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Municipal and Regional Planning Assistance |
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Welcome/Invitation  from OEP Director Amy Ignatius
Conference Agenda
Attendee List
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Basics for the Planning Board
- Jeffrey A. Meyers, Esquire - Nelson, Kinder, Mosseau & Saturley, PC; Manchester, NH
This housekeeping session is designed for new planning board members or those who want a refresher course on the basics. Topics to be discussed include rules of procedure, conflict of interest, the right-to-know law, and conducting public hearings and meetings.
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Basics for the Zoning Board of Adjustment
- Christopher L. Boldt, Esquire - Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella, PLLC; Exeter, NH
If you are a new board member, here's an opportunity to get some excellent assistance. Chris will share his expertise on how to keep your board's affairs in order including rules of procedure, the do's and don'ts for conducting meetings and hearings, and the issuing of decisions and rehearing procedures.
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Legal Update/The Planner Is In **(double session: 9:00 - 10:15 & 10:30 - 11:45)**
- Ben Frost, Esquire, AICP, Director of Public Affairs - NH Housing Finance Authority
Another busy time in the courts and legislature! Don't miss this opportunity to hear about what's been happening in our Supreme Court on planning and zoning issues and the impact of these rulings on local land use regulations. Our speaker will also provide a heads-up on some of the legislative changes that have occurred which affect the responsibilities of both the planning board and zoning board of adjustment. Following this two-hour presentation, join local, regional and state planners for "The Planner Is In," an opportunity to obtain answers to any questions you may have.
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Plan Reading and Analysis: Learning Simple Methods to Make the
Mountain a Mole Hill **(double session: 9:00 - 10:15 & 10:30 - 11:45)**
- Sylvia Von Aulock, Town Planner - Town of Exeter
You just volunteered for your local board (planning, conservation, zoning) and suddenly you¡¦re being asked to read, review and analyze engineered plans. DON'T PANIC!!! This session will provide you with the tools you need to do just that. The first portion of this session reviews engineering terms through a graphical presentation. Then the class will participate in a step-by-step process of highlighting plans to make them "readable." This practical approach of coloring actual site and subdivision plans, road cross-sections, profiles, drainage, and grading plans will help you understand just what all those lines mean. Please bring 3 or 4 of your own highlighters to mark up handouts.
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Reducing Flood Losses: A Planning Approach
- Jennifer Gilbert, CFM, Principal Planner - NH Office of Energy and Planning
Has your community been affected by the recent flooding disasters? Do you want to know what your community can do to help reduce flood losses? This session will cover three topics: Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Hazard Mitigation Planning, and Hazard Mitigation Grants. Discussion will include regulations a community can adopt that go beyond the minimum NFIP requirements, developing and implementing a hazard mitigation plan, integrating hazard mitigation into local planning, hazard mitigation grants that are now available, and tips on submitting a successful hazard mitigation grant application.
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Climate Change in New Hampshire: How Do We Plan For It?
- Michael H. Simpson, Director - Resource Management & Conservation Program
Antioch University New England
Join Michael Simpson for a discussion on the impact that projected changes in precipitation patterns and storm frequency may have on local land-use management decisions. Michael's multi-year research within the Ashuelot River watershed in the Keene area focused on how well current water conveyance infrastructure will accommodate changing precipitation patterns. Michael will provide a glimpse of what the future may bring as we move into the mid-21st Century, and he will share what steps a community can take today that will avoid future costs to mitigate such watershed impacts.
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Planning Board Roles and Responsibilities **(double session: 10:30 - 11:45 & 12:45 - 2:00)**
- Kenneth Ortmann, Director of Planning and Development - City of Rochester
- A. Terese Dwyer-Desjardins, Chair, Rochester Planning Board
- Charles Grassie, Rochester City Councilor, Stratham Town Planner
- Arthur H. Nickless, Jr., President - Norway Plains Associates, Inc.
Planning, subdivisions, site plans - do you have trouble keeping it all straight? This 2 hour 30 minute session is designed with you in mind. Here's an opportunity to review the relationship between zoning, subdivision, site plan, and the master plan from an experienced and lively panel. Learn the fundamentals of these basic tools of the planning process and how you can become a more effective board member.
