“FRIDAY
UPDATES”
Thursday,
May 27, 2010
The Newmarket Militia marching in
A reminder that the
2010
Memorial Day Parade
Monday, May 31, 2010, is Memorial
Day. On this day each year, the Town has traditionally conducted a
Memorial Day Parade to honor its veterans. In 2009, The Bourgoin-Reardon Unit 94
Auxiliary of the American Legion, who for many years faithfully coordinated the
parade, requested that the Town assume primary responsibility for planning and
organizing the Memorial Day Parade. To this end, the Parks and Recreation
Department has graciously taken on the planning for this traditional
As noted several times this spring,
in 2010 there will be a slight modification to the parade route. In past
years, the parade has originated from
This year the parade will begin at
For a map of the new parade route,
please click HERE.
2010
UNH OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOL VOUCHERS – THEY ARE
HERE!
The “target” opening date for the
2010 UNH outdoor swimming pool season is Saturday, June 5th. Pool pass vouchers are now available at the Town Hall,
Town Clerk’s Office, 15 Newmarket Road. The Town Clerk’s Office is
open 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
There are 430 pool vouchers
available only for
For additional information regarding
when pool passes will go on sale, hours of operation for the Hamel Recreation
Center, rental rates, group rates, policies and regulations, pool programs,
Mendum’s Pond programs, or the Hamel Recreation Center facility and programs,
please call the UNH Campus Recreation Department at 862-2031 or visit their
website at http://campusrec.unh.edu.
In an effort to move forward aspects
of the B. Dennis Strategic Plan involving making downtown Durham more pedestrian
friendly, the Administrator has asked the Public Works Department to develop a
test/pilot program for implementation this summer along Pettee Brook Lane which
would involve narrowing the traveled way utilizing paint and cones from two
lanes to one, adding a designated bicycle lane, and including an additional 10 -
20 parking spaces to support downtown businesses along the left-hand side of the
roadway. In one configuration of a DRAFT/Preliminary plan
(above) viewers can see a configuration still under development and
refinement. When the plan is finalized, we will work to educate the
Council, downtown businesses, and the community as a whole concerning the final
pilot design prior to implementation which we target to be late June/early
July. If the configuration is successful, we would hope to continue it
into the fall and possibly over time make it a permanent addition to
widespread
discussion within durham on Ordinance # 2010-07 which would Allow Single Family
Homes and Duplexes in the Office Research & Light Industry (ORLI) Zone as a
Conditional Use and to allow Single Family Homes in the Multi-Unit
Dwelling/Office Research (MUDOR) Zone as a Conditional
Use
Although initially
scheduled for May 17, 2010, time constraints caused the Council to
postpone a first reading on proposed amendments to amend the zoning in the
ORLI (Office Research Light Industry) District to enable the development of
properties in the district with a mix of housing choices until June 7th.
In reviewing the Table of Uses it was discovered that the ORLI District did not
allow single family or duplex dwelling units and the MUDOR (Multi-Unit
Dwelling/Office Research) District allowed duplexes but not single family
dwellings. In addition to allowing a mix of housing types within a
development, the proposed amendments would make current nonconforming single
family and duplex dwellings in these districts conforming, but would allow new
single family and duplex units only by Conditional Use.
Section 175-21 of
the Zoning Ordinance describes the Conditional Use process designed to
allow certain uses that are not normally permitted within a certain zone. A
Conditional Use may be approved by Planning Board if the application is found to
be in compliance with the strict approval criteria outlined in section 175-23 of
the Zoning Ordinance. Conditions may be placed on a Conditional Use permit by
the Planning Board to ensure that the Conditional Use will have a positive
economic, fiscal, public safety, environmental, aesthetic, and social impact on
the Town. At least five members of the Planning Board (as opposed to a simple
majority) must vote in favor of the issuance of a Conditional Use permit for an
application to be approved.
