Why did we cut something that is successful? I think there are two answers, the first, is to that FastTrans was started with CMAQ grant-funding. We knew it was funded for 3 years, and hoped that there would be monies to continue the grant funding, but that is not the case. The grant will be running out in Spring of 2012, and in order to stretch it as far as possible, we have to adjust the services now to ensure we can run as long as possible on the grant funding.

The second reason we cut something that was successful, is that you have to make tough decisions to continue success. We all know the adage what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, well this is a similar situation. We stepped back and looked at the areas of the program that were not thriving and looked to reduce the impact they might have on dragging back the rest of the service. In this light we see that people are not using the service as much after 6 pm, as they are at 4 pm. Also, we see that routes 34 and 35 are not as heavily traveled as 33 is. We are choosing to put our focus on route 33 and help it thrive.

I've said the program is successful. How so, you might ask. Well, below is a chart from September of 2011, analyzing the Dover COAST routes. It compares August 2010 and 2011.

You can see that there has been an increase among most of the routes in double digits. The Community Routes are a bus route that focuses on the high school, so we won't focus on that. But overall mass transit is a popular service in Dover. That said, we know there is a cost.

The cost for the three routes is close to $600,000 a year. The City pays approximately $140,000 of that cost, as part of the matching requirements for the grant.We raise $10 - 15,0000 in fare box revenue and some committed stakeholders, such as Strafford County, pay a portion to help ensure service. Finally, as you might have guessed, we receive the bulk of the funding from the CMAQ grant. When 80% of your funding is removed, no matter what the total cost is, you have to review the options for the program. In this case, we could not justify asking the City to increase funding tri-fold.

So what happens in July? Well, presuming that the Federal government doesn't reverse itself and continues to cut transportation dollars, we will have to dig deeper and adjust the program further. Most likely we will look at eliminating route 35 and 34 if we have to so that a modified route 33 can survive. We will be looking for ways to increase stakeholder investment as well, sot that the City funds can be leveraged further.

So, why do you care? I hope you care, because like me you see the value in developing the community in a thoughtful and sustainable way. We hope you understand that mass transit isn't for the poor, that it is smart and sensible for all ranges of income. It is an alternative that has value when you consider 4 dollar gas and when you consider the environment and when you consider the long term health benefits.

This is a topic I want to return to more in 2012, so get ready to read about the joys and value of mass transit, in Dover and the world (insert evil laugh).

CDBG Grant Funds Applications Available

2012-01-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

The City of Dover Department ofPlanning and Community Development is accepting applications from PublicService Agencies, qualified individuals or eligible organizations for grantsfrom the FFY12 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. This grantfrom the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is intendedto meet the needs of low and moderate income persons in a variety of ways.

Eligible activities include: acquisitionof property, public facilities and improvements, clearance or demolition,public services, water & sewer lines, historic preservation and specialeconomic development activities.

Each activity planned by the Citymust meet one of HUD's three national objectives:

1. Benefit to low and moderateincome people.

2. Elimination of slums and blight.

3. Urgent needs.

Formore information about project eligibility or to learn more about Dover’s CommunityDevelopment Block Grant program, go to http://www.dover.nh.gov/plancomdev.htm

The City of Dover has been a CDBG entitlement communityfor over twenty years. The HUD program provides annual grants on a formulabasis to entitled cities and counties to develop viable urban communities byproviding decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expandingeconomic opportunities, principally for low and moderate income persons. HUDawards grants to entitlement community grantees to carry out a wide range ofcommunity development activities directed toward revitalizing neighborhoods,economic development, and providing improved community facilities and services.Entitlement communities develop their own programs and funding priorities. Theentitlement grant is expected to be available July 1st, 2012. The amount to bereceived by the City of Doverhas yet to be determined by Congress.

Groups wishing to receive funds,anyone with question, or groups needing technical assistance with an applicationshould contact Rick Jones, 516-6034 between 7 AM and 5 PM Monday through Thursday.Applications are also available on the City of Dover website. All applications for fundingrequests are due back in the Dover Planning Office no later than February 9,2012 at 5:30 PM.

Sign Sweep Rundown

2012-01-18T05:01:00.000-08:00

The Dover Department of Planningand Community Development would like to thank owners of business in the Cityfor compliance with its sign ordinance. This recognition comes after staff heldthe first illegal sign sweep of 2012. The sweep occurred between Wednesday,January 11^th and Friday January 13, 2012. A total of 21 signs wereconfiscated during the sweep.

I had announced the clean-up of illegal andunpermitted temporary advertising signs throughout the City of Dover, on January3rd as part of a winter cleanup around the community. Illegal and unpermitted signs include thoseon utility poles, or in the right of way.

The illegal sign removal action waswarranted because the placement of these temporary signs in publicright-of-ways and medians of streets, on utility poles and attached to trees isnot permitted by the Dover Sign Ordinance and may cause a safety hazard for travelingmotorists or create a visual blight that is unsightly for residents. These signs detract from legitimate businesssigns that have gone through the proper permitting process.

I am very pleased with ourresults. Overall, Tim and I collected 21 signs, compared to this time last year, when wecollected almost 24. When you consider that the last sweep was over six monthsago, it appears that our education and outreach campaign has continued tosucceed.

Furthermore, it was a good experience for Timothy Corwin, our new AssistantCity Planner. He noted that none ofthe signs collected were from local Dover based business. The signs collectedadvertised tree removal, firewood and hot tub sales provided by businessoutside the community. “It’s very rewarding to work in a community whosecitizens and businesses value such a high quality of life. I’m lookingforward to helping Dover maintain that quality of life by reducing clutter withfuture sign sweeps,” Corwin told me.

Business owners that have placedthese signs were advised to remove the illegal signs in advance of thisclean-up effort. Any sign that wasconfiscated will be held for thirty days prior to being recycled or destroyed,unless the sign is claimed by the owner after paying a reclamation fee based onthe actual cost of man-hours and equipment use. Repeat offenders may be subject to prosecution and fines.

This was the fourth sweep the we haveconducted since the summer of 2010. Staff has been monitoring signs and holdsthe sweeps every few months. At the same time, efforts have been made to reachout to businesses to explain regulations and the safety concerns associatedwith the placement of signs within the right of way.

Community Service

2012-01-17T05:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Right's Day. It is a day in honor of a man who did a great deal of community service in his life, and there has been a movement in recent years to have a day of caring and serving be the focus of the day.

A few years ago, my son and I signed up for, and assisted with, service in Rochester. We went to a shelter and assisted the humanitarians who run the shelter with a day of cleaning and purging through the accumulated articles that had found their way to the shelter. Some of the articles had been left behind when people moved on, some had been donations that the shelter could not use, and others were things that had broken or tore, or what have you, that had just become unusable.

I really enjoyed this day. Theo and I had a strong experience together and with those we chose to serve.

On Friday, I received a copy of the magazine that the college I attended sends to alumni. Not surprisingly the magazine is primarily a ad for the school's alumni giving program. They want to show you the value of the school's name and how others who have felt that value have given back (especially financially). One way they accomplish this, is by focusing on current events at the school. This being January, and being delivered close to MLK day, a focus was on service programs and academics.

When I was a freshman, all those incoming students into the Liberal Arts college had to partake in a day of service the first day of school. I suppose, more accurately, it was the day before the first day of school. We all arrived a day or so early and after unpacking and getting to know our roommates, we were loaded into the school's gymnasium, er athletic center, and it was impressed upon us how we needed to give back to the community around us. Well, that and we all learned the school's fight song, so we could sing along during basketball games (I proudly only went to one - a girls homecoming game).

So after the group discussion and sing along, we were escorted to buses and driven to Southeast Washington, DC. My group patrolled the Anacostia River looking for garbage, and drug paraphernalia. This being 1993 there was a lot of both. Actually, there wasn't too much garbage, just syringes and the like. Anyway, we performed this clean up for about 6 hours. It was very rewarding. In retrospect, I look at this adventure as one of the highlights of my college years. It really was a great experience to be in the nation's capital (in itself very different than Dover), and reaching out to a community.

Last night, we had the kickoff meeting for the Master Plan Steering committee. We had met once before to go over logistics, when we'll meet, elect a chair etc, but this was the first meeting with the consultant. The seven folks who have volunteered to assist us are performing a similar community service. I don't mean they are picking up drug paraphernalia, but they are reaching out and venturing into an unknown place, offering to help us.

These are people who could join a committee or board with a clear function, say the rec advisory board, instead they have placed their lot with a committee which is charting the future. Charting the unknown, as it were. It is a great group of community minded folks who are interested in giving back and shaping the community. One major difference between my formative service day in 1993 and last night is that the group last night wants to work with the community, and not for it. We didn't have any residents (as far as I know) from Southeast DC with us that day, but the group last night will have residents of Dover working with us for the next 6 months.

I am proud of the group selected by the Planning Board to assist me in developing the community vision for Dover. I know many of the members, and so will you. We have long term volunteers, a councilor, a planning board member, some new faces and some you will hear a lot more about in the coming months and years. The group is energetic, interested, and boosters of the community around them. They care, and they are invested in Dover.

The best part is that you are also going to do some community service along with the group. You wont' have to attend monthly meetings, but we will ask you to contribute in other ways. We'll have three community wide meetings, as well as three regional meetings in smaller settings. We will have surveys and dialog in written and online methods, as well as in person dialog. We will start the outreach portion of the Community Visioning in the coming weeks, if not days, and there will be a role for us all.

So, congratulations, and welcome aboard, because whether you know it or not, you've been drafted to help develop a community vision.

December to Remember

2012-01-11T05:02:00.000-08:00

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 andneighborhood meetings such as quarterly Dover Discussions along with exploringnew methods to increase interaction and participation by citizens in localgovernance and community forums.

The Department of Planning and Community Developmentcontinued to update its blog, face book page and twitter feed to communicatewith the public. The Department of Planning and Community Development has 139Facebook (City of Dover NH Planning) friends and 271 followers on Twitter@DoverNHPlanning).

During the month of September, eight (8) Planning blog postswere drafted, including one on announcing a winter sign sweep; one thanking RonCole, former Planning Board member for his twenty (20) years served; two aboutshopping local, one about the launch of the Gundalow, and one about the tenthanniversary of the Downeaster. Finallythere were two encouraging people to come to meetings (one for FastTrans and onfor the Capital Improvement’s Program).

The Department of Planning and CommunityDevelopment promoted the Dover Community Trail through the facebook fan pagefor the trail (with 294 fans), as well as a Sustainable Dover facebook fan pagefor the trail (with 122 fans).

The Director of Planning and CommunityDevelopment attended a public meeting, on December 29, 2011, on changes thatare required to maintain funding for portions of the FastTrans intra-city bus servicethe City and COAST offers.

Finally, this month the Department of Planning and CommunityDevelopment sent out 56 letters to new homeowners congratulating them on theirpurchase, as well as informing them of the current zoning for their propertyand alerting them to the various methods the department uses to inform andupdate the public.

Attend workshops and participate in other education opportunities to further continuingprofessional development.

In December, Planningand Community Development staff participated in one (1) webinar. The topic wasblue urbanism –how sea level and climate change affect cities and towns.

Develop a closer working relationship with the School Department and all otherCity Departments. Further explore and pursue opportunities where City andSchools can combine and/share services for the benefit of the community andreport to the City Council.

The Planning Department worked with theSchool Department to formalize the request process to utilize impact fees.

Complete the implementation of the ongoing energy efficiency improvements and provideperiodic reports of energy savings.

The City of Dover, NH and JohnsonControls, Inc (JCI). entered into a performance contract in September in 2009.The installation phase was completed with the receipt of the certificate ofcompletion 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 andmaintenance (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 lightingretrofit project at the McConnell Center. The annual guaranteed energy savingsamount escalates by 3% and the O&M savings escalates by 4% each year tocompensate for inflation. Total term benefits are $3,623,746. Facility improvementmeasure (FIM) savings are not guaranteed individually; the savings guarantee reflectsthe whole project. Therefore deficiencies from one FIM can be overcome byanother FIM to result in overall project savings.

As JCI has completed the installationphase baseline information was collected on the FIMS. Installation savings arerealized when individual measures are completed but the overall job has not yetbeen completed. Since measures are completed at different times, they saveenergy while the other measures are still being worked on. Over the course ofthe installation period the estimated savings for all measures total 1,043,577kWh & 1,962 kW ($123,804), 20,739 MMBTU’s ($266,359) and 2,031 kGals ofwater/ 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 DEPARTMENTUPDATES:

FOCUS/GOALS:

TheDirector of Planning and Community Development spent much time in Decemberworking on reviewing performance standards. This included reviewing three books(Extreme Government Makeover, Measuring Up 2.0, and We Don’t Make Widgets), andparticipating in online research and one on one conversation with others in thefield.

Inaddition to the day to day activities in the Planning Department, stafffacilitated the following applications before Boards and Commissions:

Planning Board

· Anextension of a Conditional Use Permit for Thornwood Commons LLC, located onThornwood Lane. (P05-62)

o Thepermit was needed to extend the Conditional Use Permit beyond the original fiveyear approval.

· Anextension of a Conditional Use Permit for VC Dover Investments LLC, located onGrapevine Drive. (P06-25E)

o Thepermit was needed to extend the Conditional Use Permit beyond the original fiveyear approval.

· ASite Plan Review of land for VC Dover Investments LLC, located at GrapevineDrive. (P11-62)

o Thisplan will construct a 9,100 square foot retail building.

Zoning Board

· OneAdministrative Appeal was dismissed as moot by the Board for property locatedat 26 Horne Street.

Conservation Commission

· NHDESMinimum Impact Expedited Permit for NH Department of Transportation located at Hilton Park on US Route 4/NH Route16

o Thisis connected to the Little Bay Bridge project. Proposal is to impact 200± sq.ft. of shore land to construct a natural gas pipeline.

· AConditional Use Permit was tabled for Michael and Shelby Brewer located onFourth Street

o Thiswould allow encroachment into the wetlands buffer for a house and driveway.

Ensure timely preparation and presentationof the FY13 – 18 Capital Improvements Program.

TheCapital Improvement’s Program was approved by the City Council on December 14.

Coordinate update of Land Use andTransportation chapters of the Master Plan, through development andimplementation of Speak Out Dover and associated survey programs.

Staffdrafted and released a request for proposals for a consultant to assist thecommittee in gathering community information and views to develop the visioningand goals for the Master Plan.

Threeteams were interviewed by a panel, and one consultant, Roger Hawk, was selectedfor the work. The City Council awarded the bid on December 14, 2011, and thiswork should begin in January.

TheMaster Plan steering committee met for the first time on Wednesday December 28.It elected Planning Board member Kirt Schuman as its chair.

Planningand Community Development Staff worked with PlanNH, the Workforce HousingCoalition of the Greater Seacoast and the Urban Land Institute to develop acharette and education program that will be held in the late winter/spring forthe downtown.

Review, and update as needed, theCommunity Development Block Grant program to ensure compatibility with BestManagement Practices.

Department of Planning and CommunityDevelopment staff continued to review how neighboring communities administertheir Community Development Block Grant programs. This review is part of theoverall review staff is completing on our program.

Promote streamlining plan review throughuse of electronic means amongst internal staff (smart board at TRC etc).

Pricingof the installation of a smart board in the Second Floor conference room inCity Hall has placed this project on hold.

Analyze the City Code to ensure thatCity regulations encourage sustainable practices in city operations andencourage green practices by residents and business owners.

ThePlanning Board approved 10 of the 15 land use amendments suggested by the EPABuilding Blocks report. These amendments act to promote alternative energysources, reduce the City’s carbon footprint and encouraging use ofsustainability through resource allocation. The City Council will review thesezoning amendments.

ThePlanning Board posted 22 subdivision and 9 site review regulation amendments. Apublic hearing for these amendments will be held on January 10, 2012.

Develop educational opportunities forstaff and board/commission members that are low resource cost, whether throughstaff presentations to boards/commissions, or web based education.

TheDirector of Planning and Community Development worked with the Planning BoardChair to develop an educational program for the 2012 workshops that occur thesecond Tuesday of the month for Planning Board members. There are 9 workshopsscheduled with topics ranging from legislative updates, to low impactdevelopment.

Increase outreach and education tobusiness and residents on benefits of infill development and transit orienteddevelopment as means to develop and redevelop in Dover’s urban core.

TheDirector of Planning and Community Development and the Economic DevelopmentDirector have discussed options for increasing education about signage for thebusiness community.

Coordinate discussions andimplementation of improved pedestrian and vehicular way finding signs indowntown Dover.

Notesand ideas from the May wayfinding meeting have been reviewed, by planning staffand are being coordinated for follow up.

DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION & ENHANCEMENTS

The Planning Department worked with theCommunity Services Department to identify needs on the Community Trail. Thiswork included requesting bids for extended the section on Whittier Falls Way tothe Spaulding Turnpike.

Planning and Community Development staffassisted the Community Services and Inspection staff with a review ofoutstanding issues on several projects, and took the lead on reaching out tothe developers. The plans/projects are as follows:

· GladiolaWay

· NyeLane/Pacific Landing

· WillandPond

· 375Sixth Street

Planning staff worked with land ownersof property at the following locations on development or redevelopmentopportunities:

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 PlanningBoard, Ron Cole, chairman for 17 years, has stepped down from the Board. Ron’slast meeting was December 20, 2011. Ron was a fixture on the board for histenure offering a positive outlook, strong citizen planning skills, and adesire to improve Dover on a daily basis.

The Director of Planning and CommunityDevelopment was selected as one of the 2012 participants in the LeadershipSeacoast program. This program is 9 full days, spread out over 4 months, designedto challenge personal assumptions about critical issues while exploring diverseideas, resources and practices. This is all done with a focus of the seacoastregion.

Citizen Involvement

2012-01-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

So this weekend, winding down towards the New Hampshire Primary, I figured I needed to take advantage of my NH given right to be involved in the political process. It was a now or never realization, and I am glad that I jumped in. I want to make it clear, I am not endorsing any candidate or idea here, other than the idea to get out and be involved in the process.

The first event I attended was Friday night. Congressman Ron Paul held a rally at the University of New Hampshire. It was kinetic and interesting to see people mob the room, and hoot and holler. They were so jazzed to have the opportunity to be in the same room. The event was barely an hour, and was punctual and efficient in the delivery of the message. I noticed that so many people in the audience were clearly OK with Paul recently stating that he understands that he won't be in the White House a year from now (OK, a year and 11 days).

The second event, and really for me the highlight event, was a meeting with a group of Dutch citizens. This group is in the United States to witness and explore the New Hampshire Primary. The Mayor of Dover hosted the event and it was a very clear and intelligent discussion about the process, a New Hampshire resident's expectations about the Primary and the reality of living in a place where retail politics is the norm. We spoke as a group for just over an hour, and then splintered into smaller discussions for a second hour.

It was fascinating and visceral to sit and listen to these truly interested and engaged people. The Dutch were a very interesting group to have this conversation. They are intelligent and respectful and very insightful. The opinions they had, as well as the observations were clear and the questions they asked were asked in an academic but also thoughtful and accessible manner. They really wanted to learn and grow from the meeting. I encourage everyone to read the Fosters article.

My final event was this morning, and it was attending the taping of the MSNBC show Morning Joe in Manchester NH. That's right, I woke up at 3:30 am, drove to Manchester and arrived to be seated at 5 am for the taping. Thankfully the restaurant hosting the event had coffee and eggs ready to go. What a trip it was to see the show as it unfolded. From my seat I could see the teleprompter and got a very interesting perspective of what is on the fly and what is scripted. You could see the stage manager cue people up and set the stage, as it were. I found the seven second delay to be distracting if you watched the monitors in the room. The "cast" and crew were very friendly and shook hands and interacted with the audience during breaks and in some cases during the show itself.

