Dover Planning Review: An Update From the Office of Planning and Community Development

Transportation Chapter of the Master Plan Update

The Planning Department recently sought volunteers to serve on the Steering Committee for the upcoming update to the Transportation Chapter of the Master Plan, which was last adopted in 2016. The City received strong interest from residents across the community. The Planning Board appointed members to the Steering Committee at its March 10 meeting. The Planning Board and Planning staff are grateful for the enthusiasm and engagement shown by those who applied.

This update will build on ideas and themes identified during the public engagement process for the Vision Chapter, with a focus on enhancing walkability, improving transportation efficiency, and advancing the City’s ongoing traffic calming efforts.

Some of the project goals for the Transportation Chapter include:

• Analyze existing conditions, including review of relevant plans, studies, and transportation projects.
• Identify current, emerging, and projected transportation trends and evaluate potential impacts, constraints, and opportunities.
• Assess citywide and corridor-specific traffic calming opportunities, speeds, volumes, and crash data.
• Develop and implement a public engagement and communications plan.
• Prepare recommended transportation strategies guided by the 2023 Vision, including complete streets, traffic calming measures, ordinance updates, and cross-sectional street design guidelines for integration into regulations and capital planning.

Residents who wish to learn more about the Steering Committee and the Transportation Chapter update may email City Planner Erin Bassegio or call the Planning Department at 603-516-6008.

How to Weatherize Your Home

Does your house have a draft? Do you fear looking at your heating bills?

You may qualify for a free energy audit through the New Hampshire Home Energy Performance (HEP) program. This program is a comprehensive approach to optimizing energy efficiency and comfort in your home. 

When you sign up and qualify, you will receive an email to schedule a free home energy audit. Your auditor will test your home's insulation and look for any problem areas. Then, your utility-approved contractor will prepare a detailed work proposal outlining all recommended improvements and available incentives. Once approved, the scope of work will be installed. Then a quality control inspector reviews the project. 

This program covers up to 75% of project costs up to $6,000. 

If you are an Eversource customer and your household income falls at or below 100 percent of the State Median Income, you may qualify for an enhanced version of the Home Energy Performance offering. The Home Energy Assistance (HEA) program covers 100% of the cost to weatherize.

To see if you qualify, visit nhsaves.com/residential/weatherization/.

To apply, you will need your home's conditioned square footage and one year of heating fuel usage history.

Recent Meetings

Below are summaries of recent land use meetings in the City of Dover. These meetings cover topics such as residential and development proposals, updates to the city's Master Plan, and energy and conservation initiatives.

For more information on all public meetings in Dover, including agendas, minutes, and recordings, please click here.

Arts Commission, 3/2/2026

The Art Commission met on March 2, where it discussed:

• Marketing Report
• Literary Laureate
• Bylaws review
• City Arts Grant
• Project Updates

a. Public Art Projects – Grove St Apartments

b. Art Beat

c. Light Boxes / Main Street

d. Riverside Sculpture Series

• Commission’s Matters of Interest

Click here for the agenda and supporting materials, where minutes will be posted once complete.

Conservation Commission, 3/9/2026

The Conservation Commission met on March 9, where it discussed:

• Willand Pond: Updated Bid Responses + Recommendations
• The Commission reviewed the newest bids and confirmed that their recommendation remains the same—to move forward with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services recommended long-term management plan.

• Member Update
• A regular member and an alternate member have switched roles, and a new alternate member has joined the board. There have been several changes overall—please see the Conservation Commission webpage for the full and current list of members.

• Endorsed the requested $30,000 expenditure from the Conservation Fund that will go towards project costs in working with SELT to acquire a 10-acre donated Conservation Easement.



• Endorsed both the Conditional Use Permit and NHDES Expedited Minimum Impact Wetlands Permit for Eversource Energy Map 24, Lot 132 zoned RM-U located on Cocheco Street. Proposal is for an expansion to the Eversource Substation involving installation of temporary electric infrastructure resulting in 8 sf of permanent wetland impacts, 1,618 sf of temporary wetland impacts, 20 sf of permanent wetland buffer impacts and 1,615 sf of temporary wetland buffer impacts.

Click here for the agenda and supporting materials, where minutes will be posted once complete.

Planning Board, 3/10/2026

The Planning Board met on March 10 where it:

• Continued the Transfer of Development Rights for 6 Brick Road, LLC, Assessor’s Map 28, Lot 9-C, zoned O/Gateway, located at 1-24 Jefferson Drive. Proposal is to purchase four (4) residential units through TDR. This item with be heard at the April 14 meeting.
• Approved a Site Review for 5 Sherman Street, LLC, Assessor’s Map 19, Lot 8, zoned R-12, located at 103 Court Street. Proposal is to maintain an existing single-family dwelling and construct four (4) new single-family homes for a total of five (5) dwelling units with two (2) of the new single-family homes size restricted to 1,400 square feet each. (This item was continued from the January 27, 2026 Planning Board meeting.)*
• Approved a Conditional Use Permit for TND Engineering (Owners: Ahmed-Karim Revocable Trust, Ahmed R. Ahmed & Karim Vida Trustees) Assessor’s Map 7, Lot 8, zoned R-20, located at 11 Boston Harbor Road. Proposal is to reconstruct an existing foundation and reconstruct the existing driveway to a pervious surface resulting in approximately 2,000 square feet of permanent impacts to the Conservation District.
• Approved a Conditional Use Permit for Singh Raghbir, Assessor’s Map H, Lots 14-D and 14-D-1, zoned R-20, located at 8 and 4 Zeland Drive. Proposal is to demolish two (2) single-family homes and rebuild with approximately 3,559 square feet of permanent impacts to the Conservation District.

Click here for the agenda and supporting materials, where minutes will be posted once complete. Watch the meeting.

City Nature Challenge

Get outside and help us find nature in your neighborhood, favorite park, or your own backyard with 2026 City Nature Challenge, a partnership of the Dover Conservation Commission and the Nature Conservancy. From April 24 to April 27, we are encouraging the public to take pictures of plants and wildlife they encounter in Strafford County and record their observations in iNaturalist, a nonprofit organization that helps users identify plants and animals while generating data for science and conservation.

Observations can be made anywhere from your backyard to your favorite park. So, let's get outside together and see all the wonderful nature that can be found.

On Saturday, April 25 there will be a guided walk around Willand Pond with an expert to record observations in iNaturalist and identify a variety of flora and fauna. Keep an eye out for more information to join this fun and educational event.

Visit iNaturalist's City Nature Challenge: Strafford County webpage for more information.

Dover Plan Review Question

The Department of Planning and Community Development would like your input. We feature a poll question in each edition of the Planning Review, utilizing the city's online polling platform, Polco. This week we want to know:

Which type of public space improvement matters most to you?



Let us know!

Responses are anonymous, but poll respondents must create an account with Polco to submit answers. Only an email and password are required to make an account.

Responses from Last Edition's Question:

As construction season approaches, what types of projects feel most important for Dover this year?