Before the Town rewrote the Zoning
Ordinance in 2004 and 2006, single family and duplex dwellings were an allowed
use in the OR District which is now the ORLI and MUDOR areas. With a
vote of 6-1 the Planning Board recommended that the Town Council approve the
amendments.
This zoning proposal has generated
significant discussion within the community as a purchase and sale agreement has
been signed for a 40 acre parcel of land owned by the Woodward family next to
Goss Manufacturing located on Technology Drive (Technology Drive is on the far
end of Old Concord Road beyond the Route 4 overpass) by Capstone Companies, a
national student housing company (http://www.capstonecompanies.com/about.php?PHPSESSID=15426d4ac0f734a1ab414265f6962752), which is interested in
constructing a 600 +/- bed professionally managed student housing development in
this part of town. Capstone’s cottage program, the type
of project envisioned by the company in
These new urbanist neighborhoods
offer a variety of facilities, from free-standing residences to town homes and
lodge buildings, providing one to five bedroom living arrangements. The
Capstone cottage neighborhoods offer features such as scenic lakes, walking
trails, open green spaces, and community buildings. To view Capstone's
product type, go to http://cottagebuildersinc.com/.
While the present zoning in the ORLI
districts (where the Woodward parcel is located) allows for multi-unit student
housing in traditional large multi-unit structures as a conditional use,
Capstone prefers to utilize a new urbanist approach such as that
suggested in the B. Dennis Strategic Plan which would require single family
and duplex uses as well within this district.
To view a letter provided to the
Town Council regarding this change from the Durham Business Association which
echoes similar concerns raised by the Durham Landlord Association, click HERE. To
view a memorandum from Town Councilor Neil Niman endeavoring to address
questions regarding this zoning change, click HERE.
New
Dugouts at
The Oyster River Youth
Association (ORYA) has a private donor that has expressed an interest
in funding some improvements at the Town-owned
"Conflict
of Interest" - A Primer
From time to time, we receive
inquiries as to what constitutes a conflict of interest for individuals serving
on various public boards and committees in
Sec. 7.2. Conflicts of
interest.
A. Any elected or appointed officer
or employee of the town who has a financial interest, direct or indirect, in any
planned or existing contract, job, work or service to be performed for the town
or voluntary sale to the town of any land, materials, supplies, equipment or
other property shall make full disclosure of such interest to the Council and
Administrator prior to the town's deliberating on any such matter or
transaction.
B. The person so financially interested in such matters or
transactions shall not vote or advise on or otherwise participate in the town's
and Council's consideration of such matter or
transaction.
Sec. 7.3. Disqualification from
decision-making process.
A. No elected or
appointed officer or employee of the town shall take part in a decision
concerning the business of the town in which he or a member of his family,
directly or indirectly, has a financial interest, aside from his salary as such
officer or employee, greater than any other citizen or taxpayer.
B. For the
purposes of this section, the word "family" shall mean an individual's spouse,
his or her spouse's lineal ascendants and lineal descendants and his or her
spouse's siblings and their offspring.
What
are "Friday Updates"?
Each Friday, the Town Administrator
pulls together information in order to keep members of the Town Council
up-to-date concerning issues and topics facing the community. This publication
is called "Friday Updates." The purpose of "Friday Updates" is to help
ensure that Councilors are kept well informed of local issues on an ongoing
basis. What is the status of ongoing projects? What challenges are departments
facing this week? What strategies are we planning to implement? Is the
Administrator about to embark on a course of action that Councilors would like
to weigh in on prior to implementation? Are there community events that might be
of interest? These questions and others are all addressed each week in the
publication. Over time, the distribution list was increased to include
department heads who then posted the "Friday Updates" within each department for
members of the staff to read. This served to better inform and communicate with
the entire municipal organization. Then, about seven years ago, the Town
was struggling with the idea of producing an ongoing newsletter for residents.