How is this related to planning, you ask? We'll I'll use the engagement aspect. I believe that an informed public in one which participates in its government. To follow that, if you are informed and participate, we will be more apt to have a successful plan, no matter the direction of that plan.

That said, go out and vote on Tuesday, January 10, no matter what your leanings or party.

New Year, New Plan(nner)

2012-01-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

I don't think I have written yet about the process we followed in the fall to replace our long term planner/zoning administrator who retired in September. The new recruit, Tim, starts today, so I figured it is a good time to recount the ordeal.

Bruce gave his notice in early September and the chips started to fall. I had anticipated that he might leave soon after he reached 20 years with the City. I had some ideas about how to realign the office, make changes, you knew review the structure and staff orientation and look to fill holes. It was clear that we would not be able to replace the person leaving, because he had such a strong transportation background and understanding of grant processes and he brought a level of experience that you get with time and structure.

So, we knew that there was going to be change. I looked at the existing staff staying, myself included, and looked to see what skills and personality traits we needed to have to compliment the office. I wasn't so concerned with the exact job description because I know that a smart person, who can learn and communicate well, can tackle any task thrown at them.

With this in mind, we crafted a job description and posting to seek an Assistant City Planner. This person's focus would be on zoning administration and rounding out the planning needs in the office. My hope is that some tasks that I currently complete can be reshuffled and that we can breath some new energy into areas that might have been complacent. I think the plan will work.

We posted the position in mid October with a closing date of November 3. Come November 3 at 4 pm, we had 73 application, including over 20 from outside New England. I had determined I was going to interview 10 percent. By 6 pm we had picked out 8 people (I rounded up), and set up two days of interviews for the following week. I called each of the 8 and offered the interviews. It was interesting that we had four men and four women, 2 each day.

The interviews were conducted by a panel made up of three staff (Planner, Community Services Director and Building Official) as well as the Zoning Board chair. After the first day, it was clear that one person should come back for an interview. The second day, it was tougher to cull it down to a finalist. The plan was to have two, maybe three, finalists. The plan was for me to conduct the final interview. There were two real great options to choose from. Again, when the chips fell it became clear one should come in.

So, we had the final interview the week of Thanksgiving. Two interviews, two hours each. The first interview went well. A little crazy, very relaxed and somewhat fun. The second interview candidate came in with a high benchmark to meet. He jumped that benchmark and was the clear winner. We ended up having a four and ahlf hour interview, including the job offer and haggling over pay. It was great. You could tell within 5 minutes that he was the person for the role.

I think that Tim is going to be a great fit. He is intelligent, personable, and a great communicator. He has energy and drive, which are key as well. The time I have spent with him, as well as follow up phone calls and emails has shown that we made the correct choice.

So, today is his first day. I recall my first day, June 1, 1997. I remember walking in not knowing anyone and overhearing the secretary tell a staff person that she wasn't too keen on a new person starting and that she was sure that I would have to be held by the hand. I then introduced myself. You have to smile and learn from things like that. I'm sure that we can make Tim feel welcome and show him that this is a team he'll be proud to be part of.

Winter Sign Sweep

2011-12-29T03:54:00.000-08:00

The Dover Department of Planningand Community Development announces that it will be conducting a clean-up ofillegal and unpermitted temporary advertising signs throughout the City ofDover during the week of January 9th as part of a review of zoning compliances aroundthe community. Illegal and unpermittedsigns include those on utility poles, or in the right of way. This clean upwill be the fourth one conducted by planning staff in the past year.

The illegal sign removal actionis warranted because the placement of these temporary signs in publicright-of-ways and medians of streets, on utility poles and attached to trees isnot permitted by the Dover Sign Ordinance and may cause a safety hazard for travelingmotorists or create a visual blight that is unsightly for residents. These signs detract from legitimate businesssigns that have gone through the proper permitting process.

“I am confident that we will continue to seeless signs than we have in the past,” Christopher Parker, Director of Planningand Community Development said. “I am always happy to see that the sweeps takeless and less time to complete as we have more and more compliance frombusiness and property owners. We have seen dramatic reductions in these illegalsigns. I hope that this trend continues and we have only a handful of illegalsigns at the end of the day.”

Parker continued to explain thatthe goal of the sweep is to reward those business owners that have properlyplaced and permitted their signs. “We hope to both remove the safety hazard,improve aesthetics and also ensure that those that follow the rules thecommunity has established for signs are followed.”

This will be the first sign sweepconducted with the City’s recently hired Zoning Administrator, Tim Corwin.Corwin joins the City staff on January 3, and will be learning the nuances ofDover’s code. “This sweep is a good way for Tim to see how seriously we takezoning and code violations in Dover.” Parker explained.

Business owners that have placedthese signs are advised to remove the illegal signs in advance of this clean-upeffort. Any sign that is confiscatedwill only be held for thirty days prior to being recycled or destroyed, unlessthe sign is claimed by the owner after paying a reclamation fee based on theactual cost of man-hours and equipment use. Repeat offenders may be subject to prosecution and fines.

The Planning Department has afacebook fan page in which residents can learn more about projects andapplications. Additionally, the Department has a twitter feed @DoverNHPlanning.

For more information please callthe Planning Department at 516-6008.

Citizen Planner

2011-12-21T04:17:00.000-08:00

Have you done something for twenty years? Something you love? Something you didn't get paid for? Well, lucky for the City of Dover, Ron Cole has.

Ron stepped down last night as a member of the Dover Planning Board. For me, Ron was the Planning Board. He served long and well, accomplishing many goals and expressing many thoughts about the good, thoughtful planning that he wanted to see in Dover, and has been proud to be a part of. An accomplishment he should be proud of is that he was the chair of the Board for 17 years (1994 - 2010), and vice chair for one year (1993).

In Ron's time there have been multiple master plan updates, and three Planning Directors. He outlasted everyone who was on the board when he joined (November 12, 1991) and when he assented to the Chairmanship (January 11, 1994), and as near as I can tell he has served more than any other member of the Planning Board. Add to that, that he was named Citizen Planner of the Year, and you have a very accomplished citizen planner.

I am going to miss two things. First Ron is an incredibly well spoken cheerleader for Dover. He always is positive about the community and the benefits he receives from living here. He sees the very big picture and is able to translate it between the planning jargon/technical side into a clean laymen's terms sense. Add to that he is thoughtful and has been interested in trendsetting, pushing planning in Dover to different and new areas.

I'll also miss his constructive criticism. Ron was a big supporter of mine as I was developing through the staff here. I remember talking with him when I came to Dover in 1997, and working closer to him in 2002, as part of the then re-zoning work. In 2007 he was a great asset as I looked to become the Planning Director. He has such a skill with people that he knows how to say "you're wrong" and not make you feel wrong. He helped me numerous times not only see a better path, but take it. Even after working with him for 14 years now, he continues to overwhelm me with his knowledge and understanding that we need to be ever present in today, as we learn from the past and perfect the future.

Luckily for me he isn't leaving Dover or anything that drastic, he is still around to chat with and grab for a committee here and there, when we need his perspective. Ron has been a great asset to Dover, and he should be thanked and congratulated for the immense time and dedication he has given to the Planning Board. There aren't many people like Ron Cole, and the entire Dover planning community should be proud that he chose to volunteer with us for so long.

Thanks, Ron.

FastTrans Service Changes

2011-12-20T05:08:00.000-08:00

Do you use the FastTrans service here in Dover? This service is a downtown transit loop project. The intention of the project is to encourage the use of public transit for trips that take place between two Dover locations, such as home to work or home to shopping or personal service appointments.

The City of Dover applied for and received CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) funding to assist with the development of the program. CMAQ funding has been instituted by the Federal government to create surface transportation options that contribute to air quality improvements and reduce congestion. This funding will be phased out by 2013.

The air quality would be improved by encouraging people to use the service instead of driving individual automobiles while in Dover.

There are three flexible on demand routes that run the inner core of Dover.

The initial route was along Sixth Street and Portland Avenue.
The second loop focused on the Broadway and Silver Street corridors.
The third route augments the existing public transit network and will follow 108 and Locust Street.

We are now coming to an end of the CMAQ funding period, and while the City will be continuing the service, there will be some changes made to the delivery of this valuable service. The public is invited to an informational session on proposed long- and short-term changes to the FastTrans service. The session will be held on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 5:30 p.m., at the Dover Transportation Center.

During the Dec. 29 session, COAST and City of Dover officials will discuss the history of the service, and look to the future, including funding. The public is encouraged to share comments and questions.

For more information, contact COAST at 743-5777.

Farmers Market

2011-12-19T04:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I mentioned the good luck I had with some local Christmas shopping. Today I have a short post on a similar experience. This past Saturday we were childless for a bit and decided to live it up by going to the Winter Farmers Market. For Christmas Eve dinner I have a grand plan of roasting beef and having sides with it. I decided that I wanted to find some locally raised beef to roast.

We went to the ATM on the way, and got to the market just as it was opening at 10 (which by the way seems like a late state - course I get up at 5, so I might the one on the wrong timeline). We had a fun experience. There was really good local coffee, and tons of baked goods to choose from. The veggies have that new car sheen to them, not in that they look plastic like, but that they have that we are delicious and good for you, but are natural, look to them. The market was very full and it was a great community to be part of. We did some more Christmas shopping and I got my beef.

While there we got inspired for a few other gifts for people that we hadn't hit yet. We went to a few downtown stores, explained the problem and were happy to walk out with gifts and happy to be complete with the shopping a week ahead.

Here's the point: we felt good about buying local. There is that feeling people get when shopping, which is why people like to do it,even if they know rationally they don't need an item. This was different. This was the feel good shopping feeling, but also the feel pride of shopping local feeling. We were happy to have the options we have and even more happy to support those local options. It was rewarding and the high was a great one to have as we went home.

Tracking Success

2011-12-15T06:07:00.000-08:00

As we celebrate ten years of revived passenger rail service in Dover, here's what I remember the day the Downeaster came to town. I remember that on December 15, 2001, I had lunch at the pizza place next door to the transportation center, and watched the festivities from there, as opposed to being part of the mob, with a fellow employee of the Community Services Department.

I remember that I felt bad for Bruce. Bruce was the planner (who recently retired) who had championed the City's efforts to secure the train stopping in Dover. I felt bad because Bruce was in the Air National Guard and he had been called up as part of the massive call up post 9/11. So as people were celebrating the arrival of something he had worked so hard to help secure, Bruce was in the Middle East defending the rest of us.

Beyond that specific day, what I think about the Downeaster falls into two categories. The first is emotional and the second is rational. The emotional is the connection the Downeaster has to parental memories. My son was 3 in 2001. He and I would drive downtown, get a coffee and a pastry, run to the post office for the mail (we had a PO Box), and then head to the transportation center to watch the train come through every Saturday. We rode it for the first time together in December of 2002, when we went to Exeter and back.

My son's reaction to seeing the train, and (in my experience) general every child's reaction is that of elation. Kids love to see the train come into town, and they love to ride trains when they can. This feeling I think is second only to planners love of the idea of a train, or mass transit for that matter. Not sure where the emotional connection comes from (that's why its emotional, right?), but it is a visceral response. Eyes light up, we start swaying to a fro, get nervous; the whole nine yards. You'd think the prom was coming up and we are taking a model.

This flows into the rational connection I have with the Downeaster. We are very lucky as a community to have not only the Downeaster stop through Dover, but to have our station downtown. The ability for travelers to step off the train, cross the street (admittedly not the safest crossing), and shop, eat, stroll, etc, is a true bonus for us. I won't go into ridership numbers or the statistical info, but will say they are excellent and continue to grow each year.

The Downeaster was Amtrak's fastest-growing service in fiscal years 2006 and 2008, and continues to be a route that brings in necessary revenue for the Amtrak system. Are there things that could be improved upon? Sure, there are in every aspect of life. That said, on a birthday, let's focus on the great thing it is to be located on this line, to be able to experience that feeling of giddy joy riding the train and celebrate ten years of success.

Why I Shop Local

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

We all know that the benefits of shopping local are numerous.One that hits me all the time is customer service. Working in government I believe we are in the customer service sector. I am always looking for great examples of customer service to share with my staff.

This weekend I had one. I purchased Christmas gifts for my wife at a local store, which has a fantastic, eclectic mix of hand crafted items and the owner is energetic and helpful. She remembers you and is interested in selling items to you, but not interested in harassing you.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, my wife and I were in the store, and she picked up an item and said she'd love it. It could be Thanksgiving centric, and I mentioned that I had bought it for her and forgotten to give it to her the day before. Oops. When I got home I dug the gift out and noticed another box in the tote. Another gift? I couldn't recall.

Recently, I went into the store and the owner and I joked about the oops moment. I mentioned the rogue gift and how it would be a surprise to me as well. She did that little customer service step we all need to be aware of (long story short right?). She went through her receipts and found the one from the day in October that I purchased the gifts and sent me an email detailing the items. How cool is that? Nothing fancy, nothing over taxing, but over the top and really appreciated.

It is like going into your favorite coffee shop and having the clerk know you like a certain mug, or splenda not sugar. These are the little touches that an online shop can't help but not provide. I know the cigar store around the corner knows the brand I like and will give me advice. I am sure that a place online can use an algorithm to do the same thing, but it isn't the same. The guy down the street has a conversation behind his recommendation, and a personal taste, the web site has a check list of characteristics that have been digitally added. Big difference.

A colleague from another community recommended a book to me, entitled "We Don't Make Widgets" about how government can learn from private businesses on certain elements, but the bottom line is that we don't create products. I think there is a lot of truth to that and I am looking forward to that book, when I get a chance to read it. In this case though, the customer interaction case, we need to learn from small business to thrive. We're the government and "we are here to help" should be an honest and true reality. It shouldn't be a joke and we should be doing what we can to create a product that is a quality community you want to live in.

Any who, this experience made me smile, reassured that I was shopping in the correct store, and rubbed off on me. I know others have had a similar experience and believe I will be the recipient of better customer service because of it when I shop local.

Were You There?

2011-12-12T05:37:00.000-08:00

Saturday, December 10th, saw the launch of the gundalow Piscataqua in Portsmouth. This was an historic event, and I was happy to participate. For those readers, who aren't aware, I am on the Board of Director's for the Gundalow Company. The company has a mission of preserving and enhancing the maritime history and environment of the Piscataqua region.

The Piscataqua (gundalow, not river or region), was born out the hard work of many people. I joined the Board in 2009, and remember the first meeting I attended was spent looking at a the drawings and blueprints for the new boat, which at the time was still a desire, and not a reality. The Board had been working on this dream for some time already, and looking back it is impressive to see the Piscataqua in the Piscataqua.

Countless hours have been put into the creation and fundraising of and for this vessel. It is amazing to have been a small part of it, and there are many people who are due a great deal of thanks for their efforts and resources.

I have enjoyed being on the Board, as it really allows myself the opportunity to interact in different ways with different people in the Seacoast. It also allows me to be a part of the launch of something that hasn't been launched since the 1980s, and really hasn't been common since the 1880s. I am taking some liberties here, but really, two centuries ago gundalows were common transportation features, today only two working ones exists, and they are located down the road here in New Hampshire.

In the industrial revolution gundalows were common. They were riding up and down the Cochoecho, the Piscataqua and most other rivers in the new world. These vessels are flat bottomed and convey goods from port to port and offered a similar function to the tractor trailer trucks might today. The transportation of these goods has evolved, or in some cases devolved.

One reason I love being on the Board is the sense that we are educating people to this alternative mode of transit. Anyone that has read this blog will know that I am a supporter of the idea that we are ruining out of oil, and I believe we need to reawaken ourselves to the reality of other modes of transit. Modes other than automobiles. I think, beyond the awareness we are building about the fragility of the Piscarqua River's ecosystem, we are also going to be building awareness of the value of wind powered transit.

Overall for me the best part of Saturday's launch was not the pleasure of riding the Piscataqua on her first tour, nor was it the thrill of being with 1,000 people celebrating the launch. The best part was sharing it with my 13 year old son. He fussed about going, and he flittered about the cold when we got to Pierce Island. That said, when we saw the Piscataqua sitting in its cradle and poised for launch he started to change When we were able to join the crew and other board members onboard he really got excited.

It is great to see a child get excited about a wooden boat. A vessel that is built for education and not for excitement or thrill riding. That was pretty cool. I can't wait to see school kids riding, and learning aboard the Piscataqua . It will be a very good addition to the region.

When you get a chance to visit the Piscataqua at Prescott Park, enjoy her majesty and celebrate her mission.

Capital Improvement's Public Hearing

2011-12-05T04:18:00.001-08:00

Well, the end may be in sight. The end that is for the 2011 CIP process. The Planning Board approved the document with some minor changes at its November 8, 2011 meeting, and forwarded it on to the City Council. The City Council is reviewing the document currently.

This Wednesday, December 7 (AKA Pearl Harbor Day), the City Council will hold a public hearing on the Program as well as a workshop on it. I am looking forward to both. The Public Hearing is a great opportunity for the citizen's of Dover to come out and invest some time and effort into the investment of infrastructure int he City. This meeting will be a good way for Councilor's to gauge the capital priorities residents have as we move our City forward.

The workshop will be a good way for Councilor's to discuss, review and work towards a plan that they can support. The various department heads will be in attendance and will be ready to answer questions.

Next week, the City Council is scheduled to vote on adoption of the Program. For me, it is the middle of the process. If the Council does vote on it, I will then review the submitted project request sheets from August, and update any changes that occurred. I will also create the FY14-19 sheets based upon the existing ones, and send them back to the department heads. This will set them up for review and resubmitted to me in 6 to 8 months.

Just like the budget process, which begins today, if not already, the CIP is a continuous process. It has a cycle that we follow year in and out. Now don't get me wrong, I won't do my updates and reviews before the end of the month, by my goal is going to be February 1. Then set them aside for a month and come back to them. This will give me a head start, and if I have a head start, then so will the other department heads.

At this point, I think we've had a successful CIP season. The City Manager proposed a program, which came in with no additional money to be bonded, over what was being retired. We hit the financial policies that have been outlined, using capital reserves where possible, Finally, we revised the book and video presentation and communicated the plan to the Council and Planning Board as well as the public, in a professional and accessible manner.

Smells like success all around to me.

Disneyfied Urbanity

2011-11-28T14:32:00.001-08:00

Raise your hand if you have been to Walt Disney World?

I won't go so far as to presume everyone has their hand up, but I am sure that most readers of this blog entry have been or at least are familiar with the resort/theme parks in Orlando, Florida. Recently, I visited the parks.

I like Disney, and in fact, as many planners, I love the urban aspects/walkability ideas incorporated into the parks. It is quite amazing to me that if you look at the statistics, you recognize that a high level of suburbanites visit Disney and those people who drive everywhere walk in the parks - further than they might anywhere else. The statistic I love, is on average you walk five miles, a day in a Disney park. This is certainly by design, as you are walking by one large gift shop (might have a different name, but sells the same stuff). The walking also helps you feel not so bad if you have to wait 30 minutes in a line for a ride. And it helps you walk off the inordinate amount of calories you ate at lunch.

I also love that people fly or drive from the suburbs to go to a place with a replica of Main Street from the town in Missouri that Walt was from. This stretch of the Magic Kingdom is impressive and the buildings and the feel of the street is perfect, perfect height, width of sidewalk, perfect people scale etc. It has that old timey sense to it. Perfect in the fact, also, that you couldn't build it in many places unless you are Disney.

For a great education read any of the books which chronicle the political process the Disney company went through to create the parks. They are their own County/City entity and have the same bonding and tax exempt status that a municipality has. The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) is the name of the development entity the Disney Corp created to oversee the land use processes, including the bonding of utilities etc that are necessary to build and expand the four theme parks, numerous resort/hotels and other ventures, such as Celebration, the Disney company owned town.

