The City of Rochester was featured in a fall edition of the "Journal of the New England Water Work Association" (NEWWA) for its reservoir and surface water treatment facility, which comprises a total source watershed ate of 8.75 square miles. Learn about the history of the City setting up its owned-and-operated system beginning in 1892 in the NEWWA online publication.

More recently, the City was in the news for the transformation of the historic Scenic Theater and Salinger Block into mixed use space for apartments and commercial tenants in an effort to revitalize its downtown.

Congratulations are in order for both COAST Bus and Wildcat Transit, as they received funding through the Federal Transit Administration 5339 program.

With the $4.5 million COAST received they will be able to replace 4 mid-size transit buses and an operations support vehicle; and continue engineering and design of a new administrative, operations, and bus maintenance storage facility.

Wildcat Transit received $3.52 million to continue developing their green transit fleet. Combined with match from the university, the FTA award will help UNH Wildcat Transit enhance the capacity and reliability of their natural gas fueling station and begin the transition to an electrified transit fleet.

On Mar. 1, SRPC sent a notice to its coastal municipalities that Flood Smart Seacoast was now accepting applications for technical assistance in NH's 17 coastal zone communities.

Technical assistance provided through this project will help 6 NH coastal communities incorporate best available coastal flood risk science and guidance in decision-making, adopt higher floodplain management standards, and access FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance funding, for an 11-month period from June 2022 through March 2023.

The deadline for submitting the online application has been extended, and submissions can now be turned in until 4 p.m. on Friday, May 6. Learn more on the project webpage.

Join America Walks for a webinar on "The Land Use/Walkability Connection" on Thursday, Apr. 7 from 2-3 p.m. This webinar will provide an overview, historical account, and future directions for walkability as a planning construct.

Tune in to learn about how walkability is measured and the mechanisms through which it impacts health, climate change, and social justice.

Learn more online, and RSVP via GoToWebinar.

The next webinar in the NH Office of Planning and Development (OPD) Planning Lunches at Noon (PLAN) Monthly Webinar Series is “Infrastructure Investments: Paving the Way for Electric Vehicles” on Thursday April 21, 2022, from noon to 1 p.m.

The webinar will be presented by Jessica Wilcox, Granite State Clean Cities Coalition Coordinator at the NH Department of Environmental Services. Significant investments through programs such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust are taking place to enable electric vehicle (EV) travel across NH and throughout the region. Municipal Planners can help pave the way by implementing strategies to encourage EV charging infrastructure siting, development, and investment, and enable the use of EVs by your local government, residents, and businesses. Planning and Zoning Board members and other municipal stakeholders can invite investment in your community by streamlining the EV charging station permitting and zoning processes. This session will provide 1) an introduction to EVs + EV charging, 2) a funding run-down, and 3) concrete steps and best practices you can take to lead the charge.

Registration should be completed via the webinar registration form by Friday, Apr. 15. A meeting link for the webinar will be sent out via e-mail during the week of Apr. 18.

For assistance registering please e-mail [email protected].

On both days, the conference will have two tracks: a Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment track. On May 7, the conference will include a third, Housing-focused track. All conference sessions will be recorded and available on OPD’s YouTube channel following the conference.

For additional conference details including the agenda, which includes information about each session, please see the 2022 Planning and Zoning Conference webpage.

Please register via the conference registration form by April 22, 2022. For assistance registering, please email: [email protected]. 

The CommuteSMART Seacoast 2022 B2B Challenge is fast approaching. As always, the challenge will take place May 1-31. New this year, smart commuters will log their trips using the CommuteSmart NH web and mobile app (available on android and apple). View CommuteSmart Seacoast's graphic below to learn more, or visit their website.

Are you frustrated with low vacancy rates and high rents? Or, did you find an affordable home in a community you love? We want to hear from you!

Throughout the year, SRPC will be analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to better understand regional housing needs and create a plan for how stakeholders across the state can collaborate to respond to the housing crisis.

Take our public survey now, to become part of the framework for change as we write our 2022 Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).

Not located within the Strafford planning region? The other eight regional planning commissions are also simultaneously updating their RHNAs, and would love your input! Find out what region you are located in, and access that region's survey on the statewide webpage.