Roles of the Zoning Board of Adjustment
- Susan Slack, Esquire, Attorney at Law; Wolfeboro, NH
Variances, setbacks, nonconforming uses - learning the nuts and bolts of your duties on the ZBA is no easy assignment! Your struggle may be over if you participate in this session with Susan. The session will cover in detail the three major roles of a ZBA - administrative appeals, special exceptions, and variances. Some highlights include understanding the distinctions between the different types of appeals and guidelines to follow in decision making.
Housing for Older Persons
- William Ray, Managing Director of Policy, Planning, and Communications - NH Housing Finance Authority
New Hampshire is the sixth oldest state in the country, and everyone needs a place to live. Although it was once seen as a panacea for municipal tax revenue and as a way to provide housing for our aging parents (or ourselves!), many New Hampshire municipalities are now reconsidering the impact of "housing for older persons" on their budgets and social fabric. What are the true costs and benefits of senior housing? If you want to propose an ordinance regulating it, how should it be structured? If you're presented with an application for a senior housing proposal, what kinds of conditions are appropriate and necessary? Ben will help you to explore your options and obligations in this complex area of planning and land use.
Wind Turbines: Siting Considerations
- Jack Ruderman, Deputy Director - NH Office of Energy and Planning (Moderator)
- Eric Steltzer, Regional Planner - Rockingham Planning Commission
- Mark Weissflog, President - KW Management, Inc.
A resident wants to construct a small-scale wind turbine on his property to generate power for his/her home. An abutting neighbor is concerned about the height of the tower supporting the wind turbine and whether the unit will be noisy. Does this sound familiar? Do you have questions on how your board will evaluate the situation and what tools and standards are available for resolving these and other siting issues? Hear from a regional planner who has drafted a model wind siting ordinance and from a New Hampshire business that installs residential wind systems.
Session Materials:
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Zoning Board of Adjustment Role Playing Workshop
- Chris Northrop, AICP, Principal Planner - NH Office of Energy and Planning
- Christopher L. Boldt, Esquire - Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella, PLLC; Exeter, NH
- Ben Frost, Esquire, AICP, Director of Public Affairs - NH Housing Finance Authority
- Kimberly A. Hallquist, Esquire, Staff Attorney - Local Government Center
Join OEP staff and assorted other characters as they explore the ever-changing and often-confusing world of the ZBA. You will find the answers to questions such as "Is this a special exception or an equitable waiver? What are the five variance criteria? and How do we vote on this thing?" Put all that you learned earlier in the day to the test and be prepared to take an active role in determining the outcome for your board!
Session materials:
The Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act - Investment in the Future
- Arlene Allen, Shoreland Protection Outreach Coordinator - NH Department of Environmental Services
Significant changes to the CSPA took effect on April 1, 2008. This presentation will provide an overview of the recent changes to the law and the shoreland administrative rules with a focus on the new permitting requirements, impervious surfaces, waterfront buffer, and the shoreland urban exemption.
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The Role of the Geographic Information System (GIS) in Wetland Assessments
- Fash Farashahi, GIS/Planner Specialist - Town of Peterborough, Office of Community Development
- Carol Ogilvie, Director - Town of Peterborough, Office of Community Development
The Town of Peterborough's Planning Board and Office of Community Development are undertaking a project whose ultimate goal is to develop a wetlands ordinance that is based on both science and a public perception of wetland functions and their relative importance. The process being followed has two major components: one involves the use of the Town's Geographic Information System to improve the mapping accuracy of wetland boundaries; the other is to include the public in selecting a method for assessing wetlands. By the end of the process, the Planning Board and staff are looking to reach consensus for determining wetland buffers and setbacks based on the publicly-accepted assessment methods.
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"Blue Ribbon" Strategies for Demolition Review Ordinances
- Nadine Peterson, Preservation Planner - NH Division of Historical Resources
- Scott McPhie, Merrimack, NH
- Rebecca Mitchell, Stratham, NH Fred Richards, Concord, NH
Our towns are losing irreplaceable pieces of their villages and downtowns as well as farms, seasonal camps, and other community landmarks. In response, the use of this new tool is accelerating. Planners, as well as heritage and historic district commissioners, are encouraged to attend this session that will review critical features of an ordinance as well as effective implementation strategies.
