News
2021-04-01 - Rockingham Planning Commission Developing New Tools to Help Municipalities Adapt to Climate Change
Municipalities along New Hampshire’s coast are increasingly taking steps to adapt to rising seas and climate change. With grant funds from New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program, Rockingham Planning Commission is developing a user-friendly coastal land use guide to inform local decision makers about climate change and increase the resiliency of our region. The coastal land use guide will cover a wide range of resilience and adaptation priorities, challenges, and opportunities in all 17 of New Hampshire’s Coastal Zone municipalities. Additionally, RPC is developing a framework for a regional sustainability program to help facilitate actions across New Hampshire’s coastal comminutes. This project is being conducted in partnership with the Strafford Regional Planning Commission, with support from multiple local and state partners.
Project funder, Kirsten Howard, NHDES Coastal Resilience Program Coordinator, shared that “This project is going to create some much-needed guiding language to help all of our coastal communities formalize the ways that they plan for increasing coastal flood risks and the ways that they create community resilience in land use policy. The DES Coastal Program is thrilled to be able to support the project and looks forward to the valuable products it will produce.” The guide will help facilitate adoption of recommended best practices by local decision makers using the best available New Hampshire based science, policy, and guidance. Implementation of model regulations and standards will be supported by ready to use products and provide multiple mechanisms for long-term adoption success and tracking of their effectiveness. Planning Commission is developing a user-friendly coastal land use guide to inform local decision makers about climate change and increase the resiliency of our region. The coastal land use guide will cover a wide range of resilience and adaptation priorities, challenges, and opportunities in all 17 of New Hampshire’s Coastal Zone municipalities. Additionally, RPC is developing a framework for a regional sustainability program to help facilitate actions across New Hampshire’s coastal comminutes. This project is being conducted in partnership with the Strafford Regional Planning Commission, with support from multiple local and state partners.
Given the challenges posed by climate change, the project will develop a framework for a regional sustainability and resiliency program, including a funding concept, as the long-term strategy to implement the coastal land use guide recommendations, and more broadly to increase the capacity of coastal municipalities to adapt and thrive. Tim Roache, Executive Director of the RPC, says that “addressing coastal hazards are important to our entire region and the guide will provide our communities with tools to plan for those changes.” The regional sustainability and resiliency program will be modeled after similar initiatives undertaken in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Examples of successful regional cooperation, organization and implementation will be showcased.
For more information, visit the project webpage at www.therpc.org/sustainability, or contact Senior Planner/Project Manager Julie LaBranche at jlabranche@therpc.org or (603) 658-0522.
This project was funded, in part, by NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program.
2021-03-26 - Legislative Policy Committee Reviewing Current Legislative Bills
RPC’s Legislative Policy Committee is tracking approximately two dozen bills related to goals and policies in the RPC Regional Master Plan as well as bills likely to be of interest to RPC member communities. The tracking list is available on our website. The Legislative Policy Committee is still determining whether RPC will submit comment on any of the measures. Most bills at this point have been acted on by their initial committee of referral. Many House bills are awaiting the next floor session the week of April 6. Crossover Day, the deadline for action in the chamber where a bill is introduced, is April 10. Examples of measures being tracked include the following:
SB099 - Relative to the amount of meals and rooms tax revenue that is distributed to municipalities. This would remove the annual increase limit on the distribution of meals and rooms tax revenues to municipalities so that 40 percent of net revenues are distributed annually. Current status: Laid on the Table
HB216 - Relative to public notice of and access to meetings under the right-to-know law. This bill would allow continued use of virtual meetings by public bodies subject to RSA 91-A following the end of the Governor’s Emergency Order on COVID-19. RPC has found virtual meetings to increase public participation. Provisions of the bill allow remote meetings if all participating can hear all other participants and requires the meeting be adjourned if electronic connection fails. Current Status: In Committee
HB279 - Relative to the maximum allowable vehicle gross weight for a combination of truck-trailer and single semi-trailer with 4 or more axles. This bill increases the maximum gross weight allowed on any tandem axle from 36K to 40K lbs per axle for a combination of truck-tractor and single semi-trailer with 4 or more axles that carries forest products. NHDOT opposes this bill based on the damage that overweight vehicles do to roads and the increased maintenance and reconstruction costs. If passed this would likely set a precedent for expansion to include other types of freight beyond forest products. Current Status: In Committee
CACR9 - Providing that a municipality may not raise property taxes more than two percent per year and no more than one percent per year on disabled citizens or senior citizens. NHMA notes that this is a limit on total tax revenue, not just rate, so if a town was able to lower its budget and tax burden in one year it would reset revenue limit at a lower level going forward. CACR9 was voted Ought to Pass in the House Municipal & County Government Committee by a vote of 10-9. Current Status: Report Filed
Instructions on how to testify for Capitol House and Senate Bills click here.
2021-03-24 - NHDOT Announces Public Comment Period for the Proposed Replacement of the Neil R. Underwood Memorial Bridge
NHDOT has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the NHDOT’s guidelines for environmental documents, for the proposed replacement of the Neil R. Underwood Memorial Bridge. Review the Notice of Availability for the document.