Because municipal newsletters are time intensive to create, expensive to print,
costly to mail, and often struggle with the issue of the timeliness of articles,
we opted to be creative and moved in a new direction utilizing the information
already being produced for the weekly "Friday Updates" publication as part of a
new municipal list server broadcast that could be sent to any and all interested
residents electronically. The list could also double as an emergency
broadcast system for the community. Additional cost to the Town - $0.
To date, "Friday Updates"
has nearly 1,600 subscribers, and individuals/community
groups and from time to time local businesses submit publication ideas for
inclusion each week. The weekly e-newsletter is also posted on the Town web
site at www.ci.durham.nh.us. But readers
should remember the nexus of the publication -- a way for the Administrator to
keep Councilors up-to-date concerning issues facing the community.
If you find the "Friday Updates" of
use, please send them along to a friend or neighbor and encourage them to sign
up as well. We rely on word of mouth to expand upon the subscriber
base. To subscribe, go to http://ci.durham.nh.us/SERVICES/email%20listing/app.php.
Construction
continues at
GOOD
NEWS - Economic Revitalization (ER-Z) Zone Application APPROVED BY
NHDRED
In July 2009, The Durham Town
Council authorized Administrator Selig to move forward with an application to
the New Hampshire Economic Revitalization Zone Program, managed by the
Department of Resource and Economic Development (DRED) for four zoning districts
within
This week, the Town received
notification that its application was approved designating
The Economic Revitalization Zone Tax
Credit Program provides state tax incentives for ER-Z projects which are
available to qualifying new and existing businesses in the state. The program
encourages ER-Z projects that meet certain state economic objectives, such as
stimulating economic redevelopment, expanding the commercial and industrial
base, creating new jobs, reducing sprawl, increasing tax revenue, and
remediating Brownfields sites. The primary goal of the program is to increase
the quality of ER-Z projects which will contribute to the economic vitality of
the state. To read more about this program, please click HERE.
It is our hope this program will help spur continued investment within our
downtown core.
B.
DENNIS COMMERCIAL CORE STRATEGIC PLAN – FINAL
VERSION
After edits and additions to the
document, the Durham Commercial Core Strategic Plan created by B. Dennis Town
Design has arrived in its final form. The Plan is a detailed description of the
planning Charrette held in November of 2009. It also includes an analysis of
Courtesy Hilary Niles
As the Durham Farmers' Market
prepares to open June 7 in its new location at the Mill Road Plaza (Durham
Marketplace lot), interested residents are invited to join a Community
Stakeholders Meeting on Wednesday, June 2, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM at the Parks
& Recreation Office. "What can the Farmers' Market bring to
The goal is for market organizers to
learn more about local groups, for locals to learn more about the market, and
for all involved to brainstorm ways to integrate
From
the Supervisors of the Checklist
On September
14, 2010, there will be a State Primary Election. All registered voters
may vote at this election whether Republican, Democrat, or Undeclared, unlike in
some states. However, if you are registered as a Republican or a Democrat,
you must vote within that party at the Primary. If you are registered
Undeclared, you may choose which ballot you want at the Election. June 1 is the LAST day you can change your party
affiliation before the Primary. There are currently two checklists
available to check your status – one in the Durham Post Office on a table near
the mailboxes and one at the Town Hall (kept behind the desk). An updated
checklist will be available in those same places on or about May 21. You may
change your party affiliation up through June 1 at the
ORCSD
Strategic Planning Oversight Committee
As noted several times in the past,
the ORCSD Strategic Planning Oversight Committee is conducting a community
survey to gather input from community members regarding the Oyster River
Cooperative School District to include opportunities for all residents to
express their thoughts on what the district does well, where there is room for
improvement, and open-ended questions to address a variety of issues. Please
click on the following link to participate in this survey: http://www.unh.edu/survey-center/orcsd510.html.
This survey will end on June 8,
2010. Your input is greatly appreciated, and all responses will be confidential.
The results of the survey will be made public upon completion of the report. The
Strategic Planning Oversight Committee thanks you in advance for your time.