District Energy: A New Utility for Municipalities
- Tom Franks, Energy Policy Analyst - NH Office of Energy and Planning (Moderator)
- Clay Mitchell, Planner, Town of Epping
- Kamalesh Doshi, Program Director - Biomass Energy Resource Center
Biomass district energy, a system of producing and distributing renewably generated steam, hot water, or chilled water, offers municipalities and developments an option that can save money and reduce environmental impacts. This session will explore the technology and municipal issues such as rights of way, municipal planning and regulation, ownership, and financing.
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Planning Boards "Behaving Badly"
- Clay Mitchell, Planner, Town of Epping
- Ben Frost, Esquire, AICP, Director of Public Affairs - NH Housing Finance Authority
Join Clay and Ben and a cast of familiar characters as they present vignettes of planning boards making mistakes, both large and small. Can you spot them all? Does your board do the same thing (or worse)? Can you figure out how to do things better? This session will be both fun and funny, but it will also carry a serious message: How you conduct your business has important implications for the strength of your decisions on appeal to court, and more importantly, how people appearing before your board feel about your level of expertise.
The ZBA Decision Making Process
- Kimberly A. Hallquist, Esquire, Staff Attorney - Local Government Center
You've notified abutters, held the public hearing, heard hours of testimony, and now it's time to make a decision. What do you do? Do you have to decide right then and there? What if you only have four members present? Can you include conditions? Do you vote on each of the criteria separately? Do you need to vote on anything at all? If these and other questions have plagued your board, this is the session for you. Come and listen as Christine sorts it all out for you.
Opportunities for Economic Development: Is Your Community Ready?
- Jeffrey H. Taylor, President - Jeffrey H. Taylor and Associates (Moderator)
- Rusty McLear, President and CEO - Hampshire Hospitality Holdings
- Mike LaFontaine, Director, Community Housing Program - NH Community Loan Fund
- Laurie Ferguson, Executive Director - NH Made
This session will focus on how a community can "position" itself for economic development - what type of challenges does it face and what can be done about it? Join our dynamic, "in the trenches" panelists for a discussion on identifying the barriers to development and finding successful strategies to advance economic development. This will be an interactive, lively session with a focus on such topics as public/private partnerships, the role of zoning and other land use regulations, job retention, infrastructure, and the role of housing in economic development.
Preparing For and Implementing a Collaborative, Community Assessment
- Sharon Wason, Executive Director - Central NH Regional Planning Commission
- Matt Monahan, Regional Planner - Central NH Regional Planning Commission
Don't be scared by the title! Sharon and Matt are the right people to explain the "ins and outs" of a community assessment with a new twist¡ - a regional perspective. Community assessments or "smart growth audits" have been used for some time by communities to determine whether good planning policies have been adopted and implemented. Recently, staff from the regional planning commissions in the CTAP area completed assessments for communities along the I-93 corridor using a unique, collaborative process, and this will be discussed. They will cover characteristics of a successful assessment, the steps involved in completing one, ways to include the regional perspective, and how to implement the findings at its completion. Sharon and Matt will also provide pointers on how a community can utilize this approach using examples of recently completed assessments from non-CTAP communities.
Capturing History and Sense of Place: Identifying and Surveying Historic Resources in Your Community
- Nadine Peterson, Preservation Planner - NH Division of Historical Resources
- Lynne E. Monroe - Preservation Company
- Christopher W. Closs - Christopher W. Closs & Co.
Historic Resources Survey, along with the preservation plan, should be the foundation of ALL preservation activity in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, less than 25% of New Hampshire's communities have up-to-date, comprehensive, professional quality historical resources surveys, and without that information it is difficult - and irresponsible - to make informed decisions about historic properties or land use planning issues. This session will provide a primer on developing a program for identifying the character-defining features of your community and will explore how the survey is applicable to the Office of Energy and Planning's Housing and Conservation Planning Program.
In Perpetuity - Considering Stewardship in Your Planning Process
- Tracey Boisvert, Director, Conservation Land Stewardship Program - NH Office of Energy and Planning
- Steve Walker, Stewardship Specialist, Conservation Land Stewardship Program - NH Office of Energy and Planning
Your town has protected its open space with conservation easements. Now what? What is a conservation easement? What is stewardship? What does it mean to protect land "in perpetuity?" How do you interpret the easement language? Learn the basics of what's involved in stewardship monitoring and enforcement and how a town can be proactive in protecting its open spaces in perpetuity.
Session materials:
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