When you are in Disney you really feel like you are in another world. Or, at least a stand alone City. The corporation literally is the only show within two communities, Lake Buena Vista, and Bay Lake, both of which are controlled by the quasi governmental RCID. According to the 2000 census 16 people reside within 9 households, located within 11 housing units in Lake Buena Vista. Bay Lake has 22 residents within 9 households.

Things do work though, there is a Fire Department, security team, utilities, planners, the whole shebang. If you stay at a resort you can use their bus system to transport between parks and resorts, and you can avoid the traffic in Orlando and the surrounding infrastructure. The buses, and boat system run great, and are comfortable.

So, should it scare me, as a planner, that people can't build the downtown they love in their own town? Not really. I say that because people point to that Main Street as an effective dream. As such, I believe that people will take that dream and bring it to their own community. Sure enough that inspiration will encourage people to get involved and to demand to not have to drive or fly to reach their ideal downtown.

Book Reviews

2011-11-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

I was amazed a month or so ago when a few people who read this blog shared that they actually like my book reviews. Egos being what they are, this made me presume the rest of the readers like them as well, so not to hold out, I thought I'd throw some at you.

In the past week I have read two planning related books. The firstwas Geniusof Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted, a new biography about the founder of Landscape Architecture. The second was HighLine: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky. Both were well done. Genius takes the slantthat Olmsted was more than a park designer, that he was also anenvironmentalists and activist. High Line was interesting in that it is 250+pages, and split almost evenly between an essay tracking the history anddevelopment of the rail to trail project and then a pictorial essay of the parkitself.

To place these in context, Olmsted was my inspiration for getting into planning as a vocation. I went to college with other designs (who doesn't - I thought I was going to be the next PJ O'Rourke), and became fascinated by Olmsted's work in Boston, Chicago, New York etc. Back in 1996 I created www.fredericklawolmsted.com (since transferred to another owner), as my senior thesis in college.

Olmsted is a hectic, brilliant and functional character. He grew up in Hartford, CT, and traveled the country, and the world, having a frenetic career and never really settling down until he was well past 60. This book follows a similar path. As you might surmise, I have read many Olmsted books, my favorite being A Clearing In the Distance, by Witold Rybczynski. This book traveled many of the same paths, and overall suggests them in a well thought out and developed manner. What held it back for me, was that nothing new was revealed. It felt like a musician that looked at their back catalog and said, "you know we haven't have a greatest hits package since 2001, let's crank one out." This time it has been remastered, so that there is a nice sheen to the writing and songs, but overall if you've heard the first greatest hits package you've heard this one.

The upside of course is that Olmsted is a great figure and very much worth reading about. If you don't have the background and knowledge, and want more than a web or encyclopedia entry, this book will go far for you. His family, work and life is all wrapped into 400+ pages, and it is highly accessible. You could easily read this book and maybe either Viewing Olmsted or Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing the American Landscape both are photographic journeys of Olmsted's work. By the way, email me, if you can point out the Olmsted firm projects in Dover.

Speaking of photographs, half of the new book documenting the development of the High Line park in New York City contains photographs. You might recall that last month I went to visit the High Line. The High Line is a great example of a community based project, a rail to trail retrofit, and from my experience a success in spite of the fact you can't easily find the entry points to the trail when in NYC. I was interested to reading and learning about the experience, so I can extrapolate those experiences into the Dover Community Trail project.

While in NYC I purchased this book to learn about the development and history of this project. The book is great and a worthy document of the quirky aspects of the park. I say quirky because the park has a lot of variety to it and is just that side of the traditional rail to trail park development model.

The book is the same way. It could just follow the traditional linear path of concept, inception, construction, grand opening, and future plans. It could just document the obstacles, the NIMBY pressure, the costs, the opportunities etc. It includes this information, but it also goes to the quirky side. You have a first person narrative for maybe 100+ pages, alternating between the two co-founders of the Friends of the High Line.

This section is awkward because of the competing voices. I think it could work in a documentary format where voices have sound and you can visually separate the two speakers, but in the written form it is hard to follow. So much so that I decided early on that I didn't care who was "speaking," I just read it as if there was one voice, one narrator. It worked, but I am not sure that I got the affect the authors were hoping for. The information is good and interesting. The political process is explained; the meetings the advocacy etc is similar and different at the same time.

What didn't work, other than the voice, was that this section was hardly broken up at all. It consisted of basically 100 pages of text. A picture thrown in here and there, but overall it was a struggle to pay attention with all the text. Another aspect that detracted was that the authors presume you are from New York City when you read the narrative. I have no idea where Gansevoort Street is. A map would have been nice. What amazed me is that the web site has an incredibly well done interactive map of the park.

Two things pushed the book back up and then over the top. The topic is great and you are interested and want to read about it. It is compelling and human. The second thing are the pictures that finish the book. They are beautiful and dynamic. They tell the story in a much more interesting and absorbing manner. It inspired me to want to document every project we do in Dover so that we can create a similar photoessay.

Speaking of Dover, I love this project because of the similarities to the Dover Community Trail. The proximity to an urban core, the variety of plantings and functional space contained within the park is great, and the intention of creating a space neighbors want to use, as well as a space that people will travel from out of town to enjoy. What's not to love about that.

October Doings

2011-11-07T04:19:00.000-08:00

From time to time, I presume you'd like to read what we were up to the previous month, in the Department. This is one of those times. The first section concentrates on the goals the City Manager has been given, the second section is department specific goals, and the third section is collaborations with other departments. Enjoy....

4.Continue to communicate with the community through hosting of periodic ward andneighborhood meetings such as quarterly Dover Discussions along with exploringnew methods to increase interaction and participation by citizens in localgovernance and community forums.

The Department of Planning and Community Developmentcontinued to update its blog, face book page and twitter feed to communicatewith the public. The Department of Planning and Community Development has 129Facebook (City of Dover NH Planning) friends and 259 followers on Twitter@DoverNHPlanning).

During the month of September, eight (8) Planning blog postswere drafted, including one on looking at the Apple Harvest Day, Riding masstransit, rails to trails projects, social communities, two on the CapitalImprovements Program, one on how buildings evolve, and one on the proposedredistricting of Dover’s ward boundaries.

The Department of Planning promoted theDover Community Trail through the Facebook fan page for the trail (with 284fans), as well as a Sustainable Dover Facebook fan page for the trail (with 116fans).

The Director of Planning and CommunityDevelopment continues to act as an advisor to the Dover Listen’s committee, andattends their monthly meetings.

The Director of Planning and CommunityDevelopment attended the October 20 and 27 Citizen’s Leadership Academysessions. On the 20^th, discussion focused on arts, culture,planning, economic development and welfare topics.

Planning staff worked to educate Counciland School Board candidates, as well as the public at large on the City’sregulations pertaining to election signage/political advertising. This workentailed site investigations of sign placement, as well as meeting with variouscandidates and having electronic conversations with candidates about acceptablelocations for signage.

The Director of Planning and CommunityDevelopment met with Somersworth’s interim Director of Development Services,Portsmouth and Farmington’s Planning Director, and Rochester’s Director ofDevelopment to review regional needs and issues that all communities.

Finally, this month the Department of Planning and CommunityDevelopment sent out 22 letters to new homeowners congratulating them on theirpurchase, as well as informing them of the current zoning for their propertyand alerting them to the various methods the department uses to inform andupdate the public.

8.Attend workshops and participate in other education opportunities to further continuingprofessional development.

In October, the Director of Planning andCommunity Development attendeda session at UNH where officials from the Government Accounting Standards Boardmeet with planners and local finance officers from NH to talk about a proposalthat would compel local government to look at its future financial condition.

The Directorof Planning and Community Development participated in a webinar devoted toincreasing public participation in planning through the use of innovativecommunication strategies.

9.Develop a closer working relationship with the School Department and all otherCity Departments. Further explore and pursue opportunities where City andSchools can combine and/share services for the benefit of the community andreport to the City Council.

The Planning Department worked with theSchool Department to finalize its submissions for the Capital Improvement’sProgram. Additionally, the two offices worked together to understand the useand regulations around impact fees. This discussion led to a proposedexpenditure of impact fees for automotive classrooms at the Regional CareerTechnical Center.

10.Support local businesses to aid in the community’s economic growth by workingin conjunction with local economic development groups and businessorganizations.

The Department of Planning and Community Development assistedthe Economic Development Director with supporting the proposed development ofthe Parking Lot Redevelopment Bid that was solicited in July.

12.Complete the implementation of the ongoing energy efficiency improvements and provideperiodic reports of energy savings.

The Substantial Completion documentswere signed in October. This starts the annual clock for Johnson Controls Inc(JCI) to document the energy savings stipulated in their contract with theCity. The Department of Planning and Community Development is working withJCI’s thermo technicians to assure they have access to the data needed for theMonitoring & Verification portion of the contract. Johnson Controls is nowdown to a punch list of items that require attention.

City staff met with both the New HampshireDepartment of Environmental Services compliance contractor and the EPA hiredauditor for the Waste Water Treatment Plant blower project. The purpose of thesemeetings was to assure compliance with American Recovery and Reinvestment Actand Davis Bacon requirements.

GENERAL DEPARTMENTUPDATES:

FOCUS/GOALS:

Inspite of the continuing economic woes on the national and regional levels, theCity of Dover has seen a recent surge in commercial development in the past sixmonths. The Planning Board has reviewedfive significant commercial site plans in 2011. These projects represent a variety of retail, office and warehouse development.In July the Planning Board approved a 9,000 square foot dialysis treatmentcenter at 343 Sixth Street on property owned by Summit Land Development. Justup the street from this project is a new dental office being constructed byHoward Dental at 385 Sixth Street. This 5,544 square foot facility was approvedby the Planning Board on September 13, 2011 and broke ground in October. Another project approved in the north end ofDover was the redevelopment of the Citgo station at 874 Central Avenue. The property owners, Aranco Oil Company, areplanning to construct a new 2,800 square foot convenience store and gas stationon the site. The Planning Board approvedthis project on September 13, 2011. Thelast two projects are located on Knox Marsh Road. On September 27, 2011, the Planning Boardapproved a site plan to build 18,500 square feet of self storage units at 1Lilac Lane as part of the New Meadows project. The last project is the largest and is coming before the Planning Boardin November. FW Webb is proposing theconstruction of a 65,000 square foot building that would house a warehouse,distribution center, and product showroom and office space. This facility would be located at 218 KnoxMarsh Road. FW Webb is a plumbing supplycompany that currently has a 16,500 square foot facility at 10 Sumner Drive.

Thesefive projects total just over 100,000 square feet of commercial space inDover. It is projects like these thatwill help improve the economy of Dover and the region.

Ensure timely preparation andpresentation of the FY13 – 18 Capital Improvements Program.

TheCapital Improvement’s Program was presented to the City Council and Planning Boardon October 19, 2011. The presentation included an overview of the CIP book, anintroduction to the concepts and ideas behind capital improvements planning andan overview of year one projects.

Coordinate update of Land Use andTransportation chapters of the Master Plan, through development andimplementation of Speak Out Dover and associated survey programs.

Thesteering committee for the Open Space and Conservation Master Plan chapter hascompleted its first draft of the upcoming chapter. Once that chapter has beencompleted, work will begin on organizing Speak Out Dover sessions andassociated programs for laying the baseline for the Land Use and Transportationchapters.

Review, and update as needed, theCommunity Development Block Grant program to ensure compatibility with BestManagement Practices.

Areview of the process and outreach models used for CDBG programming for theupcoming grant round, which begins in February has begun. Additionally, staffis reviewing comments from the Department of Housing and Urban Developmentreview of the City’s required reporting on the status of our CDBG program todiscern areas to improve.

Promote streamlining plan review throughuse of electronic means amongst internal staff (smart board at TRC etc).

Pricingof the installation of a smart board in the Second Floor conference room inCity Hall has placed this project on hold.

Analyze the City Code to ensure thatCity regulations encourage sustainable practices in city operations andencourage green practices by residents and business owners.

Planningstaff recommended 10 of the 15 land use amendments suggested by the EPABuilding Blocks report These amendments were presented to the Planning Board onOctober 11, 2011, and act to promote alternative energy sources, reduce theCity’s carbon footprint and encouraging use of sustainability through resourceallocation.

Develop educational opportunities forstaff and board/commission members that are low resource cost, whether throughstaff presentations to boards/commissions, or web based education.

TheDirector of Planning and Community Development will be working with thePlanning Board Chair to develop an educational program for the 2012 workshopsthat occur the second Tuesday of the month for Planning Board members.

Increase outreach and education tobusiness and residents on benefits of infill development and transit orienteddevelopment as means to develop and redevelop in Dover’s urban core.

TheDirector of Planning and Community Development and the Economic DevelopmentDirector have discussed options for increasing education about signage for thebusiness community.

Coordinate discussions andimplementation of improved pedestrian and vehicular way finding signs indowntown Dover.

Notesand ideas from the May wayfinding meeting have been reviewed, by planning staffand are being coordinated for follow up.

DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION & ENHANCEMENTS

The Planning Department worked with theCommunity Services Department to identify needs on the Community Trail. Thiswork included inspecting the work being completed under the Spaulding Turnpike,the parking lot off Watson Road, and preparation for paving on WashingtonStreet.

Planning staff worked with the CityClerk’s office to review and submit data to the Attorney General’s officeregarding the proposed ward boundary changes. This data included identifying thecensus blocks and tracts that each ward will encompass.

Planning and Community Services staffworked to review the current situation at Willand Pond and review opportunitiessurrounding the pond, both preservation and recreational in nature.

· GladiolaWay

· CedarCove

· NyeLane/Pacific Landing

· WillandPond

Planning staff worked with land ownersof property at the following locations on development or redevelopmentopportunities:

NH Coffee on Sumner Drive
Technical Review for 218 Knox Marsh Road
Technical Review for 78 Horne Street
222 Central Avenue for redevelopment
Intersection of Court Street and Central Avenue for redevelopment
547 Central Avenue redevelopment
343 Sixth Street
Thornwood Commons project
Cocheco Falls Milworks
Strand Theater for redevelopment
6 Brick Road

Residents at 4 and 12 Brick Road
Residents at 2, 4, and 8 Floral Avenue

44 Dover Point Road
13 Whittier Street
K9 Kaos
Robbins Auto properties throughout the City
3 Washington Street redevelopment
63 Broadway
Property on Long Hill Road
200 Dover Point Road

DEPARTMENTAL ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS

**Planning Department Statistics

PLANNING & ZONING	Current month
Planning & Zoning Applications - Total
- Major Subdivision Applications
- Minor Subdivision Applications	2
- Minor Lot Line Adjustment Applications	2
- Site Plan Applications
- Conditional Use Permit Applications
- Extraction Permit Applications
- Zoning Variance Applications
- Zoning Special Exception Applications
- Zoning Appeal Applications
- Sign Permit Applications	2
- Customary Home Occupation Applications	2
- Zoning Violations Investigated	26

Redistricting III

2011-10-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

In August, the City Council was presented the work completed by the ward redistricting committee. This committee was made up of the Mayor, Councilor Nedelka, State Representative Watters, myself and the City Clerk. We met over the month of June and reviewed the opportunities we had to ensure that the ward populations were as even and balanced as possible. This ensures as close to possible a one person, one vote equation.

I know that I had two previous blog entries and a few Dover Downloads about the ward boundary changes, and want to present one final entry today, in hopes of describing the proposed charter change that the public will vote on in two weeks.

To summarize, the process, after the 2010 census data was received, we broke that data down to identify the population of each ward. According to documentation from the Attorney General's office the ward populations need to all be within a range (approximately 4800 to 5100 residents). The ranges for the existing wards was between 4535 and 5775. As it turned out wards 5 & 6 had a population above the range and wards 1 and 2 have populations well below the range. Ward 3's population is on the border, and ward 4 was right on the money.

The shifting of population is such that Ward 1 gains from ward 6, and gives to ward 2. Ward 2 receives from ward 1 and ward 5, and gives to ward 3. Ward 3 takes from ward 2. Wards 5 and 6 give and do not receive, and ward 4 stays the same.

Below are detailed explanations. For a full presentation of the information, please click here.

Ward 6 to Ward 1
Nutshell
Currently there is a boundary between wards 6 and 1 running approximately along Horne Street, and also along a portion of Glenwood Avenue. Under the proposal being considered, the boundary shifts from approximately Horne Street to the Spaulding Turnpike. The boundary along Glenwood Avenue will now stretch for almost the whole length of the road.

Area Boundaries
The area to be adjusted, containing 785 residents, will be between the Cochecho River, Glenwood Avenue, Horne Street, and the Spaulding Turnpike. This area includes parts of Hough Street, Hull Avenue, Hillside Drive, Redding Street, Whittier Street and other streets in the area.

Ward 1 to Ward 2
Nutshell
Currently there is a boundary between wards 1 and 2 running approximately along Washington Street, between Central Avenue and Belknap Street. Under the proposal being considered, the boundary shifts from approximately just behind Washington Street to the Cochecho River.

Area Boundaries

The area to be adjusted, containing 356 residents, will be between the Cochecho River, St Thonmas Street, Belknap Street, and Chestnut Street. This area includes parts of Atkinson and Belknap, St Thomas Streets and other streets in the area.

Ward 5 to Ward 2
Nutshell
Currently there is a boundary between wards 5 and 2 running approximately along Arch Street, between Washington and Silver St. additionally, Rutland Street and Fisher Street are border areas.

Area Boundaries
The area to be adjusted, containing 448 residents, will be between the B & M Railroad line, the Spaulding Turnpike, Central Avenue, Locust Street and the Fisher Street, Rutland Street area around Woodman Park. This area includes parts of Towell Avenue, Parker Street, and other streets in the area.

Ward 2 to Ward 3
Nutshell

Currently there is a boundary between wards 2 and 3 starting at the intersection of Summer Street and Locust Street, crossing Central Avenue to Union Street, and running approximately to Court Street.

Area Boundaries
The area to be adjusted, containing 264 residents, will be along Silver Street, Elm Street, Locust Street and Union Street. The area between Union Street and Central Avenue towards the intersection with Court Street will now be in ward 3.This area includes parts of Locust Street, Summer Street, and other streets in the area.

Next Steps

Should the public vote to enact the charter change, the wards would remain as they are today until June of 2012. This will allow time for outreach and education to those who are shifting wards. Also, it will occur after the Presidential Primary in 2012.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to ask them.

Buildings That Learn

2011-10-24T12:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I read a book titled How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They Are Built, by Stewart Brand. Through the book, the author examines the relationship that buildings have to society through their evolution. The main idea is that buildings long outlast their first use, and in many cases their original owner/builder.

The book discusses the idea that a building's location on a site is the most important and influential component to erection of a structure. The author shows examples of the interior and exterior renovations and how buildings have evolved as their context has changed and how the needs of their owners has evolved.

This idea is central to the ideas we adopted with the adoption of our Form Based Code, here in Dover.We crafted a vision, through surveys and interaction with the public, about how the community viewed Dover's downtown, and then using the regulatory power of a zoning code, we developed that vision into text and ideas became policy.

The book was interesting and a bit bland, at the same time. It has impressive imagery and illustrations/floor plans, but would benefit from less text reinforcing that imagery. The text gets in the way. It is like over thinking the idea, and then somehow confusing the simplicity of creating long lasting and adaptable space with rigorous conformity.

What impresses me is that this idea of simplicity and adaptability was one that people could grasp. The community liked the idea that the historic buildings they appreciate downtown have qualities and characteristics they want to see in any new buildings that are constructed adjacent to them. People like that buildings have history and stories to tell. This is an appealing aspect to living and working within a community that has a long and involved history.