UNH
Academic Year Arrests
In attempting to quantify police
activity, the department looks at three categories of arrest data. The
first focuses upon the arrest statistics of that specific week; the second, the
academic year which routinely begins the last week of August running through
graduation weekend; and finally the calendar year which coincides with the
operating budget of the Town. The data allows the police administration to
compare and form conclusions regarding when and where police presence is
required. This week marks the end of the 2009/10 academic year allowing us
to confirm that the average of physical arrests for the past six years that
occurred during the UNH academic year is 966 meaning that this year’s data of
904 is approximately 6% less than that average.
Planning
Board
The Planning Board met on Wednesday,
May 26, 2010 and took the following actions: Approved a two-lot subdivision for
the Brown Living Trust at 34 Edgewood Road; held a public hearing on a Zoning
Ordinance Amendment to Article XII, Zone Requirements, Section 175-41(F)(7)
“Development Standards in the Central Business District,” to change the
requirements for the maximum height of mixed-use buildings in the Central
Business Zoning District to allow for more flexibility for uses on the
2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors; accepted and approved
a Boundary Line Adjustment between two properties located at 2 Cold Spring Road
and 2 Corson Lane; accepted an amended Conditional Use Permit for Pine Ledge
Holdings for their property located at 20 Strafford Avenue and scheduled a
public hearing for June 23, 2010; accepted a Conditional Use Permit, Site Plan,
and Boundary Line adjust for Ionian Properties, LLC for the redevelopment of
their property located at 10 Pettee Brook Road into a new mixed use building
with new commercial space and 17 apartments and scheduled a public hearing for
June 23, 2010; deliberated on a Conditional Use Application and a Site Plan
Application for the redevelopment of CWC Properties, LLC property located 9-11
Madbury Road into a new mixed use project with commercial space on the
1st floor and apartments on the 2nd and 3rd
floor and continued the deliberations to Wednesday, June 2, 2010; and denied a
request for Technical Review from Park Court Properties regarding the layout of
the property located at 262 Mast Road.
In addition, the Planning Board will
be holding a quarterly planning meeting on June 9, 2010. There will be
several items on the agenda including the following: a discussion with the
Energy Committee on the draft language for their new chapter in the Master Plan;
continued discussion on the Stormwater Regulations (if not done by then);
discussion on leased parking spaces throughout the Town of Durham; and a review
of the traffic model run from the Mill Plaza conceptual
plan.
Economic
Development Committee
The Economic Development Committee
met on Monday, May 24, 2010 at 7 PM in the Council Room. The Police Chief
was in attendance for a discussion on the current downtown parking
situation. The Police Department is in charge of permit parking, metering,
and enforcement. Maria Emanuel, from the UNH Office of Research
Partnerships and Commercialization (ORPC), was also in attendance to discuss the
ORPC commercialization efforts at UNH and in the Town of
PUBLIC
MEETING SCHEDULE
The following public meeting is
scheduled for the coming week in the Town Council chambers at the Durham Town
Office. All meetings begin at 7:00 PM and are held in the Council chambers at
the Town Hall unless otherwise indicated below. To view the agenda for the
meeting listed below, please click HERE.
All meetings recorded on DCAT are available on DVD at the Durham Public Library
for checkout and viewing.
Planning Board – Wednesday, June 2,
2010
Oyster
River School Board meeting schedule, please click HERE.
Durham
Public Library Board of Trustees meeting schedule, please click HERE.
DCAT
Programming Schedule, please click HERE
Stay
current with all Durham P&R programs by viewing the June Recreation
Reminder, please click HERE.
Also, visit our website at http://www.ci.durham.nh.us/COMMUNITY/recreation.html or on Facebook - search ‘Town of Durham
Parks.’
To register for any of the classes
below, please contact Durham P&R Director Michael Mengers at 817-4074, mmengers@ci.durham.nh.us, or visit
the Town Clerk’s Office.