The 30-day public comment period begins March 24, 2021, with written comments being accepted through April 23, 2021. Comments may be submitted in writing or by email to me, Ms. Jennifer Reczek, NH Department of Transportation, 7 Hazen Drive, PO Box 483, Concord, NH 03302-0483 or by e-mail.
There will be a public hearing to present the project’s impact on environmental resources and accept comments on the EA document. This hearing will be held virtually, via Zoom, on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 6:00 PM. To attend the Zoom Meeting from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device please go to https://zoom.us/j/96583846007?pwd=aVpRWU9IeHk4ZUd3Z3ZjUGpaeHlVdz09. When prompted type in the passcode: 949550. To join the Zoom Meeting by telephone, dial 1-646-558-8656. When prompted, enter on your keypad the Meeting ID: 965 8384 6007 followed by #: 949550.
2021-03-19 - March 2021 Newsletter
In our March newsletter you will find info on Legislative Bills that the RPC is tracking, transportation updates, aquatic resource mitigation funds, and more!
2021-03-02 - NH OSI Announces Virtual Planning and Zoning Conference
Mark your calendars! Registration for the virtual conference opens on March 29 for the conference on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
2021-02-15 - February 2021 Newsletter
For news on upcoming transportation plan updates, PREP Grant, NH Coastal Climate Summit, and more, read our February 2021 Newsletter!
2021-02-08 - 30 Day Comment Period for the 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program
Public Hearing on March 10, 2021
The Rockingham Planning Commission has begun a 30 day public comment period to gather feedback on the draft 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). This 30-day public comment period for the TIP and Plan documents begins Monday, February 8, 2021 and concludes on Tuesday March 9, 2021. A public hearing to solicit public comment is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, 2021, and will be held virtually via the Zoom video conferencing system beginning at 7:00 PM. The link will be available on the RPC website prior to the meeting and the Planning Commission will meet after the public hearing to adopt the documents.
Draft 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program
[Public Notices][Transportation]
2021-01-14 - January 2021 RPC Newsletter
In this issue, catch up on upcoming programs at the RPC is 2021, Welcome to our new staff member, Funding for Non-Motorized Transportation Projects, and more!
View the newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/81ee3ec0811e/rpcnewsjan2021-2254217
2021-01-06 - Funding Available for Non-Motorized Transportation Projects
Think trails, bike improvements, pedestrian safety projects or Safe Routes to School
If your community has been looking for funding for a trail, Safe Routes to School project or other pedestrian or bicycle facility improvement this is a good opportunity. NHDOT has posted full details on the 4th round of Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding on their website. TAP is one of the main sources of federal grant funding to municipalities for pedestrian and bicycle safety projects, and will fund up to 80% of eligible project costs with a required minimum 20% non-federal local match.
The first step for communities is to submit a Letter of Interest, which must be submitted electronically by Friday, February 5, 2021. A sample Letter of Interest is available on the NHDOT website and RPC can assist with project scoping. Please let RPC staff know if your community is thinking of applying. (sbogle@therpc.org)
2021-01-05 - Request for Proposals - Traffic Counting Services
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Traffic Counting Services
ROCKINGHAM PLANNING COMMISSION
January 4, 2021
Submission Deadline: 4:00 PM, February 12, 2021
1.0 Introduction The Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC), is a public non-profit regional planning commission established under RSA 36 which conducts regional land use, transportation and community planning, and functions as the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for southeastern New Hampshire. (See Study Map – Appendix A) This RFP is issued for the purpose of securing the services of a qualified Consultant to provide traffic counting services in support of the agency’s transportation planning program. The selected vendor must agree to a fixed fee contract to provide a set number of counts over a specified period as defined herein. 2.0 Background The RPC conducts an annual traffic counting program in coordination with the NH Department of Transportation (NHDOT) as part of the agency’s biennial transportation planning program. The RPC counting program is integrated with the NHDOT’s such that the results generated from our counts are reviewed and integrated into the NHDOT ADT database and used, in part, to fulfill Federal Highway Administration highway performance monitoring (HPMS) requirements. The annual list of count locations includes single and bidirectional ADT counts as well as vehicle class counts. Traffic count location, type and frequency are defined cooperatively by the NHDOT and RPC to satisfy respective agency needs. 3.0 Objectives The RPC’s traffic counting program objectives are
• To successfully complete the traffic counts (a combination of single, bidirectional ADT and vehicle class counts) committed to by the RPC according to the specifications established in the Scope of Services;
• To complete and verify counts in a timely manner, concluding all counts by mid-November of any year;
• To maintain close coordination and communication with the RPC and NHDOT regarding the scheduling of counts and locations and any difficulties encountered;
• To avoid deploying counts in locations where temporary or unusual circumstances will preclude average or typical count conditions (e.g. pavement work or construction; local events causing unusual traffic conditions);
• Conduct all counts in a manner that ensures the safely of motorists, pedestrians, and consultant staff;
• To provide cost effective count services to the RPC
Required MS2 PRN File Format Descriptions
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