If you are interested in learning about how buildings evolve and adapt to the environment around them, let me know and we can discuss this more.

Capital Improvements 2011

2011-10-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday night I presented the 2013 - 2018 Capital Improvement's Program to the City Council and Planning Board. This program formulates a spending and implementation strategy for the goals and needs outlined in the City's Master Plan. The plan is developed looking forward for six years, and the Council ultimately approves and authorization for the year one projects in the immediate time frame, with year 2 through 6 being reviewed annually.

I want to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to becoming involved with the CIP process. I'll include the video here for you to watch, and hope that you review the web site with a full listing of projects. We also have a Google Map of the project locations, and you can review the document itself.
.

A few points to think about...

First, the City side and the school side requests for bonded monies (projects which require debt financing), equal a request to bond less money than is being retired, or paid off this year. Many of the projects (almost 3M of the City side) are paid for through reserve accounts (savings) or with cash on hand. The biggest chunk of this is paving and maintenance of roadways at a cost of 1.8 million. This is paid for out of the operating budget, and has been the recommended amount of money over the past few years. I suspect, similar to last year, where the Council and Manager reduced that amount to $700,000, that this amount will be reduced.

The formulation process for getting to this point is long and involved, and starts just as the operating budget is being finalized in June. I have developed a project request form, which the various departments within the City use to to request projects. I have encouraged departments not to add new projects until we are sure we can afford the time and money to finish the project. This involves and intial review by the departments to look at their capacity.

Once I have the completed project forms in August, I then make my review. I look at the Master Plan and identify correlations, and ensure that a project is contained within the plan and is prioritized based upon the plan. I also work with the Finance Director to review the funding sources of the projects and make sure that the proposed costs make sense and are in line with previous projects or similar ones currently being undertaken. The Finance Director reviews the projects and ensures that the funding strategies are in line with the City's adopted financial policies. He also completes a financial analysis.

Comparing this year's program to last year's one can see that we took a very sharp look at the plan and moved and removed quite a few projects. Many projects were moved out to at least 2019 and some beyond, in order to make them fanciable. By working to create a scenario where the debt bonded equals the debt retired we were forced to review the merits of many projects and shuffled them around to ensure that a fiscally responsible strategy has been proposed.

Now the real work begins. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on October 25th and a workshop on the program on November 8th. The Council will take the Planning Board's comments and recommendations and work through a similar process in late November and December.

Please take a minute, review the video, look at the web site, and review our Google Map of the project locations.

Social Communities (NYC Pt 3)

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, here is one last, potentially shorter (he writes with a smile) blog entry about community involvement in New York City. This blog entry stems from a discussion I had with the friend I was staying with in New York City. As many readers will recognize, I have a passion for community involvement in planning and government, so I asked her about the community and how it is defied in New York. Is she a New Yorker, a Manhattan, a fill in the ______?

I mentioned that it seems like it would inhibit community involvement to have a community of over 8 million people. How can you relate to the government if it employs more people than live in Dover? That is hard to grasp. I know that things scale, and that things are adjusted to deal with sizes, mass and density, and that the New York City structure didn't happen over night (well, maybe it did in 1898), so things are relative. Here is the thumbnail sketch:

New York City is made up of five boroughs, which also happen to be counties, and follows the strong Mayor form of government, with a City Council. The Mayor and 51 Councilors are elected to 4 year terms from residents of the five boroughs. The five boroughs also elect a Borough President, who advises the Mayor on local issues relative to their borough.

In addition, there are 59 administrative districts, each served by a Community Board. These Boards act as local advocates for residents and their communities. Board members are appointed to 2 year terms, half of the members' terms expire each year. Borough Presidents appoint the members. The appointment procedure is more complicated, than I need to get into for this blog. Suffice it to say, these Boards might be more closer to the residents than the Council would be. Community Boards deal with neighborhood issues, are the point of contact for land use and zoning issues, and address community concerns.

Phew... so when you live in New York, how do you relate? My guess is that you relate to your neighborhood, which might, in other places actually be a town or city of its own. My friend works in the borough of Queens, but when I talked with her about it, she said that the section of Queens she works in has its own name and acts as a town (very simplified description - mine not hers). The residents of this, and other neighborhoods, operate within themselves.

It felt like New York was the state, the boroughs are the county (though there is no "county government") and the neighborhood was the town or city. These communities seem to function very strongly. I am not sure, and neither was my friend, how strong the Community Boards are, but it appears that people interact and communicate strongly within their neighborhood.You certainly shop in your neighborhood and walk to the neighborhood park, and you rely on your neighbors for day to day interaction.

Defining the neighborhood was also an interesting exercise. Is the neighborhood what's walkable? Well, how do you define that? Is it the area around your subway stop? Well, that's a moving target, I would think, and also undefinable because you might not have a subway station right in your face to use as a starting point.

The impression I got was that a neighborhood is the like the Supreme Court definition of pornography, you know it when you see it. If you feel that an area is your neighborhood, it is. I like this because it encourages residents to get out, explore and interact with their surroundings and doesn't limit that interaction. I suppose that the boundaries of the 59 Community Boards is also a defining factor, but unless you need their input, do residents know where that boundary is?

One interesting process is the land use review process. In Dover, the Planning Department reviews all site and subdivision plans for technical merit. The Planning Board has the power to approve them. Zoning amendments are reviewed and approved by the PB and then forwarded to the City Council for adoption. The Zoning Board reviews applications for variance or special exception.

In New York, it appears that there really isn't site and subdivision approval (I could be missing something). The Planning Commission, after a review by the Community Board and Borough President, reviews zoning designations, changes to the city map, capital project locations, and use of public property by private entities, as well as other larger scope issues. Once the zoning designation is in place a site can be used or reused as designated, it seems without review by a board. There is still a technical review that occurs.

In essence this is close to what the process for a traditional form based code follows. The community review is on the overall plan, which covers the height, massing and density of land, while the specific site review is done by staff based upon that plan.

It makes me wonder about community advocacy. In a way it might nip NIMBYism in the bud, but it also removes that last bit of "hey did you think about this" that can occur at a local level. Just something to think about I guess.

Riding the High Line (NYC pt 2)

2011-10-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

Previously, on this blog, I mentioned a trip to New York City. In that entry I mentioned getting to New York. And while getting there is half the fun, I thought I'd fill in the rest of the story with a quick entry on being there.

New York is big. That isn't a surprise. As I said to my son, there are 8 New Hampshire's in New York City alone, population-wise. Getting around is interesting. You have mass transit, taxi's, petty cabs, walking etc. One thing that surprised me is that there is very little assistance in finding where you are going. In other words, we arrived at Penn Station on W 33th street and 8th Ave, and had no clue where the Javitz Convention center was. There were no signs, no indicators, no walking trail nothing to help us. If not for my trusty google maps app I'd have been lost. Walking the short walk to the JC I did notice a few signs for Lincoln Tunnel and an express way or to, but someone should give the City some pointers on wayfinding.

We went to the JC and the traveled to Madison Square Park, which might be my favorite part of the City. You have the Flatiron building, you have the Shake Shack, you have Broadway as a pedestrian area (did I mention the Shake Shack?), and you have this beautiful multi-purpose park (and the original site of Madison Square Garden).

I won't bore you with each stop along the way, instead I will skip ahead to dinner. One thing you can't say enough about New York is the variety and options that surround you. We left our friend's apartment and walked 10 blocks and had dinner at a very fine Turkish restaurant. The food was great and the service was nice. What I loved though was that you had your choice of many ethnic options. We didn't need to feel pigeon holed into one or two dinner options, or the same thing at every stop. We ate and headed back to the apartment around 10:15. We stopped at a gelato place which was still open, and no worse for wear.

Saturday we had two great diner meals (I love variety, but if I have to choose one "style" it would be dinner food). After lunch I had the opportunity to visit the High Line. Now, I have a younger brother who hits NYC a lot. Me, I've been three times in 20 years. Him, 3 times since July. He has raved about the High Line for 2 years. The High Line, as shown in the adjacent map, is a rail to trail project. The West End Rail Road was a freight line that ran through some industrial and commercial districts in the lower side of Manhattan. Over years the line was abandoned and became derelict. In 1999 a group of neighborhood activist got together and formed a save the high line group with the idea of turning it into a park.

The park, elevated still, runs from 12th street to 30th street with a proposed leg following 30th and going to 34th. The tracks remain in some areas, but overall the trail has landscape where there had been track and there is seating and gathering areas along the way, and at intervals (I couldn't tell if they are calculated or not), there are stairways and elevators up from ground level. Of course there are no signs to get you to the park, and very little wayfinding up top. We had no clue how long the park was or anything like that, so we just strolled. We were surrounded by hordes of people enjoying the same stroll we were. No bikes, or roller blades, just strolling folks. There was the occasional ice cream vendor.

What is great is that you have this linear park, with these great views of the city around you, including into living rooms and offices of buildings that seem close enough to reach out to. The camera on my phone didn't do too much for taking pictures to capture the feel, but I encourage you to check out a google image search. The park is what Dover should hope the Community Trail becomes, a transportation corridor, a recreation area, and a gathering place.

What else did we do? Well we walked from 30th to 66th soaking in the sights. It really is amazing all there is to see. There are so many things going on in the City. We walked by the Occupy Wall Street march as it was moved out of the park (private property apparently) and down to Times Square. We started the walk around 4:30 and reached a subway at 66th around 6:30. It was interesting to see the City transform from daylight to dusk and then when we emerged from the subway 15 minutes later we had been engulfed by darkness.

The city is equally alive in the day light and the darkness. The main difference I felt was that in the daylight you are in an urban center, at night you are in the City. It is amazing the difference. You have this vibe that is created by the mass of people, which in turn drives a culture and commercial buzz and serves as that critical mass to drive an environment and atmosphere filled with energy. It is great stuff.

Now that I've been, I might have to go back, sooner than later. It helps having friends who live there, and can help navigate the City, which I am sure is easy to do once you figure out the code for finding your way around. For the simple tourist with no connection to the City, I think that might be very hard, and awkward. I don't find Boston hard to navigate, course that could be that it is design and operates like a big New England place, so if you are from New England it makes sense.

Who knows?

Riding the Rails (NYC pt. 1)

2011-10-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Stacked parking in NYC

This past weekend, my thirteen year old and I went to New York City to visit friends and to see some sights. To get there we chose the mass transit method of transporting ourselves. I figured that it would be good to reinforce to the next generation that you don't need to drive everywhere and to work on the stigma that only poor people take public and mass transit.

So, we arose at 3 am Friday morning, and left the house to catch the 3:30 am bus to South Station in Boston. We had a very uneventful bus ride. The main item of note was that the bus was so full after stopping in Portsmouth, that we skipped the Newburyport stop (I presume another bus was dispatched), and we headed straight to Boston. This meant that we arrived at South Station slightly early. It was great to see so many people taking the mass transit option to reach trains and planes.

Once at South Station we had a leisurely fast food breakfast and perused the magazine rack at the newsstand (great selection). We alighted onto the 6:15 am Northeast Regional train heading for Newport News, Virginia. The train was smooth as can be. The boarding and seating is organized and progressed really well. Like the bus ride, the train was early arriving in New York. We sat back and enjoyed our books and other reading material (For those keeping track, I read a fiction way book on the way to NYC and two on the way home).

I know that I could save time, approximately 2 hours by driving from Dover to NYC. The benefit in my mind is the ability to relax and read or sleep, which my son did. Hungry? No need to look for an exit to get food, either bring your own, or check out the cafe car. Interested in watching a movie, surfing the net, reading, or any other leisure activity that might not be possible driving? Do it. Interested in connecting with your thirteen year old? Good luck. Best part, in my opinion, is that the train has what I'd call first class seating on an airplane, for the whole coach. Legroom is generous, seats recline, armrests are nice. Always changing view is good.

Cost wise, I am not sure what to think. It was around 150 dollars for the two of us (kids fare is affordable) to bus and train it. You can do the bus from Portsmouth to NYC for about that cost for one passenger. You can do other bus rides from South Station for a third the cost.

The train was packed, just as the bus had been. At various times, and for what seemed to be the majority of the trip we didn't see any vacant seats in our car, or others we walked through. People seemed very amenable, and chatty even. We didn't encounter an unhappy passenger or even a scowl. Everything was all good. The travel fairies were with us.

To me, the best part was getting off the train in NYC and being able to walk out and not worry about parking. On street (only 50 cents for ten minutes - $3 an hour) parking appeared to be a rare occurrence. In a lot you are lucky to find a garage for 25 dollars for a half day, but lots weren't that apparent either. The property owners seem to have determined that property value is better suited to a use other than parking. That can be a huge thing to overcome.

Once we were in the City we walked (it always amazes me how far one will accept walking when there is visual stimuli), and rode the subway for the most part. We did take a cab at one point, because it was cheaper to do so than to take the subway for 4 of us. Still, as my son noticed the car/bus method of travel in the City is the slowest option most of the time. Foot or subway travel is the quickest for the most part.

Anyway, it is always fun to dream. Dover will not have a subway in my lifetime, or probably ever. It has a bus service, COAST and FasTrans, but overall we have a low critical mass for this form of mass transit to take off (intra city and inner city). It is rewarding to see services like C&J, the Downeaster, and other Amtrak lines being used positively. Incidentally, the train ride home was more packed than the ride to NYC. Until the Massachusetts stops, there were no free seats in our car at all the whole ride home.

Tomorrow, I'll add an entry about actually being a planning tourist in NYC.

Capital Improvements Are Coming, Capital Improvements Are Coming...

2011-10-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

Fall in Dover brings Apple Harvest Day (see last week's blog), leaf clean up, and the Capital Improvement's Program (CIP). This is the second year I have overseen the development of the plan that makes up the CIP. Last year was a lot of fun. I felt challenged and trusted by taking over the work and enjoyed both feelings. This year I felt challenged again because I wanted to make it better.

Human's evolve. We have that whole "live and learn" mentality. I want to live and learn every day. So the challenge with this year's CIP is to do just that. Last year I took note of things the City Manager told me and areas the Planning Board and City Council responded to. Good and bad things and areas. This year will bear the fruits of that note taking. We have revised the plan to elaborate the projects, adding more information and thus pages to the booklet, as well as taking a fresh look at old projects and the funding of those projects.

I don't want to ruin the reveal that is planned for next week, but I think we made some good strides in streamlining the project timeline, listening on how much money the City should bond, and connecting the projects closer to the Master Plan. Two major sections will see bigger changes, than the rest; the recreation section and the education section.

The Recreation section has been attached over the past few years for dreaming too big. This year I worked with the Recreation Director to identify non-bonded monies and allocate them accordingly. Additionally, we have used the Master Plan to drive the projects. Last year, I worked with the Community Services Department to set up a ten year plan (although only the first 6 are shown in the CIP). We now have a stronger idea of where projects will be over the next decade. This year, I took that experience and copied it for the Recreation Department. We have adjusted the plan to reflect a more accurate and fundable program. I think this will be a key change in their year's rollout.

The Education section also sees changes this year. We worked to identify more capital investment, beyond renovating the five schools. This year's program shows projects and a timeline that is more cohesive and understandable for the average resident.

Other changes contained with the program are formatting and readability. Two of my favorite areas. I learned a long time ago, if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter how good they are. We worked hard last year to develop the video, and that remains in place this year (tweaked of course), and we have some room to grow, but we are evolving and learning in an appropriate fashion.

Apple Harvest Day

2011-10-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, Fall is here. Last Saturday was the City's Annual Apple Harvest Day. This is event is 25 plus years old and occurs the first Saturday in the month of October. At this point I have attended more Apple Harvest Day's than I can count. What interests me at this point is seeing the changes and the consistencies.

In the late 80s and early 90s when things kicked off, the festival stretched along a segment of Central Avenue. Now it runs the gamut of Central Avenue from Third Street to Washington and then flows down Henry Law Avenue, and takes over the park. It really is two different festivals at that point. the HLA area feels more like a country fair and a carnival. The Central Avenue portion feels more like a street or craft fair with vendors lining the street.

One thing that hasn't changed is the fact you can't get 10 feet without running into people you know and things to chat about (this fact has annoyed my thirteen year old for years). It also hasn't changed that rain or shine people will come to this event. Maybe not 30K people every year, but they do come. I am sure that the Chamber, which produces the event, worries about head counts, but my experience is that there is no need to worry. About 10 years ago, I was on the Main Street Board and manned the booth. It poured rain like you wouldn't believe. One of my roles was to give tours of areas downtown. Even in the rain people showed up. Apple Harvest Day has that vibe and cache.

There is no doubt Dover benefits from having an event like Apple Harvest Day. For every friend, or aquantence I see on the street, I don't know 5 others. I believe that you can break that into a 3 2 split on resident vs non-resident. The festival is a great way for the community and its businesses to reach out to new customers, whether they live here or are visiting.

Apple Harvest Day is one of those events where people can now go for a second generation. My parents took me, I take my child. It has value to all takers. My parents still enjoy going and with the evolution to including more diverse vendors and assets so do I. The day isn't just a craft fair, or isn't just a way for local businesses to have their wares on the street. There truly is a street festival vibe.What is great is that like Harry Potter novels you see and absorb what your age is appropriate to. Some things are over your head and other things are under your age, but aspects will hit you square where they need to and you'll come back next year knowing you'll be satisfied.

This year my wife and I volunteered to help with the road race. There were almost 75 more registrants than last year. This was a healthy increase and was great to see. The race was exciting to see and inspirational in a way, because watching 700 people (or so it felt) run by me as I directed traffic was cool, and made me jealous. They are active participants in the day, and unlike my participation, which was more passive, they are diving in and immersing themselves in the day.

I guess that is my thing to look forward to next year. Always the evolution, maybe I'll run in the road race. We'll see.

Local (Financial) Investment

2011-09-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It by Amy Cortese. While not original in thought, this book has the right information to be part of a revolution. It focuses on the idea that if you value more of a return on your investment than dividends, you should look to place your investment money in local opportunities. The book then gives some realistic, and some idealistic suggestions for those opportunities. The layout and format is very useful with full description and examples of the funding options, with a summary at the end of each chapter.

What I appreciated is that it discusses the obvious, CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) where you buy a share of a farm or what not (insert a product for "A") upfront so the producer gets a slug of capital and then you get the product over time. Think of it as pre-buying the commodity. The book also discusses other mainstream ideas like cooperatives and direct investment by locals into local businesses. The book also showcases some not-so mainstream ideas.

I was interested to read the New Hampshire Community Development Loan Fund used as an example of ways that non-profits can invest in other non-profits. The CDLF works like a CD does at a bank, you place your money in the fund and it is used to finance other investments, and create a revolving loan. As the loan proceeds are paid interest is built up and when the term of the investment is over you get your principle plus interest earned back. What is special about the fund is that it invests the money in non-profits and other low to moderate income based ventures that traditional funding opportunities might not exist for.

Much of the book discusses how financing and investment have become something that is not attainable if you are not on Wall Street. There are various regulatory and risk based variables that are used to discriminate against investment in small business and many of those are variables we contribute to by focusing investment in the established big business stocks.

The book stresses the need to place your money in local banks or credit unions and how these institutions, invest more like the bankers of old, where relationships are valued and the investment isn't just on the financial return of investment.

That is the core idea of the book, that we should look for social and local benefits as well as financial ones from investments. There is value in ensuring that the local businesses can create jobs. This is a huge idea. As I said atop, it isn't new or original, but it is staggering. The data supports ideas about the flow of money and how 64 percent of dollars spent locally stay locally vs 46 percent of big box or national chain dollars. The same is apparent for job creation etc.

