State planners name Dover’s Climate Adaptation Chapter of Master Plan as Plan of the Year

posted on: 6/6/2018

On behalf of the City of Dover, the Planning and Community Development Department is pleased to announce the City’s recently adopted Climate Adaptation Chapter of the Master Plan is the New Hampshire Planning Association’s Plan of the Year. The Climate Adaptation Chapter was adopted by the Planning Board in February 2018.

The Climate Adaption Chapter represents another step in the City’s ongoing efforts to recognize, understand and address effects of Climate Change. The chapter examines climate change in a comprehensive manner and is designed to inform future land use decisions and identify public and private risk and vulnerability. Specifically, the plan highlights the following topics: water availability and quality, health and safety, food, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources. Each topic was prepared with the best available existing condition data, as well as projected impact data associated with climate change.

The Chapter concludes with recommended “actions” intended to help address the issues identified in the chapter. The actions are divided into four categories: outreach and engagement; studies and initiatives; operations, policies and procedures; and regulatory. Additional information within the table includes the primary climate topic each action is associated with, interplay and overlap with other climate topics, a priority ranking, responsible party, and chapter reference where a reader can find more information and details about that action.

Public participation was a critical component during development of the chapter. A steering committee was formed with members of the public as well as the Planning Board, City Council, Open Lands Committee, Conservation Commission, and Energy Commission. All steering committee meetings were open to the public. A workshop was held that involved small breakout groups discussing each of the chapter’s six main topics. The workshop discussions focused on responding to the draft actions for the topic and suggesting any additional actions for the topic. Additionally, an online survey gave workshop participants as well as individuals unable to attend the workshops an opportunity to provide input on the draft actions. A presentation of the draft chapter was provided to a number of City commissions, committees and boards at a Planning Board workshop. The development of the chapter concluded with a public hearing by the Planning Board to adopt the chapter.

The development of this chapter was guided by the steering committee, with assistance from City staff, the Strafford Regional Planning Commission, and both the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and New Hampshire Sea Grant. Funding for the chapter was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program.

This is the second Plan of the Year award the City has received from the New Hampshire Planning Association in the past three years. In 2016 the City was recognized for its Downtown Pedestrian and Vehicular Access Study. In addition to these plan awards, staff were recognized as Professional Planners of the Year in 2011 and 2014, and the City was recognized in 2010 for its form-based code zoning project, as project of the year.

Founded in 1970, NHPA is comprised of over 250 professional planners and seeks to support efforts that improve the quality of life in New Hampshire communities.

The Climate Adaptation Chapter is posted on the City’s Master Plan page here. It can also be found in the Planning Department located in City Hall and at the public library.

For more information, contact the Department of Planning and Community Development, located in City Hall or by phone at (603) 516-6008.