§
Monday, May 31, 10:00 AM, starting at
Town Landing – Memorial
Day Parade
§
Wednesday, June 2, 12:00 noon – 1:00
PM, Wagon Hill Farm – Free
Yoga
§
Saturday, June 12, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM –
The Durham
Bazaar. Reserve your spot today!
§
Thursday, June 24, 1:00 PM – Line
Dancing begins. Pre-registration
required.
§
Thursday, July 1 – Individual/Family
Tennis Lessons. Call to schedule a
lesson.
§
New Zumba, Pilates, Bootcamp schedule
with Kathy Kerrigan – Click HERE
COMMUNITY
EVENTS
§
June 6, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Ocean Bank,
§
July 5-9, 8:30 – Noon,
§
August 2-6 and August 9-13,
§
Raffle to
Benefit UNH Sailing Centre. For more information, visit www.unh.edu/sailing-club/ or contact
Coach Diana Weidenbacker at 868-5189, dianaw46@comcast.net.
§
ORYA Travel Soccer Tryout
pre-registration forms are due by 5/30 for all
players interested in playing travel soccer next fall and spring. Please return
these to the ORYA office no later than 5/30. Tryouts will be held starting
June 9th for the girls and June 10th for the boys. A
registration form and your child’s birth certificate are required for
pre-registration. To access a registration form, please click HERE.
§
9th Annual ORYA Golf
tournament
is being held at Wentworth by the Sea Country Club on Monday June
21st. Registrations forms are available at www.oryarec.org.
Visit our website at www.durhampubliclibrary.org for
more information.
§
Tue. & Thu., May 25 and 27, 10:30 AM:
Storytime. This week, Summer
Vacation and Gardening
§
Fri., May 28, 10:30 AM: NH Humanities Book
Discussion Group
§
Mon., May 31 – Annual Treasure Hunt & Picnic
immediately following the parade and ceremonies. Come in and decorate a hat in
the children’s room all week if you will be marching with the library in the
parade. Sponsored by the
§
Wed., June 2, 7:00 – 8:00 PM: Pontine Theater
Presents Silver Lake Summer, an EE Cummings review
§
Thu., June 3, 7:00 – 8:00 PM: Film – Food,
Inc.
§
Sat., June 5, 10:30 AM: Children’s Gardening
Workshop
§
Tue., June 15: Summer Reading Registration
begins for “Make a Splash, Read. Make Waves At Your Library”, a fun 5-week
reading program for children and teens which begins on June 29th
running through July 29th.
TREASURE
HUNT – SPONOSRED BY THE
Come to the Library and pick up your
clue sheets after the Memorial Day Parade. Match clues to the pictures, get
stamped at each site, and you'll receive a surprise at the Town Landing when
finished. Walk around with your neighbors and learn something new! Wear
comfortable shoes, bring a pencil, and be ready to have some
fun.
JP's
Eatery will have food for sale.
ON
BELAY – UNIQUE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE PROGRAM
On Belay, a Durham-based non-profit,
is hosting its 13th program for children at the YMCA’s
Weekly
Police Arrest Report
|
Week –
6 |
4 UNH
(67%) |
2 Other
(33%) |
|
*2009/10 Academic Year –
904 |
563 UNH (62%)
|
341 Other
(38%) |
|
Calendar Year –
361 |
227 UNH
(63%) |
134 Other
(37%) |
*Commenced September 1, 2009
Historical data
for the same week
This data represents the 2009/10
Academic year report which begins anew each
August when UNH students begin
arriving in
Year |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
|
Week |
12 |
10 |
8 |
5 |
6 |
|
Academic
Year |
1069 |
1011 |
900 |
914 |
904 |
|
Calendar
Year |
407 |
508 |
459 |
437 |
361 |
“The state house in
Have a good
weekend.
Todd
Todd I. Selig, Administrator
Town of Durham
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Tel
(603) 868-5571
Fax (603) 868-5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us
www.ci.durham.nh.us
The
Town of