I don't think there is a need to point out how this relates locally. We all can grasp that in tough economic times we need to look within to save money, and the idea here is that when you are mindful of the places you spend your money, be mindful about the places you invest it as well. Wouldn't you like to know that you helped keep your local coffee shop open or allowed it to expand as opposed to knowing that you helped the national chain stay open? Just food (or drink) for thought.

What We Did in August

2011-09-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

As September wraps up, I realized I didn't offer up my report on August to the blog reading mass. Better late than never....

GENERAL GOALS:
4. 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 124 Facebook (City of Dover NH Planning) friends and 258 followers on Twitter @DoverNHPlanning).

During the month of August, five (5) Planning blog posts were drafted, including one on looking at the Open Land Committee’s activities, vacationing as a planner, the value of lists, a look at infrastructure planning and Tropical Storm Irene, and one recounting the July monthly report.

The Department of Planning promoted the Dover Community Trail through the facebook fan page for the trail (with 279 fans), as well as a Sustainable Dover facebook fan page for the trail (with 109 fans). The Sustainability Coordinator promoted numerous events this month through facebook, as well as traditional media.

The Director of Planning and Community Development hosted 30 Urban Design students from Michigan for a 3 hour tour of downtown Dover. This tour focused on the Form Based Code zoning, and the development and review process associated with the code. The graduate students drove from Michigan to view Dover and 4 other communities in New England (one per state, minus Maine) to learn about the challenges and successes faced by New England Planners.

The Director of Planning and Community Development continues to act as an advisor to the Dover Listen’s committee, and attends their monthly meetings.

Finally, this month the Department of Planning and Community Development sent out 32 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.

12. Complete the implementation of the ongoing energy efficiency improvements and provide periodic reports of energy savings.

The Johnson Controls Energy Upgrade project is winding down. Many of the FIM’s have been completed and are ready for closeout. The three blowers were installed at the WWTP in August, and a Virtual private network was installed to let the blower manufacturer, HIS, communicate directly with the WWTP and the SCATA system. The VPN was installed to assist HIS in resolving and issue where the WWTP is experiencing pressure higher than recommended levels. HSI thinks they will have this issue resolved in early September.

GENERAL DEPARTMENT UPDATES:

Ensure timely preparation and presentation of the FY13 – 18 Capital Improvements Program.The Director of Planning continued to work with various departments to review project submittals for the upcoming Capital Improvements Program. In addition, the Director of Planning met with the Media Services Coordinator to review the FY 2012 CIP presentation and coordinate the FY2013 presentation materials. The Capital Planning Committee (Planning Director and Finance Director) met to review the booklet preparation and proceed with CIP recommendations for the City Manager to review for inclusion.

Coordinate update of Land Use and Transportation chapters of the Master Plan, through development and implementation of Speak Out Dover and associated survey programs.
Planning staff continues to work with the steering committee for the Open Space and Conservation Master Plan chapter. Once that chapter has been completed, work will begin on organizing Speak Out Dover sessions and associated programs for laying the baseline for the Land Use and Transportation chapters.

Review, and update as needed, the Community Development Block Grant program to ensure compatibility with Best Management Practices.
Planning staff continues to review the current standard operating procedures to begin the review of current practices for the Community Development Block Grant program.

Promote streamlining plan review through use of electronic means amongst internal staff (smart board at TRC etc).
The Director of Planning began the transition process to make the technical review process more electronic based. Beginning in October, the Technical Review Committee meetings should be completed via PDF and electronic means instead of via paper copies of plans.

Analyze the City Code to ensure that City regulations encourage sustainable practices in city operations and encourage green practices by residents and business owners.
Planning staff continued to work, in August, with a staff member from Strafford Regional Planning to review Master Plan chapters from a sustainability view point. Strafford Regional Planning submitted their final review and staff is working to develop a timeline for review and integration of their suggestions into the master plan.

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 add additional opportunities for the Planning Board to be educated. The first opportunity is September 13, when a speaker will be brought in to discuss fluvial erosion along river and stream banks. The Conservation Commission and Open Lands Committee have been invited to attend the workshop as well.

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 Zoning Administrator are considering opportunities for education and outreach on the values of transit oriented development. Some ideas include the Urban Land Institute, and Lincoln Land Institute. The Economic Development Director will also play a role in this effort.

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

Planning and Community Development Director assisted the Community Services, and Recreation Departments in indentifying a grant opportunity through Timberland Cos Servapalooza civic service day, which will occur on September 8, 2011. The group will work on a recently completed landscape plan on the McConnell Center lawn. This plan includes sustainable plantings as well as low maintenance plantings that will enhance the building and civic core. Additionally, the group will do some clearing on the Community Trail and will install a canoe launch near the Washington Street rail bridge crossing.

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:
•    Newington Dover bridge
•    Gladiola Way
•    Cedar Cove
•    Picnic Rock Drive

Planning staff worked with land owners of property at the following locations on development or redevelopment opportunities:
•    Technical Review for 385 Sixth Street
•    Technical Review for Lilac Lane
•    Technical Review for 6 Brick Road
•    Technical Review for 38 Dover Point Road
•    10 Basils Place
•    Sumner Drive property for reuse.
•    K9 Kaos
•    Second Pre –TRC with Elderly Assisted Care Facility on Summer St
•    Robbins Auto properties throughout the City
•    Redevelopment potential at 6 Grove Street
•    School Street property
•    Intersection of Chestnut, Lincoln and Sixth Streets
•    Intersection of Central, Court and Silver street redevelopment
•    Intersection of Washington and Main Street redevelopment

DEPARTMENTAL ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS

The Department of Planning and Community Development welcomed Gail Pare as a Clerk/Typist. Gail previously worked at Liberty Mutual and began with the City in the middle of August.

Growth in Invitable

2011-09-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my son and I were driving up Central Avenue, and he said, as we approached construction, "is that ugly or what?" I said to him that I thought it was beautiful, and he stared at it and said, "well maybe when the exterior is on it, it will be." Now, he was talking the aesthetics of a steel girder building and not the idea of development, but it does beg the question.

We started talking about the beauty of development. He is a teen, so having a philosophical discussion about growth and development (or most topics) is not in the cards, but it is good to educate him, so we had that discussion. I explained that Dover being almost 400 years old has seen many phases of growth and development and that in many ways we are entering a new phase of redevelopment. Much of our infrastructure, in the way of streets and utilities is set. We don't have large tracts of pristine land that can be master planned out. We don't have multiple options for blank slate growth, but we do have cowpaths that became roads, and we do have the requisite history and character that we need to respect that comes with the alteration of cowpaths to development.

Dover has a lot of opportunity ahead of us. We are fortunate to have people involved with the City, on a staff, volunteer and resident level who care about the community and think positively about its growth. We are also fortunate to have people involved with formulating our community vision and character that respect the past and want to shape the future to mimic and embrace that past. In many communities we see efforts to block change and future development. I think in Dover we have been able to understand the idea that change in inevitable, but change in character is not to be taken for granted.

What I mean by that, is that we have a philosophy in planning in Dover where we recognize that growth will come. People have the right to develop their property and we can't as a community tell them no, no more than we can shut roads entering Dover and say we want no new residents. Property rights are respected and encouraged here. All the same, we see that the Community has a role in developing regulations that guide growth and development. The first step in surmising those regulations is to understand the community character.

So, what I need to do is encourage my son to be part of that dialog. Teenager or not, this is his community too. We all need to learn early on that we have a voice and we have a role in speaking that voice to be part of the community visioning. Also, I want to teach him, and others, that the vision isn't a once every 10 years activity. We need to be constantly mindful of the fluidity of life and be aware that we are always evolving and we can't sit back and let change overtake us. We need to be part of the change because it is coming.

In planning our community, the worst thing we can do is say, well someone else is an expert, I don't matter. The second worst thing we can do is say, we've done this before, we don't need to continue to work on it; been there, done that. We need to think of Dover, the community, as our house.

You always have a list of projects to work on around the house. Some are reoccurring (Take out the trash once a week, clean the gutters in the fall), and some are one time things (build an addition on the back). There is always a reason to be involved and aware of the world around you at home. The same goes for your community.

Fall in Burlington

2011-09-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the month, I attended the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association's annual conference. This conference took place in Burlington, Vermont. I had been to Burlington ten or so years ago, and didn't remember much, if anything about it, other than the co-location of UVM. This time, I took a more in depth look at the City, and thought I could share some observations I had below.

First off, I find Vermont to be a very welcoming place; very similar to New Hampshire in many regards. Maybe it comes back to the whole twin states idea, or a similar - though very different history. Vermont is a rural state, no getting around that. Burlington, known as the Queen City, is the most populous city in the State. I saw different population figures, ranging from 38,000 to 42,000 residents in the City. Being the home of the University of Vermont and the hub for the region, it feels like there are 80,000 people in the City. There is a real energetic and progressive vibe in the City. Almost every turn I made had people out and doing things, moving, shaking and living.
I took the obligatory tour of the City by the Planning Director, as part of the conference. It was interesting and had some really good points, explaining how urban renewal cut areas off, and trying to interpret the decisions of the past (by people most likely not involved or active in planning at the time), is always a fun task, and out tour guide was very good at knowing his city and how it flows and grows around its core center.

Like many old cities, Burlington has gone through many phases. Until the mid 80s there were fuel tanks littering the shore of Lake Champlain (the sixth Great Lake), and the waterfront was definitely the backyard of the activity. A move has been in place for the past 30 years to create a front porch feel for the lakefront. In addition to this move, there is a significant commercial market area along a section of street located downtown that is closed to vehicles. This pedestrian mall is worth the visit itself. I have seen quite a few of these, and other than Faneuil Hall in Boston, and a section in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I haven't seen one that works as well as Burlington. This is 4 blocks of street that are crammed with people. Not surprisingly, as with traditional indoor malls, there is a plethora of parking, in garage form, within walking distance to this outdoor mall, and it is heavily used.

There is a healthy mix of local and national stores. There is a Macy's, a J Crew and a the assorted other stores right next to the local restaurants and stores selling local goods and services. A major anchor tenant of the pedestrian market is a 200,000 square foot mall. On the face of it, none of this should survive, but it does. I spoke with some officials from the City and one reason, they believe that things thrive is the student population, and the void that exists outside of Burlington. As I said, Vermont is a rural state, the next closest city in population is a quarter to half the population of Burlington. Montpelier the capital is home to roughly 8,000 people. This is a drastic difference. It means that when you hit these smaller communities, there aren't the services or commercial providers that one might want access to. Vermonters will travel to these larger hub cities to get their needs.

OK, so how does this relate to Dover. Well a few ways. One is that it is always useful to see how another community lives. Burlington has a larger population, sure, and a State University, but doesn't Dover have UNH right down the road? Also, Dover has a large student population living in our rental housing. Dover also acts as a hub of sorts for local smaller communities. If you live in Madbury, Rollinsford, or the Berwicks, chances are you shop in Dover. So it is a scale of services, that exists that is replicated.
The waterfront is also a similarity, with the difference being the scale of development. Burlington is on the shore of Lake Champlain. Dover certainly doesn't have the water frontage on the Cochecho or Bellamy that can compare directly, but there are similar issues to work on. Access is the biggest issue. Like Dove,r the water's edge was an industrial area. This area now is comprised of recreational and open space uses, with hopes for maritime related commercial ventures and a museum thrown in. Sound familiar? Also, in Burlington if you stand on the shores of the lake, you can see downtown, but the connectivity - the how do you get there- question exists. Dover has this problem addressed through the Makem bridge.

One area Dover can learn about is the use of tax increment financing and business improvement districts. These two financial tools have helped Burlington review revenue opportunities and shape vitality in the downtown in a positive and economically beneficial way.

Overall, I always suggest people check out other cities, and am glad I went to Burlington. Next month, maybe I'll hit Burlington Mass. Then for November, I'll try Burlington Maine. I'll let you know how they are.

Outreach and Education Opporutnity

2011-08-31T06:47:00.001-07:00

The Dover Open Lands Committee (OLC) will once again have a booth during Apple Harvest Day on Saturday, October 1st. Please come by to visit with members of the OLC and learn what volunteer opportunities are available to Dover citizens. The OLC is comprised of citizen volunteers and is tasked with identifying and preserving open land. These undeveloped properties contain special natural resources such as forests, critical wildlife habitats, drinking water supplies, farms, and scenic areas. The OLC members work closely with staff from the Planning Department to reach out to local landowners to share information about the benefits of land preservation. In addition to preserving land, the OLC works with the Conservation Commission to monitor the protected parcels to make sure that the land is being properly conserved.

If you support the idea of conserving special places in Dover and have the time and energy to provide, please consider volunteering to serve on the OLC or drop by the OLC booth to get more information.

July Monthly Report

2011-08-30T05:06:00.000-07:00

As August comes to a close, I thought it would be worth catching up on monthly happenings, so here is July's monthly report. The August one will come early in September, don't worry.

FY2012 CITY COUNCIL EXPECTATIONS OF CITY MANAGER

4. 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 123 Facebook (City of Dover NH Planning) friends and 239 followers on Twitter @DoverNHPlanning).

During the month of July, four (4) Planning blog posts were drafted, including one on looking at summer planning projects one discussing the permaculture, one on the parking meter program in Dover, and one recounting the June monthly report.

The Department of Planning promoted the Dover Community Trail through the facebook fan page for the trail (with 275 fans), as well as a Sustainable Dover facebook fan page for the trail (with 108 fans). The Sustainability Coordinator promoted numerous events this month through facebook, as well as traditional media.

Finally, this month the Department of Planning and Community Development sent out 71 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.

8. Attend workshops and participate in other education opportunities to further continuing professional development.

The Director of Planning attended a one day session on Permaculture in a home. This hands on workshop was an opportunity to see how simple adding elements of permaculture to a residential lot.

12. Complete the implementation of the ongoing energy efficiency improvements and provide periodic reports of energy savings.

During the month of July, the last of the energy retrofit work was completed at the Ice Arena. The blowers were shipped and delivered to the Waste Water Treatment Plant. The Calgon system, which is an activated carbon and innovative treatment system for waste water effluent, was installed and the prep work and blower installation was started.

Johnson Controls is hoping to close out some of the Facility Improvements and start the monitoring portion of their contract and is waiting for the City to sign off on the completed work.

GENERAL DEPARTMENT UPDATES:

FOCUS/GOALS:

Ensure timely preparation and presentation of the FY13 – 18 Capital Improvements Program.
The Director of Planning updated the CIP schedule and submitted it, as well as project request forms to the various Departments. In addition, the Director of Planning met with the Media Services Coordinator to review the FY 2012 CIP presentation and coordinate the FY2013 presentation materials.

Coordinate update of Land Use and Transportation chapters of the Master Plan, through development and implementation of Speak Out Dover and associated survey programs.
Planning staff began the process of retaining an organization to conduct a survey of residents to assist in setting the tone and vision for the next Master Plan chapter updates. Additionally, staff reviewed the costs associated and resources required to conduct the Speak Out sessions. Finally, staff began to identify names of residents to approach to be on the steering committee for the project.

As part of the Master Plan update process, the Steering Committee for the Conservation and Open Space chapter has been soliciting input from various groups. On July 19, 2011, the Steering Committee held a joint meeting with members of the Conservation Commission and Open Lands Committee. During the meeting, the 15 to 18 people in attendance enthusiastically discussed the future goals for conservation efforts in the City. The Steering Committee will review the input received and incorporate it into the goals of the chapter. This updated chapter is intended to be a blueprint to guide the conservation work for both the Conservation Commission and Open Lands Committee over the next ten years.

Review, and update as needed, the Community Development Block Grant program to ensure compatibility with Best Management Practices.
Planning staff gathered the current standard operating procedures to begin the review of current practices for the Community Development Block Grant program.

Promote streamlining plan review through use of electronic means amongst internal staff (smart board at TRC etc).
N/A

Analyze the City Code to ensure that City regulations encourage sustainable practices in city operations and encourage green practices by residents and business owners.
In June, EPA consultants met with community members and staff to review the land use chapters of the code and in July Planning staff received a detailed report of the suggested areas in the code that should be reviewed for consistency with the promotion of sustainability. The Director of Planning and Community Development is developing a timeline to implement the suggested land use changes, and will work with the Planning Board to evaluate options.

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 is reviewing the workshop schedule for the Planning Board for the second half of 2011. This review will include opportunities for education and outreach.

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 Zoning Administrator are considering opportunities for education and outreach on the values of transit oriented development. Some ideas include the Urban Land Institute, and Lincoln Land Institute. The Economic Development Director will also play a role in this effort.

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

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:
• Newington Dover bridge
• Gladiola Way
• Cedar Cove
• Cornerstone Crossing

Planning staff worked with land owners of property at the following locations on development or redevelopment opportunities:
• Sixth Street, between Indian Brook Drive and Venture Drive
• Technical Review for intersection of Sixth Street and Indian Brook Drive
• Technical Review for 218 Knox Marsh Road
• Technical Review for gas station on Central Avenue
• Technical Review for congregate care facility on Grapevine Drive
• Basils Place
• Lilac Lane commercial project
• Sumner Drive property for reuse.
• 6 Beacon Circle
• 179 Henry Law Ave
• K9 Kaos
• 82/84 Central Avenue
• 67/75 Central Avenue
• Pre –TRC with Elderly Assisted Care Facility on Summer St
• Abutter to Pedestrian Bridge relocation on Washington Street
• 99 Columbus Ave
• 192 Durham Road

Reviewing the Mess

2011-08-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday, in the middle of the tropical storm, I had to drive to West Lebanon New Hampshire to pick up my son from some relatives. As I drove along (white knuckled) routes 4, 93 and 89, to get the 100 miles each way, I had some time to think.

First thoughts were around why would I be driving in a tropical storm (passing signs alerting people to adverse weather and urging us not to drive), and paying attention to the roadway and my fellow travelers.

Second thoughts were about the process of developing and laying out roadways. I finished, a week ago or so, a great book titled "Big Roads", which was about the drive to create the interstate highway system. It explained the inception (a brain child of automobile dealers and manufacturers - if you can't drive the car on nice roads, who will buy the car), and the process and time it took to get the idea of the ground. Most people know that the Interstate Highway Act was approved under Eisenhower, but in fact it was a brainchild of the FDR presidency, postponed by WWII.

Third thoughts were about the massive clean up that will need to occur as a result of the storm. While we didn't come across any downed trees, we did have to navigate around brush and the water ponding. Additionally, we passed some pretty high water elevations along banks of rivers and streams.

I was constantly thinking of the electric grid and the idea of burying electric lines so they aren't susceptible to weather. I was thinking of the costs, real and opportunity, of such an effort. I was also thinking of the environmental outfalls of the storm. How was water quality effected? How were wetlands improved or impaired by the storm?

Finally, I thought about the great opportunity to have a down day, a day where you don't hustle and bustle around, but sit at home with your friends and family. Enjoy the time without electricity or the need to be here or there. I was lucky, we didn't lose electricity at our house, but we did have a down day, and we did have dinner with friends and we did relax and that is a great unintended consequence of the storm.

Lists

2011-08-08T10:27:00.001-07:00

I like task lists. I like them long and I like them short. I don't care if they are filled with menial and low things (take out trash), or complex and long term things (build a garage). I like taking tasks and adding them to lists, and have been known to add things to a list just to cross them off said list. I especially like task lists that are broken into parts (clean living room, which begat vacuum living room, and dust coffee table, and purge magazines). I might be obsessive compulsive about this, as I think about it.

I was asked last week what I love about my job, and one thing I immediately went to was the diversity and ever changing nature of planning. This leads me to task lists, because with my love of lists, I am constantly looking at an every changing and growing to do list. I find that I can't cross something off without adding two or three things. This isn't because my work environment is a bear, it is because there is so much good we are and can be doing. You get a momentum feeling and want to keep adding things to the list.

