Community Trail Wayfinding

The Community Trail Advisory Committee (CTAC) and Dover Arts Commission (DAC) collaborate on various initiatives to enhance and beautify the Dover Community Trail. One of their recent projects involved designing a trail wayfinding marker to guide trail users from the Rotary Trailhead at the Transportation Center to the Fourth Street Trailhead.

This connection is often overlooked and both groups, CTAC and DAC, wanted to create a fun, simple design to ensure that trail users could easily navigate between trailheads. With a nod to Dover’s history as being home to the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, city volunteers designed a turtle wayfinding marker for the trail section.

To make the design a reality, Dover-based company, Northeast Color, volunteered their time and resources as part of their company Community Day to create stencils and paint the trail markers between the two trailheads. Now, trail users can easily "follow the turtles" to connect the paved and natural sections of the trail.

To plan your next outing on the trail, review the complete trail map by clicking here.

Follow the turtles between the Rotary and Fourth Street Trailheads!

Projects That You Want to Hear About!

Recreation

We've asked readers to tell us which projects in Dover they'd like to hear more about. Thank you to those who have responded and we'll be providing highlights on the topics and specific projects requested.

One request included information on Recreation in Dover. The Planning Department facilitates the process of determining Dover’s long-range development goals and the Culture and Recreation Chapter of the Master Plan was recently updated in 2020 and recognizes recreation as a “core service” in Dover.

This point is demonstrated in the chapter by showing that in the six years prior to the chapter update, culture and recreation funding for Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) projects had risen 53 percent. Mapping created as part of the update project also showed that the majority of Dover residents live less than a 20-minute walking distance from a recreation site such as a public park, playground, or publicly accessible conservation easement.  

Recreation sites in the City of Dover and walking distances.

This mapping includes the 72 diverse recreation sites across the city, with 39 of them being city-owned parks, fields, and facilities. Aggregated, recreation properties total up to nearly 8% of the city's land area (18,592 total acres of land in Dover, with 1,470 acres of recreation sites).

A review was conducted this year by the Planning Department of Master Plan progress: over 50% of the 159 recreation goals and action items have been acted on or are in progress. To review the summary and specific recreation goals for the city, click here.

For information on the many recreation sites, programs, or activities, check out the information available on the Recreation Department's webpage.

Planning Review Question

The Department of Planning and Community Development would like your input! We'll be featuring a question in each edition of the Planning Review, and we'll also share the results from the previous week.

This week, we want to know:

In what format do you prefer to receive updates and information about development projects in Dover?

Submit your responses here: https://polco.us/mbup9n

Last week we asked for your thoughts on conservation and open space in Dover, you can continue giving feedback by clicking here.

Dover Download podcast: Your guide to what's happening this week

In the latest episode of Dover Download, Deputy City Manager Christopher Parker chats with Rad Nichols, the Executive Director of COAST Bus, a public transit system serving Dover and the Seacoast region.

The podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and by clicking here.

Results of Recent Meetings

Conservation Commission, 5/13/2024

The Conservation Commission met on Monday, May 13, where it:

• Endorsed a City of Dover Conditional Use Permit for H. J. Stabile & Son, Inc (Owner: Double Diamond Holdings North, LLC), Assessor’s Map 15, Lot 40A-1, zoned G, located off of Fisher Street. Proposal is to construct a townhouse condominium complex creating 16,250 square feet of wetland buffer impact and 6,329 square feet of overlapping impact to the Conservation District;

• Endorsed a City of Dover Conditional Use Permit for Unitil Granite State Gas Transmission (Owner: Dover Point Cooperative, Inc.), Assessor’s Map M, Lot 47-C, zoned R-12, located within Unitil’s existing right-of-way between the end of Gerrish Road and Dover Point Road. Proposal is to install a replacement section of gas pipe, replace the existing access road, and construct an above-ground station for pipeline inspection equipment creating 17,015 square feet of wetland impact;

• Discussed the FB Environmental Project Selection, Native Species Resolution, and the Conservation and Open Space Chapter Update.

Click here to find the complete agenda, where minutes will be posted when available.

Planning Board, 5/14/2024

The Planning Board met on Tuesday, May 14, where it:

• Approved an Amendment for Downtown Dover Storage, LLC, Assessor’s Map 4, Lot 5, zoned CBD-G, located at 14 Broadway. Proposal is to construct a ~14,770 square foot 4-story residential building with 38 units with revised covered parking and relocating an internal staircase. *(WAIV-2024-0004)

• Approved a Site Plan for Jared Lusk (Owners: Lionel R Jr & Kristina L Paradis), Assessor’s Map F, Lot 2, zoned IT and R-40, located at 180 Tolend Rd. Proposal is to construct and operate a 104’ wireless telecommunications facility. *(SITE-2023-0012)

• Continued to the regular May 28 meeting: Consideration and acceptance of a Transfer of Development Rights for Tritech Engineering (Owners: Stonearch Development, LLC), Assessor’s Map F, Lot 3, zoned R-40, located at 210 Tolend Rd. Proposal requests to purchase 33 TDR units, 10 "unrestricted" and 23 "restricted size units." A site plan for a current proposal of 53 units would need further review and a future Planning Board vote. *(TRAN-2024-0003)

Click here to watch the meeting. Click here to find the complete agenda, where minutes will be posted when available.

Energy Commission, 5/15/2024

The Energy Commission met on Wednesday, May 15, where it:

• Discussed the 2024 Energy Commission Report and workgroup reports on Community Power, Municipal Energy Generation, Transportation, and Net Zero;

• Heard staff updates on NH Energy Week, state legislation, and partnerships with private energy companies.

Click here to find the complete agenda, where minutes will be posted when available.

Zoning Board of Adjustment, 5/16/2024

The Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) met on Thursday, May 16, where it:

• Approved a Variance for Applicant Daniel Dion, 36 Tuttle Ln., Tax Map M, Lot 82-B, located in the Rural Residential (R-40). Variance was requested from Section 170-14(4)a, to allow relief from the street-abutting setback of 40’ on Quaker Lane to 11.3’, and for a proposed lot coverage percentage of 12.1% where 10% is permitted, to allow for the installation of an attached garage. *(ZONE-2024-0012)

Click here to watch the meeting. Click here to find the complete agenda, where minutes will be posted when available.

Open Lands Committee, 5/23/2024

The Open Lands Committee met on Thursday, May 23, where it:

• Discussed updates on Public Land Conservation Projects;

• Reviewed reports on Easement Monitoring and Outreach Efforts;

• Discussed the ongoing Natural Resources Inventory and Conservation and Open Space Master Plan Chapter Update.

Click here to find the complete agenda, where minutes will be posted when available.

Committee to Address Community Housing Needs, 5/23/2024

The Ad-Hoc Committee to Address Community Housing Needs met on Thursday, May 23, where it:

• Heard and reviewed an update from the Strafford Regional Planning Commission on a Housing Opportunity Grant.

Click here to find the complete agenda, where minutes will be posted when available.