Here's the rub, you have to cap the list sometimes. I use www.goodreads.com to track my reading habits. I list the books I am reading, have read and want to read on it. I started the year with 74 books to read this year. I set a goal of reading those books. To date, I have read 85 books since Jan 1. I must have completed the 74 initial books, correct?

Nope. Read maybe half of them and then added over half back, because now I have 91. Moral, I either need to buckle down and not add anything more, and consider the list to be a two year list, or need to accept that the list is rolling in nature and will over time be tackled.

This occurs in all forms of lists, honey do, work, or reading. It is just life, I have determined.

I have written in the past about some tasks I'd like to get complete this summer. Some will happen, but as in other aspects of life, others will not. Being in the public sector we are always in reaction mode. We react to changing public demand, we react to changing regulations from the Federal or State government and we react to changing resource pressures.

One project with lists that might have some finiteness to it, in a limited way, is the Capital Improvements Program. This is a 5 year plan of capital investment the community needs to make. I was looking on the CIP projects that we are now developing and I see some that are in place and will be built and end (such as a road reconstruction). I see some that will continue to be in place from year to year (police cruiser replacement). Some of these items, like my book list seem to always be present. Others like the book I find in the new browsing room at the library get added when they appear to be new.

I guess the end game is that keeping lists and having them remind us of where we are and what projects we can tackle in the event there is free time, is a good thing. I have some projects here in the office that fit that bill. If I prioritized all the tasks we have maybe some would be higher, but at this point they are back burner and good place holders for next year. As with my book list, it is rolling.

Vacation: Business or Pleasure

2011-08-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

I am sure we all do it. You visit a different community and you soak it in. In my case, I do that both personally (would I like to live here?), and professionally, (would I want to work here, or would I want to have this project proposed in Dover?) This happened twice last week.

In the beginning of the week, I went camping in Maine. Driving around the community where the campground was located, which really was two or three municipalities, I soaked in some of the surroundings. The downtown had a fun feel to it. It was built and had a strong urban presence. It was diverse, with residential, commercial and a mixture of uses. There was the autocentric commercial strip as well. While enjoyed the experience of soaking in, nothing jumped out to me as worthy of note. There was no "Awe I wish we had that in Dover" moment.

Late in the week, I went to Rhode Island for the day. A long day actually, left Dover at 9 am and returned home at 2:45 am. In the intervening time we were in Providence twice, Cranston, Newport and Narragansett. Providence was where I had the most "what would Dover be like if we added this, or that" thoughts. Most notably was the Waterfire park downtown. I am not sure what form of art it is, but it is awesome.

For those who have not witnessed it, waterfire is a display of fire that is designed to rest atop a river. The river has walkways and plazas along the banks and there are pyres in the river with baskets floating on top. Wood is burned in the baskets and the fires crackle and burn for hours as you stroll along the banks enjoying food, performances and the like. This goes from 8:30 (dusk) to midnight.

So, my wife and I and friends enjoyed the display and I thought about the attraction and how something similar might occur in Dover. The trouble I have is defining the line between considering how something could be implemented in Dover and straying into the next level of thought, which is general work thoughts. In other words I need to fight the urge to move from creative to operational mode. It is hard to do.

I suspect a lot of us struggle with this, how to not take your work with you on vacation. For planners, my experience is that we are always observing or soaking in a planned environment around us, which is an allure to the profession to me.

As the summer season hits the midway, enjoy it and remember that work will always be there when you return.

June Monthly Report

2011-07-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

I realized that I did not post the report I made to the City Manager for the month of June. My bad.... enjoy the reading and the weekend.

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 123 Facebook (City of Dover NH Planning) friends and 239 followers on Twitter @DoverNHPlanning).

During the month of June, five (5) Planning blog posts were drafted, including one on looking back at planning over the last 14 years in Dover, one discussingthe Planning Department’s use of Social Media, one on the basic history of zoning in Dover, one on redistricting and one on the departure of the Sustainability Coordinator.

The Department of Planning promoted the Dover Community Trail through the facebook fan page for the trail (with 275 fans), as well as a Sustainable Dover facebook fan page for the trail (with 108 fans). The Sustainability Coordinator promoted numerous events this month through facebook, as well as traditional media.

The Planning Director and Sustainability Coordinator co-organized and promoted a community open house for Dover residents to provide input on sustainable development in the City during a special U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presentation on June 6. The presentation was the first phase of federally funded technical assistance the City of Dover received from the EPA through a Building Blocks grant, and was followed by a full-day work session involving City staff, including Department heads and the City cross-department Green Team members, and City volunteers from the Planning Board and Dover Energy Advisory Committee. A summary report from the EPA is expected within the next 1-2 month(s).

The Sustainability Coordinator has created a sustainability resource information webpage for Dover residents as part of the Sustainable Dover initiative. Residents seeking to reduce their personal environmental impact, and/or make home efficiency improvements can find a host of resources that cater specifically to action at the individual or residential level. The goal was to create a place for residents to find local and relevant sustainability information, for a user-friendly experience and to provide comprehensive information sources together on one web page. The page offers links to information on energy efficiency, fossil fuel use reduction, local food, public transit and other green travel options including bike route information, the city recycling program, residential composting, zero waste, permaculture, and sustainable landscaping.

The Sustainability Coordinator created a “Recent News” page on the City website to provide direct access to up-to-date information on the City’s sustainability efforts. The page provides links to all the news stories released this year by the City Media Coordinator related to sustainability, furthering the positive public image the promotion of these activities offer for the City.

The Director of Planning and Community Development worked with the Media Access Coordinator to produce Video Dover Download segments for 5 topics relating to planning issues in Dover. The topics were: Commute Green Week, land use regulation amendments, The Sustainable Dover initiative, an update on the Open Space master plan work.

Attend workshops and participate in other education opportunities to further continuing professional development.

The Director of Planning and Community Development was selected to present at the New Hampshire Planners Association annual conference on the City of Dover’s sustainability efforts. This conference occured in June, and the Sustainability Coordinator presented on behalf of the Department.

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 Sustainability Coordinator wrote a press release to inform the local public about the results of Dover’s participation in Commute Green week last month as the results were announced this week by the state program coordinator. The Sustainability Coordinator provided the updates for the City, including Woodman Park’s school event participation, to the media.

Support local businesses to aid in the community’s economic growth by working in conjunction with local economic development groups and business organizations.

The Department of Planning and Community Development met with local developers and business/property owners to discuss ways to create innovative and progressive regulations that do not discourage development or create a burden to economic growth.

The Sustainability Coordinator has set up meetings with numerous City residents who own or work for local businesses offering innovative green products and services to draw expertise to assist the City in becoming more sustainable. They are invited to become volunteers for the Energy Advisory Committee, the public advisory body for the sustainability program in Dover. Funding is available through the Eco-Ads program to make City CIP funded purchases as sustainable as possible, such as providing the difference in funds in purchasing a fuel-efficient fleet vehicle instead of an inefficient vehicle. It could also pay for alternative energy projects.

Complete the implementation of the ongoing energy efficiency improvements and provide periodic reports of energy savings.

The Department of Planning and Community Development hosted the EPA for a day of technical assistance on for June 7th, 2011. The EPA staff and consultants met with City staff and volunteers to perform the start of the energy audit of the City’s code.

The Department of Planning met with the Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) regarding the federally funded Energy & Technical Assistance program. The Sustainability Coordinator reviewed an initial draft of the Master Plan review by SRPC to identify areas where sustainability improvements can be made.

The air conditioning units for the server room were commissioned in late May. The City is waiting confirmation that Ewing Electric completed their punch list from the electrical inspector before the servers can be moved upstairs.

The Calgon system was delivered to the Waste Water Treatment Plant. Dean Peschel was informed by New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services that the Environmental Protection Agency is going to be monitoring our ARRA project at the Waste Water Treatment Plant for Federal compliance.

GENERAL DEPARTMENT UPDATES:

FOCUS/GOALS:

The Director of Planning and Community Development worked with the committee created by the City Council to review redistricting options created by the final numbers of the 2010 Census. The Director reviewed population by ward and developed recommended options for the Committee to review. Ultimately, the Committee presented its recommended ward redistricting to the City Council on June 22. The Council proceeded to authorize the City Manager to forward the proper materials to the State of New Hampshire for legal review prior to placing the redistricting plan on the November ballot for approval as a change to the Charter.

The Sustainability Coordinator worked with the City legal department to draft a resolution that will go to Council this summer to endorse the Natural Step for Communities framework and designate Dover as a community striving to become an Eco-Municipality. This framework is utilized across the globe by communities to guide municipal and business organizations to utilize a triple bottom line approach- incorporating social, economic and financial considerations in decision-making and has been endorsed by the Dover Energy Advisory Committee.

DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION & ENHANCEMENTS

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:
• Newington Dover bridge
• The Village at Thornwood Commons
• Gladiola Way
• Cedar Cove
• Cornerstone Crossing
• Bill Dube Ford/Toyota

Planning staff continues to assist the legal office with preparing pleadings and background information regarding the rezoning of Arch Street. Staff also assisted the legal office with reviews relative to the annual Great Bay Music Festival off Bay view Drive that occurs in August.

Planning staff worked with the Economic Development Director to draft a Request for Proposals to develop four parking lots located in the urban core. Planning staff reviewed the historic uses of the lots as well as abutting uses. Finally, Planning staff reviewed the RFP and RFQ used by the City for the River Street project to identify common elements and learn from the process to perfect the process for the infill RFP.

The Director of Planning and Community Development worked with the General Legal Counsel and the City Clerk to review and layout the process for reviewing the ward populations for proper distribution.

Planning staff worked with land owners of property at the following locations on development or redevelopment opportunities:
• Sixth Street, between Indian Brook Drive and Venture Drive
• Technical Review for intersection of Sixth Street and Indian Brook Drive
• 46 Arch Street
• Appaloosa Drive
• Basils Place
• Long Hill Road residential property
• The Village at Bellamy Commons
• Windbrook subdivision off Tolend Rd.
• Beacon Circle
• Pedestrian Bridge relocation
• 36 Dover Point Road

Parking System Update - Reader Request

2011-07-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I asked readers of this blog, followers on Twitter and Facebook for planning related topics they would like to see covered in this blog. I received a few entries in the request column. Today I am going to cover one such topic: the parking meter program.

Background
By way of starting, I'd like to give some background to this program. In 2005, the City worked with Rizzo and Associates to create the Downtown Parking Circulation Study, which reviewed the direction and flow of travel in downtown Dover. One portion of this project was a review of parking. This report was followed in 2007 by the Lansing Melbourne Downtown Parking Facility and Management Study. The next year, an ad hoc committee was created by the City Council to review options and it developed the recommendation that the City Council supported, which said that no tax dollars should be used to pay for a parking facility.

To that end it was determined that parking meters would derive the revenue required to fund a parking facility, and the overall management program, which includes the Parking Manager, enforcement staff and associated administrative support.

Progress
Whew. What does that all mean? Well, since that recommendation was approved, the Planning and Police Department worked with the ad hoc committee, and a newly created Parking Commission to review, develop and roll out a Parking Meter program. This program started with a pilot installation along Henry Law Avenue, and the Belknap and Orchard Street Parking lots.

This pilot was successful. The success was twofold, it allowed staff and the Commission to review the parking meters in use, and also allowed us to take parking lots, which had meters in them, and try a master meter concept. It allowed adjustments and observations (space between meters to be convenient, and where dead zones were) to be made. If you have not used the meters they are spread out every 10-12 spaces where you pay for the time you want to park, and then display a ticket in your window. You have the ability to park anywhere in the parking district (downtown), with the one ticket. Move your car or keep it in place for the time on the ticket, it isn't tied to a space.

After the pilot program was expanded to the second phase, last year, which included areas on Central Avenue, and parking lots throughout the downtown. Included in this phase was the introduction of parking tokens, which allow users to purchase time on the meter at a lower cost than regular fees.

Also at that time, a closer eye was paid to the problem of shuffling. For a number of years, the City had time restricted parking, even when no fee was charged to park. For example on Central Avenue, there was a 2 hour limit. What occurred was that employees of a business parked on street, and then forced customers to find alternate locations to park that was not as convenient to the business they hoped to visit. The employees would "shuffle" their cars all day long, instead of parking in a long term lot. With the advent of the pay and display roll out, it became clearer who the shufflers were.

Finally, earlier this year phase three was implemented for the program. This phase is located along lower Central Avenue, around City Hall, and on side streets downtown that had not been covered previously. Also, included at this point, after public comment and feedback was a provision to allow for free parking if a car was parked under 15 minutes to allow those quick purchases to occur, as well as shifting the hours of operation from 8 am - 6 pm to 9 am to 7 pm.

Findings
So, is the program successful? From discussions with Bill Simons, the Parking Manager, the answer may be yes. Bill correctly points out that the revenue for this year, is not complete and will fluctuate, but overall expectations are being met. Bill was good enough to review income history and found that revenue from the meters has covered the bond payment for the meters, and that he expects revenue for the year to exceed $250,000 for the total parking program (meters and permit, minus credit card admin fees). This does not include revenue from fines and enforcement, which continues to be accounted.

Regarding the shuffling, which was a larger problem than one might have realized, Bill reports that shuffling has been virtually eliminated. The Police Department observations, as well as input from business owners, indicate that almost every space on the central corridor is being used by visitors and customers. This means that employees and business owners have moved to surface lots and other locations, and in some cases are walking to work, which leaves the spaces on street for customers, visitors or short term parking.

Conclusion
So, coming back to the original query from the reader, "How's the meter program going, is it even paying for itself?"I think an honest answer is that it is too soon to tell. That's not a satisfying answer though. From a planning perspective the program is successful because it is assisting in the turnover of parking spaces, which allows customers better access to the businesses they are trying to reach. Also, I think the public interaction and community reaction has been a success. It is good to see the Parking Commission and staff work with residents to improve the program (tokens, free fifteen minutes, adjusting hours, parking holidays), and it is good to see that as with any change, there has been reaction at first, but it seems to be a situation where people are adjusting.

Also from a planning perspective, we are seeing increased ridership on the COAST buses and the FastTrans program, which is the intra city bus we operate out of the transportation center. This may or may not be attributed to people wanting to not park downtown, and seeing the value of mass transit. Also, in my case, I am trying to walk more downtown, and live close enough I can. I think with gas prices what they are, others are doing this as well.

Is it paying for itself? Also, a tough thing to answer. Short answer is that it appears to be, but I think this is really where you have to make a judgment and extrapolate an answer, and I am not in the proper place to do that. We don’t have enough information, and I’d feel irresponsible to make a reactive declaration of success without all the info. I think the numbers reflect that it might be on track, but I want to see more than six months of full revenue in place, over different seasons, to declare a financial success. Then again, if the program income did pay the bond payment to date, then I guess it is paying for itself.

Next, please
So, that is the answer to the first suggested topic. From here I am going to move on, in August to another topic. I like the idea of responding to planning topic requests, so please feel free to send topics along, and as always, enjoy the summer.

Home Grown Permaculture

2011-07-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

You may recall that in May the City hosted a pair of classes on Permaculture. Permaculture is loosely defined as the act of designing the use of your property to ensure cohesiveness with the environment. In other words, work with the land and not against it.

The gentleman who taught the class is a first rate human and planner. I respect him very much and have learned a lot from his knowledge and friendship. After the class, I was raving about what I had learned and how I wanted to implement some of the ideas on my own property. His advise was to slow down, be patient and learn about my land before running forward.

This past Saturday, I had the fortune of being invited to his house and checking out the work and improvements he has personally made. All I can say is that it was awesome. Steve and his wife are able to straddle the line between being environmental and being practical. He has solar tubes on the front of the house to heat hot water, and he has other elements of environmentalism (a composting toilet or two), but is not overboard.

On the way up, my son said that he was looking forward to meeting my earthy friend, and then proceeded to presume that there would be no TV or computer or any sort've similar luxuries. I explained that was not the case, but he didn't believe me until he saw it.

We got a tour of the house, the greenhouse, the gardens and the outbuilding that they use as an office, but could easily be a spare room. It was a great experience to see knowledge and theory put into action.

The way the earth has been used is very conducive to promoting a healthy relationship between man and environment. To the main stream viewer the way the property looks or feels might be awkward. Grass is not encouraged in permaculutre, and in its place would be gardens or wild use of the land, which is more inline with wildlife that might use the land for productive purposes (bees, birds etc).

My wife and I went into the trip with a blank slate. We wanted to see how we can use our lot holistically. We wanted to learn about how to place a garage, properly and how it can multi-task. We wanted to see that you can build a greenhouse that also serves as a chicken coop and as a shed. Steve's also has a tree house element to it, which was a lot of fun.

Life is about learning and evolution. This trip was great because it helped us with both. I am looking forward to evaluating our piece of the world and reviewing opportunities and ways we can grow with the land and evolve with it.

Summertime Goings On

2011-07-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

So, here we are deep into Summer 2011. If we were in elementary or secondary school we might argue it just began, but I think for adults more and more the lines of summertime blur and extend. So, in my mind we are deep in the summer. It is the All Star Break for the baseball season, so it must be the middle of summer.

I was thinking last night about summer projects. One I really want to tackle this summer is scanning documents and cleaning up some files and paperwork in the office. I know this has been on the back burner for what feels like eons. It is an ongoing battle to review and reduce the amount of paper we have in the office. Even better if we can weed out extraneous stuff and then scan it and make it available to the public via the internet and save us all time.

Another project is the Capital Improvements Program. There are two elements to this, one regrouping and redefining the 2013-2018 plan for presentation to the Planning Board and City Council in the fall. The second element is using the web to track progress on the FY 2012 projects as they get underway this year. I need to pin down some specifics on how we will do this.

A third project is the ever present review of zoning and land use regulations. A month ago we had a meeting with consultants from the Environmental Protection Agency, and their consultants who were retained to perform an audit of our regulations. They suggested areas we can look to make changes to encourage sustainability. I will be looking over these recommendations and bring them forward to the Planning Board towards the end of the summer.

Catching up is another "always on the list" task. In this case I need to catch up on some reading of journals and trends. Additionally, we need to review some procedures for the CDBG program and for the way we investigate code complaints.

A summer project is to determine where some of the sustainability programs we started in the winter will go now that we no longer have a Sustainability Coordinator. As I mentioned last month, we did not have funding in the, now, current budget to keep that position in play. I will be reviewing the tasks and programming started and evaluating how we can maintain some if not all of them.

So, that's my summer to be. Oh, that and one more project. To use this blog to answer some questions about why areas are zoned, and to also update people on existing programs, such as the Fast Trans, and Pay N Display parking program. For that last item, I will be bringing Bill Simmons from the Police Department in for an interview, as Bill is the Parking Manager for the City.

Imprints

2011-06-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have said, before, that I started out as an intern with the City. Since then I morphed into other roles, as a paid employee. Over the years I have seen my fair share of interns come and go. I always compare them to my perception of how I did (perfect, of course).

This week is the last week (hopefully for now), of employment with the City for our Sustainability Coordinator, Michele Alexander. Michele is a bright, enthusiastic, smart person who honestly wants to serve the public interest. Michele is leaving because the funding for her position runs out on June 30th. We haven't been able to secure funding through grants, and the general fund could not sustain the position when comparing it with others that we have within the municipal corporation.

Michele started out as an intern. She came to me while finishing her Master's in Public Administration at UNH. One thing early on that stood out with Michele was her intelligence and maturity. She is older than many of our past interns, so comparing maturity is not fair, but really is life? Michele brought the ability to reason, and to question with logic. She has been willing to pitch in and grow in the organization and truly has accomplished both.

Michele's first task was to work with staff to document tasks we have and how we complete them. I am a systems thinker and I like the idea of developing standard operating procedures. Michele took that bull and ran with it. She interviewed the employees and sat down and came up with bullet point based project/task steps. These will continue to be useful in the future as they help define what is expected when we process a development application or draft a letter.

The next project Michele worked on was to develop a work plan template. This project encouraged the department to think about projects before they get beyond the proposal stage. In other words, with the work plan template, when a project gets suggested, we can use the model and fill in questions regarding funding needs, and availability, also we can look for connections to the Master Plan and decide what key resources are required. In the end myself and others can then review the project request and decide if we have the time and other resources to complete the project in the best manner possible.

Finally, as an intern, Michele worked to rehab the Community Trail. She saw the need to champion that project and pulled various resources together last summer to develop the work plan for the trail and then gather outside resources to conduct clean up events, organize the grand opening and perform other tasks that helped move that project on.

So, that's that. Her intern career in a nutshell. From September to November Michele hung around as a volunteer. In November, I found some money to fund a sustainability coordinator position and she jumped at the chance to hang around more, much to our luck.

As an intern and as an employee she has stood out. She will go further than the rest of us, if she wants to. I have said a few times to her, that I expect one day to open up a planning journal or magazine and read about something she is doing or perfecting. I can't wait for that time.

I can fill the rest of this blog entry with useless skills and meandering that interns have brought to us, or I could talk about how I had to fire one once (it is a good story, so I'll save it for another blog entry). Instead I'll leave you with this: at the start I said that I have judged interns by my perception if how I did. No longer, now I can judge them by Michele's imprint.

That is pretty cool.

Redistricting II

2011-06-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Last night, the City Council was presented the work completed by the ward redistricting committee. This committee was made up of the Mayor, Councilor Nedelka, State Representative Watters, myself and the City Clerk. We met over the past month and reviewed the opportunities we had to ensure that the ward populations were as even and balanced as possible. This ensures as close to possible a one person, one vote equation.

With this blog entry, I hope to describe the proposed charter change that the public may have the opportunity to vote on (if all goes well with the Attorney General's office, and a public hearing). To summarize, after the 2010 census data was received, we broke that data down to identify the population of each ward.

According to documentation from the Attorney General's office the ward populations need to all be within a range (approximately 4800 to 5100 residents). The ranges for the existing wards was between 4535 and 5775. As it turned out wards 5 & 6 had a population above the range and wards 1 and 2 have populations well below the range. Ward 3's population is on the border, and ward 4 was right on the money.

The shifting of population is such that Ward 1 gains from ward 6, and gives to ward 2. Ward 2 receives from ward 1 and ward 5, and gives to ward 3. Ward 3 takes from ward 2. Wards 5 and 6 give and do not receive, and ward 4 stays the same.

Huh?

OK, here it is in detail.

Ward 6 to Ward 1
Nutshell
Currently there is a boundary between wards 6 and 1 running approximately along Horne Street, and also along a portion of Glenwood Avenue. Under the proposal being considered, the boundary shifts from approximately Horne Street to the Spaulding Turnpike. The boundary along Glenwood Avenue will now stretch for almost the whole length of the road.

Area Boundaries
The area to be adjusted, containing 785 residents, will be between the Cochecho River, Glenwood Avenue, Horne Street, and the Spaulding Turnpike. This area includes parts of Hough Street, Hull Avenue, Hillside Drive, Redding Street, Whittier Street and other streets in the area.

Ward 1 to Ward 2
Nutshell
Currently there is a boundary between wards 1 and 2 running approximately along Washington Street, between Central Avenue and Belknap Street. Under the proposal being considered, the boundary shifts from approximately just behind Washington Street to the Cochecho River.

Area Boundaries
The area to be adjusted, containing 356 residents, will be between the Cochecho River, St Thonmas Street, Belknap Street, and Chestnut Street. This area includes parts of Atkinson and Belknap, St Thomas Streets and other streets in the area.

Ward 5 to Ward 2
Nutshell
Currently there is a boundary between wards 5 and 2 running approximately along Arch Street, between Washington and Silver St. additionally, Rutland Street and Fisher Street are border areas.

Area Boundaries
The area to be adjusted, containing 448 residents, will be between the B & M Railroad line, the Spaulding Turnpike, Central Avenue, Locust Street and the Fisher Street, Rutland Street area around Woodman Park. This area includes parts of Towell Avenue, Parker Street, and other streets in the area.

Ward 2 to Ward 3
Nutshell
Currently there is a boundary between wards 2 and 3 starting at the intersection of Summer Street and Locust Street, crossing Central Avenue to Union Street, and running approximately to Court Street.

Area Boundaries
The area to be adjusted, containing 264 residents, will be along Silver Street, Elm Street, Locust Street and Union Street. The area between Union Street and Central Avenue towards the intersection with Court Street will now be in ward 3.This area includes parts of Locust Street, Summer Street, and other streets in the area.

Next Steps
So that's where we are right now, we have the full presentation given to the Council online, and will be creating more detailed maps in the coming weeks, after the Attorney General's office gives us the go ahead that the measure can be placed on the ballot as a charter change in November.

Before the measure is voted on, there are a few steps. For one thing, on or about July 11 the City Clerk will deliver the proposal to the Attorney General/ Secretary of State. At that point the State officials will review the proposal and ensure that is lawful and can be voted on.

After the State confirms that the proposal passes the lawfulness test, the City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposal and vote whether or not to add the charter change proposal to the City's November 8th municipal election ballot.

Should the public vote to enact the charter change, the wards would remain as they are today until June of 2012. This will allow time for outreach and education to those who are shifting wards. Also, it will occur after the Presidential Primary in 2012.

One last word of note, those Councilors elected in November will be able to serve their term no matter if they live in an area that is moved from one ward to another. In other words, if a council candidate from Whittier Street wins the ward 6 election, as that person is currently in Ward 6, and the public votes to adjust the ward boundaries, the new councilor will serve out their term rep[resenting ward 6, and in the November 2013 election that person would be running for Council in Ward 1.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to ask them.

Zoning Primer

2011-06-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

So, I asked yesterday what people might be interested in seeing as blog topics. The first comment I got was a suggestion that I discuss why various areas of the City are zoned various ways. This is a great idea, and I will do maybe an extra blog a week focusing on areas/neighborhoods around the City and cover the history and development of the land uses in that area.

In preparation for these blog entries, I thought I'd give an overview of zoning in Dover. Zoning as a land use tool has been in prevalence in the United States since the early 1920s. In Dover the tool was first adopted in 1948. Prior to that set of regulations there was very little guidance for land use development in the City.

The first zoning leaflet, yes it is pretty simple, defined different zones, or areas of land use, as well as outlined the uses and restrictions for these areas. Overtime things evolve, and the same occurred in Dover. Sometimes there have been tweaks, sometimes there have been wholesale overhauls.

The first overhaul was in the early 1960s. In 1964, the map was redrawn and new districts were created to be more refined in their differences in housing types and commercial areas. We begin to see the neighborhood commercial areas, such as the area along Central Avenue, opposite the Pine Hill Cemetery, the area along Dover Point, along the west side of the Spaulding, and other commercial nodes develop.

In 1967 a revision, which I am on the fence about it either being a tweak or a substantial change, occurred where the densities were reviewed. My guess is that this was a reaction to the building boom that occurred after World Ward II and the development of the Pease Air Force Base. The Country was shifting at that point into a very strong single family home mentality, and a move was made to lessen density and remove the ability to have a two family unit in every residential district.

The 1970s saw some tweaks and some proposed changes that never came about, but ended with a (zoning) bang. 1979 is seen as the watershed year for zoning amendments in Dover. The whole zoning code was reviewed, section by section, and revamped. Some sections changed subtly and others were stricken totally. The order of the chapter was adjusted and many changes occurred on the zoning map as well. Most significantly was the removal of the agriculture district. What we now see as the rural residential district took its place. Also, at this time we get many of the zoning district names we now use.

Again the 1980s saw some tweaks and adjustments. The 1990s saw upgrades to the commercial districts, and further definition of what type of non-residential growth the community saw it self developing. The area off upper Sixth Street was rezoned in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The 1990s started off the same with some tweaks.

In 1998 the City finalized an update the land use chapter of our Master Plan, and this generated some discussion for changes in 2000 and 2002. In fact the amendments in 2002 were as comprehensive as those in 1979. This was the first zoning process I was involved with and I recall many meetings to review our options for rezoning areas as well as updating the code and refining areas. Overall over 40 proposed amendments were enacted in the early aughts.

In 2004, in what was considered a tweak, the City clarified that agriculture was not only allowed in many residential districts, but should be allowed in some of the commercial/industrial districts. From 2004 forward there has been more land where agricultural uses are allowed than prior to 1979.

In 2008, after another update to the land use chapter, the process began anew. This time we took a look at the code from three angles. We wanted to embrace a more mixed use culture in land use, and looked to loosen up the segregation of uses that zoning typically adheres to. Also, we wanted to review the four zones that existed in the downtown area. The result was the development of the form based code based current central business district. The final angle was to look at the code from a user standpoint and look for areas we could slim down and make more accessible to the end user. We removed 17 pages of text from the code, and adjusted the format to be more readable and accessible.

Finally, in 2009 we began the process we still follow of reaching out to the public at quarterly public hearings, and to the various land use boards annually, to seek advice and suggestions of areas that we might consider for review. The Planning Board then prioritizes those areas and we review them over the first portion of the year and seek for adoption over the latter portion of the year.

So, that in a nutshell is zoning in Dover. As I said, over the coming weeks, I will expound on areas of the City and give an overview of changes and be more detailed. I think this will be fun and interesting. I hope you agree.

A Year In

2011-06-21T04:24:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about the use of social media and planning, or government for that matter. Have I found value in it? I've been doing a Facebook page, this blog and our twitter account for a year or so, I'm not counting.

Are they valuable? I am not sure. I enjoy the opportunity to get information out, and to have a venue, where I can hope to pass information along, and hopefully engage the public to participate more in planning in Dover. Does that happen? I am sure that some study exists to tell me yes, and another to tell me no.

Locally, I know that the twitter and Facebook followers are up. Here in Dover, the Library is the only other department with a Facebook page. They also blog and have a twitter account. We use the tools very differently. I tend to use them more as here's some info, digest it and use it as you will. The Library tends to be a bit more interactive. Their blog site seeks input on books and book reviews. They also use it to pass information (hours, programs etc) to the reading public (figuratively and literally, I suppose).

I am amazed that more Planning offices don't use this tool. It is not overly complicated, and as long as you budget time for it, and stay on it, I think that it doesn't add any more time to my day or week.

I take a systematic approach to it and plan the entries out, as much as I can. I think that like going to gym or eating healthy (both things I am working on), you have to make, and not find, the time to pursue social media. In some ways this is similar to traditional media.

Beginning in January, I told my staff that on average we were going to produce one press release a week. This could be a success we had, or it could be a project or program we are planning. Everyone has to take part in this and help move the ball forward.

I use these press releases to help create posts for the Dover Download, video and email, as well as social media topics. This way we don't lose site of traditional media as we work to use social media outlets.

My wife asked me two questions about twitter the other day, she asked how I compare it to email and how it compares to Facebook.

Regarding email, it seems to me they should be similar, but I find email is much more prevalent. I think that people like the length and like the privacy of sending an email directly, I think people aren't convinced they can say enough in 140 characters. One thing I find is that if I get a question emailed to me, that has an answer which many people should know the answer to, I will use twitter to send a general answer out.

Regarding Facebook, I think twitter is the more appropriate avenue for non-personal updates. Facebook has the fan pages and the like, but it seems that more people follow me on twitter, and more people interact with our information on twitter. Maybe I don't do a good job using twitter to drive folks to the Facebook page.

Anyway, it's an evolution. It is also a comfort level. Just like everything else, there are things we are comfortable with, and the traditional is always more comfortable than the new and unknown. It is good to challenge ourselves and push to try things. Which is why I am going to try and find ways to be more interactive on the social media outlets.

First challenge, is to readers. Is there a planning topic, I should cover or you are interested in? Let me know. Feel free to tweet it, post to our Facebook page, or email it to me (c.parker@dover.nh.gov).

Anniversaries

2011-06-20T04:25:00.000-07:00

Anniversaries are one of those things, you either recall or don't think about at all (insert bad married man joke). June 1st, I had two anniversaries, per say. I actually planned on writing this blog entry around then, but had some things arise, so please enjoy this slightly late missive.

Back in 1997 I began my affiliation with the City on June 1, as an intern with the Planning Department. Ten years later I was promoted to Director of the department on that date.

In 1997, I was graduating college. I had a bachelor's degree in American Studies (social history), and Political Science. I had interned at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, for then Secretary Henry Cisneros. I review the various successes of a program known as Empowerment Zones. These were economic development and housing initiatives. After a few months, I knew the Federal government was not for me, and thought about a more local government career.

For my American Studies degree, I had to complete a final paper/project that would now be called a capstone project. For this project I elected to document the waterfront redevelopment progress here in Dover, at that time.

For that process I first visited this office, and met with then Planning Director, Steve Stancel. In March of 1997, I contacted Stancel and offered my services as an intern for the summer. My plan at the time was to try planning, as an intern, and then decide where I'd do my graduate work. June 1, I stated my internship.

A year later, I became a full time employee in the Community Services Department operating the City's Geographic Information System. During that time, I went to grad school while working full time and starting a family. Looking back I am shocked my wife put up with it. Glad, but shocked.

In 2002, I transferred back to the Planning Department and five years later, when Mr. Stancel moved on, I moved up, on June 1, 2007.

So, on June 1 2011, I was a bit reflective. It is always a fun and dangerous exercise to think about where we are and what is going on in our lives. Some things are a lot different, and others are not so much. Many of the people in the department were here in 1997. Of course, there were drafting tables and large map cases, and now we use computers and smaller tables/desks for everything.

My workspace has moved 6 times in that 14 years. In fact, I think the office I am in now, might be tied for the one I have had the longest. I shared space three times, and I don't mean cubicle space, but two people in one office.

Best projects, are good things to think about. The first project I worked on as an intern, always stands out. The City had just completed the Alder Lane project, off Glenwood Avenue. This project was a relocation of homes and then via lottery bringing those houses to low income owners. I remember moving the appliances in and doing some last minute work to help get the homes ready for their owners.

I am very grateful for the McConnell Center Project. It was rewarding personally and professionally. Best part of that was taking my mother in law, who like me, went to school in the McConnell Center, when it was a high school (Jr. high for me), and taking her through mid construction, and then again when it was complete, and seeing the building through her eyes.

The City drafting and adopting the State's first form based code for downtown development has been very cool. It was challenging and rewarding, and has continued to be so. Tied to this was a project where we cleaned up the code. I used the theory that you shouldn't need a Master's in Planning or a land use law background to read the land use code, so we chopped and culled deadwood out of the ordinance and made it more reader/end user friendly.

To be fair, the tit for tat, of the successes have been some follies. In 2000 I remember documenting a water main break off Littleworth Road. Not sure why I was there, but I got too close to the edge of the work area, and tumbled into the muck and hole. I got ribbing for that from the crew for a while. I did, in my defense, save the digital camera (this big hulking camera) from getting damaged.

Second one, was having to go to Waste Management (maybe 2003), and dig through the recycling, because some files had been placed too close to the recycling bin and the janitor had collected and recycled the files. Four of us went to dig through the bags and bins at the Rochester land fill and eventually we found everything.

There has been a lot more (good and bad), but I'd rather focus on where we are going. I am looking forward to another 17 years or so (I want an even 30). We'll see where things go, and hope that they are well planned no matter where we head.

Ward Redistricting

2011-05-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

Do you know where your ward boundary is? I suspect not. It isn't something that you pay attention to. You know your ward, and you know who your Councilor is, and you know where to vote. That is the important tri-fecta, but where the ward boundary is? Why would you need to know that?

I can think of a few reasons, but that said, I understand and don't think many people, other than those running for Council, worry about the size of their ward. Now comes that time when we all find out where the boundaries are. After every decennial census we are mandated by law and statutes to review and adjust ward, and for that matter state and federal districts are reviewed and adjusted as well. The goal is to get as close to one person one vote representation.

The one vote one resident concept is a hall mark of representative governing. On the local level we have to adjust the ward boundaries to ensure that each one is within 1 percent population of each other ward. This works out to a swing of less than 300 resident difference in each ward.

There are six wards in the City, and this won't be affected by the changes that will be proposed. The wards are intended to be bounded by natural boundaries (rivers etc) and definitive physical barriers (roadways, and the railroad). Currently the ward populations range from approximately 4500 residents in wards 1 and 2 to over 5500 residents in wards 5 and 6.

In my mind, wards 5 and 6 will be viewed as donor wards, shifting population to wards 1 and 2. This will ensure that the residents of wards 5 and 6 receive the representation they are intended to, closer to 1 to 1, than the current set up.

It makes sense that wards 5 and 6 have the highest population, as they have had the largest land areas developed in the past ten years. If you look at the census data is correlates accurately to the development trends we've witnessed in Dover and also with the amount of available developable land.

I started with the City June 1, 1997. Fourteen (14) years tomorrow, which is astonishing to me, in many ways. I know I have thiner in hair, and a thicker middle, but what I find funny is that I am at that point of scratching my head about projects and the way we've done them before. According to the minutes from the meetings in the summer of 2001, I was involved with the last ward adjustments.

I recall basics about that effort. I recall coming up with the population numbers and running the calculations to see what the 1 percent number for populations should be. I recall discussing how not to split neighborhoods up, but mostly I recall learning the lesson that you need to avoid politics from the process and get back to the core natural and physical boundaries, and one vote one person.

On May 25th, the Mayor appointed a committee for this year's redistricting, and I am the only one who was involved 10 years ago. That makes me feel old. I was in a different role at that time, and as with most experiences, this will be a much different project and have different outcomes; how can it not with different players involved, and a different climate involved.

I am looking forward to the process, and project. I like puzzles and like the idea of systematically working through the project to ensure that we are all fairly represented. I find it ironic that my ward, 5, will be one where population needs to be shifted the most. Not quite sure how things will work out, but none the less it will work itself out.

I am looking forward to the outcome and will use the blog as a way to update us all on progress, and when we present the group's recommendation to the City Council in a month, we can sit back and enjoy the next step of working to get a charter amendment before the public discussing changes that need to take place, and I'll go over that step then.

Until then, enjoy the heat and I hope you can relax and enjoy the coming summer.

A Diverse Week of Planning Activities

2011-05-23T04:29:00.000-07:00

Last week was a great week to work for the Planning Department. We tend to have our fingers in more than a few activities going on in the community, whether we are overt or covert about it is another thing.

Last week was one of those weeks, when I'd say to my sweet wife, I'm doing this today, or today I met with X and she'd say really how is that Planning? I get that a lot. People don't always see the connections, which I think is cool, because when you point them out they tend to make a lot of things clearer.

The diversity of my position and department is one of the strong appeals to me. It keeps things light and keeps the stress level constant (high, but constant). I've got a great group of people working for me and one reason they are great is that they are always looking for things to do, and projects to benefit the residents.

Last week those projects included a permaculture class, green commute week, with free breakfast on Friday and the Cochecho River Field Day/Clean up Day. Also we participated in Commute Green Week with a local project. These are atop regular meet with residents/property owners etc that we do daily, and atop zoning administration and enforcement.

The Permaculture class was interesting, informative and out of a comfort zone that I think many of us appreciate. The idea behind permaculture is that we should think about development (whether your backyard, your neighborhood, or your community) as it incorporates into nature, and not as a replacement for the environment around it. The class was 12 people and was a good and interesting bunch of people. It reminded me of graduate school where you are focused on a topic and it can be more investing than undergraduate classes were (just saying for me at least).

The Commute Green week was an outgrowth of an event designed to encourage people to travel by bike. The goal of the week is to inform the public about the benefits of carpooling, walking, biking, or taking transit. We had great partners for the week, including Adelle's coffee shop, C & J, COAST, Holey Rosary Credit Union, and New Hampshire Coffee Roasters. According to http://commutegreennh.org, over 48,000 vehicle miles were saved last week in NH, by commuting.

We saw almost 50 people stop into the transportation center on Chestnut Street between 6 am and 10 am. I got to pretend I was a barista (or barrister as auto spell check suggests), and serve coffee (not very well, I forgot sugar - we got some, and stir sticks. It was great to chat with the people who commute everyday. The pastries were a success and the interactions with the Station Hosts were the best part.

The Station Hosts are a great group of individuals who volunteer their time to come and meet the train when it is in Dover. The hosts open the transportation center a half hour prior to the arrival of the train and help people with the quick track ticket machine. While they might be there for the train, they are also quite aware and educated about the COAST, Wildcat and FastTrans systems in place as well. Their service really benefits the community as a whole.

Saturday was the clean up day. This event is great. It allows three areas we are working on to come together. The Community Trail, conservation efforts, and sustainability efforts, all come together with the assistance of Great Bay Trout Unlimited, the City and Measured Progress.

Trout Unlimited and Measured Progress have been tremendous partners and community members. Their assistance, leadership and efforts have made Dover a better community, and made it easier for many projects to get completed along the rural portion of the community trail. If you haven't been down to that end, please check the trail, starting at Watson Rd. Speaking of Watson Rd, starting in June work will commence on the trailhead/parking lot off Watson Road. This will make it easier to visit the trail. Not only easier, but I should add, safer.

One last item, I began week four of walking to work. Its been successful and enjoyable. If you can try it, I encourage you to do so. Its worth the time and effort.

OK, one more last item, if you listen to podcasts, check out How to do Everything, a whimsical cast about doing very odd and different tasks (how to catch a fish with your hand etc...).

The 2011 Commute Green New Hampshire Challenge

2011-05-16T06:03:00.000-07:00

Beginning today, May 16, the City of Dover is taking part in the 2011 Commute Green New Hampshire Challenge. This challenge looks to push us to walk, bike, carpool, take transit (bus, train, FasTrans), basically do whatever we can not to commute in a single occupancy vehicle.

The City has formed a team, and has invited volunteers and staff to participate in our team, as we look to lower our carbon footprint, and encourage multi-modal transit in the City. As part of the challenge we are encouraging participants to come to the Dover Transportation Center on Friday, May 20th, to partake in free coffee and breakfast. The coffee has been donated by NH Coffee Roasters and the breakfast by Holy Rosary Credit Union.

C & J Bus lines is participating at both their Dover and Portsmouth locations. They will have coffee and donuts for commuters every day this week to celebrate and encourage commuting.

That's great that we are doing all this, but what is Commute Green New Hampshire?

Commute Green New Hampshire is the annual promotion which encourages commuters to choose healthier and more environmentally-friendly transportation options. It doesn't matter if you are commuting to work, school, shopping or run of the mill trips. If you make the trip, make it green.

According to Commute Green's web site:
· U.S. families spend about $9,000 a year on transportation costs.
· More than 22 percent of all motor vehicle trips Americans take are less than one mile in length, and 50 percent of the working population commutes five miles or less to work.
· One car emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon of gasoline it uses, but each New Hampshire resident can reduce the equivalent of about taking two cars a year off the road just by carpooling, bicycling, walking or using public transportation three days a week.

That is all impressive, but what is more impressive is how simple it is to make an effort to be more green and to commute with someone else, or using a healthier mode of transportation. It just takes a bit of pre-planning. I know not everyone can walk to work. I know some of you have a longer commute than my one mile (it is uphill both ways), and might not live near your co-workers, but maybe you can make a pact to meet at a park n ride in the middle with a coworker, and figure out a way to commute green part of the trip.

All I ask, and all that the project asks, is that you give it a try this week. Figure out a small way to be part of the challenge and we all will be better off for it.

April Turns to May

2011-05-09T04:03:00.000-07:00

Here we are once again, looking back on the month that was. I have to say I am constantly amazed at all the activity. When you consider the items I don't list here (day to day plan review - resident assistance), a lot is going on. Thanks go to my staff for helping out and keep our heads above water.

CITY MANAGER'S GOALS
4. 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 105 Facebook (City of Dover NH Planning) friends and 235 followers on Twitter @DoverNHPlanning).

During the month of April, three (3) Planning blog posts were drafted, including two discussing the American Planning Association’s national planning conference, which the Director of Planning and Community Development attended. The third entry summarized the March staff report.

The Director of Planning and Community Development lead a group of volunteers to do planting, raking, mulching and other clean up day activities on the lawn of City Hall as part of Dover Pride Clean Up day on April 30th.

The Department of Planning and Community Development, through the Sustainable Dover initiative, promoted the film Yert (Your Environmental Road Trip), at the Media Access Center in the McConnell Center through flyers posted, blog posting, facebook posts, promotion on Dover Download, press release distributed and posting the flyer of information on Channel 22.

The Department of Planning promoted the Dover Community Trail through the facebook fan page for the trail (with 241 fans), as well as a Sustainable Dover facebook fan page for the trail (with 85 fans). The Sustainability Coordinator lead a group of volunteers cleaning up the trail as part of Dover Pride Clean Up day on April 30th.

The Director of Planning and Community Development met with the Dover Listens group throughout the month to be part of the process in developing a more open and free discussion about issues and topics affecting the Dover community. While not a member of the Board, the Director does serve as an advisor for the group and hopes to attend their meetings to be a resource.

Finally, this month the Department of Planning and Community Development sent out 41 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.

8. Attend workshops and participate in other education opportunities to further continuing professional development.

In March, the Planning Department viewed three (3) web casts. The topics included encouraging public participation, ethics in planning, and what healthy communities need from a transportation network.

The Director of Planning and Community Development attended the American Planning Association’s national planning conference. The conference had three themes. The first was sustainability in community planning, the second was redeveloping a planning department to be more economically sustainable, and the third was ways to increase communications.

The Director of Planning and Community Development was selected to present at the New Hampshire Planners Association annual conference on the City of Dover’s sustainability efforts. This conference will occur in June.

9. 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 Department of Planning and Community Development also continued to work with School Department staff on the development of future Safe Routes to School grant applications. This program would enhance crosswalks, sidewalks and signage as well as educate students and parents on the value of walking to school.

10. Support local businesses to aid in the community’s economic growth by working in conjunction with local economic development groups and business organizations.

The Department of Planning and Community Development met with local developers and business/property owners to discuss ways to create innovative and progressive regulations that do not discourage development or create a burden to economic growth.

12. Complete the implementation of the ongoing energy efficiency improvements and provide periodic reports of energy savings.

Johnson Controls (JCI) work continued at the Ice Arena. The water tower was completed and is working well. The overflow tank for the old tower was removed from the chiller room and the transformers are scheduled for installation on May 31. Staff is still reviewing a requested change order for McConnell Center lighting. The City is asking for back up data from JCI.

The walk through inspection was conducted for the electrical sub-panel on the second floor for the server room electricity and air conditioning. The contractor has several changes to make on the system before all the server racks are brought upstairs due to power disruption in the room.

The Department of Planning and Community Development had its first meeting with the representatives for the EPA new sustainability initiatives grant, which the City received in March. This technical service grant, awarded to 32 out of over 350 applicants nationwide, will allow the City to review regulations to ensure that they are encouraging sustainable/green practices.

The Department of Planning and Community Development presented an opportunity to the City Council for the city to participate in CBS Broadcasting’s EcoAds program. This program allows communities to be selected by advertisers on CBS’ television stations. A portion of the advertising revenue is then used to fund sustainable capital projects in the community. Dover is the first community in New England to work with CBS on this innovative opportunity.

GENERAL DEPARTMENT UPDATES:

FOCUS/GOALS:

The Department of Planning and Community Development focused on finalizing the Community Development Block Grant Action plan. This plan outlines how the community intends to expend the block grant funds, which the City receives from the Federal government. These funds had been proposed at a seven (7) percent reduction by the President, and a sixty-two (62) percent reduction by the US House of Representatives. Ultimately, Dover’s funding level was fourteen (14) percent lower than the previous year. The Planning Board approved the plan submitted by staff on April 26.

The Department of Planning and Community Development, through the Sustainable Dover initiative, presented the film Yert (Your Environmental Road Trip), at the Media Access Center in the McConnell Center on April 15th. Over twenty (20) people attended the event. In addition to showing the film, there was a lively discussion about sustainability in Dover, the project goals for the Sustainability work, and future projects/activities to undertake.

The Master Plan committee formed to update the Conservation and Open Space chapter of the plan has met three times since it was formed in March. Chaired by Lee Skinner of the Planning Board, the seven member committee is comprised of citizen volunteers as well as representatives of the Conservation Commission and Open Lands Committee. The existing chapter, which was last updated in 2000, has been analyzed by the committee and a plan for updating the various sections has been formulated. The committee has extensively utilized the conservation land data from the recently completed Conservation Lands Audit prepared for the City by Kane & Ingraham. The committee will be conducting a field trip in May to tour some of the existing conservation properties. The committee meets on the 3rd Thursday of the month in the first floor conference room at 5:30 PM. The public is welcome to attend these meetings and become involved in the master planning process.

The Department of Planning and Community Development prepared a simple trail easement document and some plans for Community Trail members to present to Downeast Energy to negotiate the needed trail easement for that portion (Fourth St along the river) of the trail. Staff applied for a grant for engineering work to finalize the design for this trailhead. A list of issues has been prepared as part of the negotiations and will be worked on by the trail subcommittee and staff.

A Request for Proposals to construct the under-Cochecho bridge portion of the trail across the Spaulding turnpike right of way has been sent out, a pre –bid meeting was held by staff where questions were answered and corrections to the bid docs were made. An on-site meeting was held right after the city hall meeting. Proposals are due on Monday May 9th, with staff performing the analysis of the bids and providing a recommendation by the end of the day on May 11th. The language issue with the agreements that are required for this work with the DOT has been resolved. The City Manager has signed both the maintenance agreement and the permit and they are now in Concord for the Commissioner’s signature. Insurance with the LGC has been obtained. Paperwork to extend the grant money to pay for this construction is being prepared to go out before May 5th.

A further Request for Proposals is being prepared by staff for the remainder of the lighting between the downtown bridge and Washington Street to get the best cost for installation. This should be completed by the middle of the month.

Planning staff continue to process the invoices and administer the financial decision aspects of the Signal Management Project. Staff worked on the procurement of an adequate computer asset to run the system. The signal control equipment located at Week’s Crossing is on order and slated to arrive for installation and/or swap out so the coordination and management communications may be implemented in that corridor in the next two weeks. The project is on schedule with no delays.

A final focus for the Department of Planning and Community Development in April was the review and preparation of the annual extraction permit review and approval process. The Zoning Administrator received applications through the month of March and into April and formalized a presentation to the Planning Board giving and overview of the process and regulations associated with extraction permits. Staff toured the pits, met with owners and their engineers and will be presenting recommendations to the Planning Board at its May 10th meeting regarding extending approvals of the permits.

DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION & ENHANCEMENTS

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:
• Newington Dover bridge
• The Village at Thornwood Commons
• Gladiola Way

Planning staff continues to work with Economic Development to review opportunities in Dover to be placed upon a list to request Economic Development Assistance monies from the federal government. This list was provided to the Strafford Regional Planning Commission, which is coordinating a regional request of projects.

Planning staff worked with land owners of property at the following locations on development or redevelopment opportunities:
• Sixth Street, between Indian Brook Drive and Venture Drive
• Technical Review for intersection of Sixth Street and Indian Brook Drive
• 46 Arch Street
• Appaloosa Drive
• 287 Gulf Road
• Technical Review for Basils Place
• Downtown property for a potential farmers market.
• Knox Marsh Road property for commercial development
• Brick Road
• 6 Grove Street
• UPS located on Industrial Park Drive
• Lilac Lane commercial project

DEPARTMENTAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Department of Planning and Community Development recognized that during the month of April, Richard Jones, the Community Development Block Grant Coordinator celebrated his 23rd year with the City of Dover. Rick began his career with the City has the housing rehab specialist and took over responsibility for administering the CDBG program in the mid 1990s, and has remained in that position, as well as overseeing the City’s energy improvements project.

Activated Planning

2011-05-04T05:08:00.000-07:00

What... two blog posts in one week? Wow, something must be up!

That's right folks, I've been inspired. Yesterday (Tuesday), was a day of active planning. Not to imply that regular day to day activities don't include planning, nor to imply that the day to day activities aren't important, but we all get bogged down in the day to day, and when something out of the ordinary comes along, you can get inspired by it.

Yesterday was one of those days. On the face of it, a day of 4 meetings, and some administrative work, might seem day to day. Bonus was the two main meetings. The first was a session with residents, business owners, transit providers and civic leaders to discuss ways to improve our wayfinding in downtown Dover.

What is wayfinding? It can be signage, but it is a much larger concept. Think about the tools we use to get around town. It isn't just signs - in the literal sense. We use clues such as activity and street furniture and lighting styles to be aware that we are in the downtown area.

The meeting was a great kick off to what I see as a project to highlight Dover's assets, our waterfall, our river, our shops and restaurants, and our museums. The meeting was geared to generate excitement among the stakeholders, and I think it did just that. It was fun to discuss Dover as a resident and as a tourist trying to get around.

The second meeting of note was a workshop the Sustainable Dover program hosted on permaculture. What the heck is permaculture? It is designing development with nature in mind. It is the idea that we are part of nature and need to design our homes, neighborhoods and communities to be part of nature and not fight nature.

Steve Whitman, a planner from Plymouth, who in my estimation is one of the most visionary and proactive planners in New Hampshire, came and taught 12 of us the basic philosophy and framework of this concept. It is not new, and Steve isn't the innovator, but it is new to many peoples conscious, and Steve has immersed himself and family into the idea. He has developed a sideshow that demonstrates the philosophy and framework using examples from his home and life.

I am not going to try and summarize the 12 points involved, or even try to explain the overall concept more than I have. Instead I am going to dwell on it, and review my own activities and make lifestyle changes to embrace the philosophy and I hope to continue to be inspired by the workshop, and its companion workshop in 2 weeks.It was great to see a concept that is complicated, but makes so much sense, and is obtainable with some minor changes to your life (composting etc).

I went home at 9:30 last night and didn't mind a bit that I had last stepped foot in the house 15 hours earlier. I didn't mind, because I was so jazzed about the great work we had completed during the day. It was rewarding to be encouraged by the stakeholders involved with the wayfinding project, and then to be inspired by learning something new and adoptable, was that much more energizing.

So, how do we replicate that energy today? We'll see and I'll let you know.

Cleaning Up with Pride

2011-05-02T04:35:00.001-07:00

How did you spend your weekend? Maybe some mulching, maybe some planting of flowers, maybe some raking? Did you do this at your house, or in downtown Dover? If both you are dedicated.

I spent Saturday morning leading a great group of volunteers outside of City Hall pruning, mulching and raking. There were probably 15 of so people at the height of involvement and the volunteers did a great job. Drive by the Central Ave side and check out their work. All involved should be proud.

Clean up day, or its proper title "Dover Pride Clean Up Day" is probably my favorite community day here in Dover. It is great to see so many people from all sections, sectors, and walks coming together for the common goal of sprucing up our downtown. As in years past this was a family affair, not just my family - my sweet wife lead a group of volunteers on the brick walk way from Washington Street to Orchard Street - but it seemed that almost everywhere you looked there was a family working side by side.

We (all volunteers) did a lot of work. The City looks great. Check out Henry Law Park, where plantings/trees were trimmed, flowers planted, and mulch freshened. Continue onto River Street, where the view was opened up tremendously and you can see the beautiful river that much clearer. Walk the Community Trail or Joe Parks Riverwalk and see the wonder of nature in the heart of downtown, and swing through the Transportation Center or Library, where visitors will now be met with spruced up plants and trees. All of it looks tremendous (If I missed your area, I apologize - truly).

I challenge us all to appreciate what has been completed here, and dig in and help next year. Better yet don't wait until next year. Take pride in your neighborhood and get together with your friends and families and pick a Saturday, clean up your neighborhood park or other amenity and then have a barbecue and get to know everyone you might pass by daily that much better. It doesn't have to be a 4 hour commitment, just get in and get it done.

You can take pride in your community every day and grow and become more connected to it, by just reaching out, even a little. Take a walk, and don't ignore that piece of trash or debris, pick it up. Let your kids - or dog - play at the park, and look for litter. Smile and be part of the community.

Taking ownership in the place you live is an important lesson that everyone can learn. We try to teach our children to be aware and educated about life, do we do the same about community? Hopefully. The more people are involved and the more people are aware of the community around them, the better that community will and can be.

A Conference to Remember

2011-04-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Now that I have written that title I am a bit perplexed to its meaning. Was it that good? Or was it that bad?

I wrote the other day, about the week or so I spent in Boston. Today, I want to focus on why I was there. Each year I try and attend the American Planning Association's National Planning Conference. I am what's known as a certified planner. I have passed an exam declaring I am proficient, and have to maintain a certain level of professional development credits each year. In total I need 16 hours a year of professional development. The conference offers a good opportunity to get these credits in. In 2008 I earned 31 credits by attending the conference, and while I don't look to cram that much learning in each year, with web casts and other seminars I do try to attain double my requirement.

Anywho, this year's conference was in Boston and I couldn't pass that offer up.

Overall, the conference had three tracks:
Improving the Planning Department
Sustainability
Communication skills

All three of these tracks appeal to me. I think we are working strongly on two of the elements, and interested in the third.

Improving the Planning Department
This track focused on thinking less like an office and more like a holistic process. Part of the thinking was that you need to include Inspections, and Engineering and the Legal aspects into plan review.

Another aspect, which in some ways was more important, was realizing that if consultants did plan review they would include overhead and profit in their costs. While the government shouldn't include profit, there is nothing wrong with including overhead. We need to include overhead. This would be the cost of lights, heat, AC, discussions with the City's attorney, or the City Manager. We need to track the true costs of plan review and ensure that the applicant and not the tax payer covers those costs.

Sustainability
This is the green movement. I think we have continued to be ahead of the curve with this. Many of the offerings looked at things we already cover, such as the dichotomy of the municipal organization vs the community. The idea is that we need to represent the best efforts in our management practices for day to day operations, so that the municipal organization becomes a leader in the field of sustainability and that the community sees our progress and matches up with us.

There were many sessions on transit and encouraging multi-modal projects, such as a community trail, or the FasTrans service. At the same time there were many sessions on environmental hazards that might be mitigated by being more sustainable. Both efforts are important.

Communication skills
This breakdown I loved. I attended a session on the use of social media, not just twitter or Facebook, to encourage participation. I also attended a session on the use of graphics and images. It was interesting to see the variety of ways people present information and how some are more adept at the use of white space, and the need to show and not tell all of your data. Also, it was interesting to see planners so used to the old school report where the mimeographed pages had a slew of plans or maps attached in folders in the back. You would not, hopefully, see this today. Hopefully after the conference you won't see it from planners.

So that in a nutshell was the conference. My favorite session? Well glad you asked, probably the 4 hour walking tour of the Rose Kennedy Green-way that is in place of the now underground Central Artery. This session covered the political, process and participation issues and definitions that took place in completing the Big Dig, and the realities and misconceptions associated with the project. Great learning experience.

Well, that's it for 2011's conference. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to let me know.