Friday Updates - January 3, 2025

Friday, January 3, 2025

A beautiful winter's day looking towards the Town Landing. Courtesy, Katie Paine

To read the Administrator's Year End Wrap-Up Report for 2024, please click HERE.

To read the December Quarterly Update for the Town Council Goals, please click HERE.

SOMETHING NEW TO HELP YOU SAVE ALL THOSE IMPORTANT DATES TO YOUR DIGITAL CALENDAR

With all of the dates for community events and town deadlines that go out in the Friday Updates each week, we have partnered with AgendaHero.com to help you put all of those important dates into your digital calendar with just a click. Starting today, at the end of every Friday Updates, there will be a button link to the Town of Durham's AgendaHero website where you will see a list of all the events mentioned in the Friday Updates. To add them to your calendar, just click on "Add to Calendar."

You will have to sync your calendar to the website the first time, but after that, you should be able to just click on each item you want added to your calendar. Be assured that no personal data is being saved to the website. Please email Karen Edwards at kedwards@ci.durham.nh.us with any comments or questions.

We hope this will help to keep you organized in the new year!

POSITIONS OPEN FOR MARCH 11, 2025, TOWN ELECTION - Filing period begins Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

The 2025 Town Election will be held on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at the Oyster River High School, Multipurpose Room, Coe Drive, Durham, N.H. The polling hours are 7:00 am - 7:00 pm. Candidates interested in running for Town office should file their declaration at the Durham Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s Office starting on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at 8:00 am, through Friday, January 31, 2025, until 5:00 pm. 

The following positions are available:

• Three positions for Town Councilors (3-year term)
• Three positions for Durham Public Library Board of Trustees (3-year term)
• One position for Trustee of the Trust Funds (3-year term)

2025 Dog licenses are now available in the Durham Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s office. Durham offers dog licensing online HERE. All dogs must have a valid rabies vaccination to obtain a license, which may be uploaded online or emailed to rdeane@ci.durham.nh.us. Residents may also come into the Town Hall to get a dog license during the clerk’s hours on Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm.

The Town of Durham is excited to announce the return of the Top Dog raffle. This raffle was created to motivate and remind dog owners to license their pets every year by April 30. Residents automatically register for the Top Dog raffle when they obtain a dog license before April 30. The winner of the Top Dog raffle will receive a gift basket donated by the town clerk and their dog’s biography will be featured in the Durham Friday Updates. Your dog could be the next Top Dog! 

RULES & REGULATIONS

• Contestants will automatically be entered into the raffle when they register their dog(s) before April 30 (only open to Durham residents).
• Residents who DO NOT want to be included in the raffle may opt out by writing, calling, or emailing the clerk’s office.
• Contestants must be 18 or older and be the owner of the dog on file with the clerk’s office. Town of Durham employees and elected officials are not eligible.
• The contestant must have a 2025 Town of Durham dog license by April 30. A current rabies vaccination will be required to obtain the license.
• The raffle winner may submit a digital photo and brief biography of their dog. Photos of the 2025 raffle winner’s dog will be included in the Durham Friday Update.
• The winner will be drawn at random by clerk’s office in May 2025.

CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTION - Curbside pickup starts week of Jan. 6th

Durham Public Works Crews will be collecting Christmas trees that are placed curbside during the week of January 6 beginning at 7:00 AM. Crews will make one pass down each roadway. Trees will also be accepted at the Transfer Station on Tuesday’s and Saturday’s between 7:30 AM and 3 PM. Please ensure your tree is not buried in snow, frozen to the ground or bagged, and remove lights, ornaments and tinsel.

NEW RAYMOND A. LAROCHE SR. TRANSFER STATION PERMIT STICKERS AVAILABLE

2025 Transfer Station Permit stickers are available at Durham Public Works or the Town Clerk/ Tax Collector’s Office at Town Hall. This permit sticker is required for entry and is available free of charge for Durham residents.

The permit stickers also allow an extra hour of free parking downtown in the Bobcat Corner lot and along Main Street in front of the shops between Pettee Brook Lane and Madbury Rd.

Monday's warm weather brought fog and pink clouds over the Mill Pond. Courtesy, Karen Edwards

PLANNING BOARD BEGINS 2025 WITH THREE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON IMPORTANT ITEMS

The Planning Board is holding three public hearings at its next meeting on January 8 (the Public Hearing on renovations to Mill Plaza has been postponed to January 22)

• a proposed Dunkin Donuts at the old Cumberland Farms site
• a conditional use on Riverview Court
• a proposed new student rental ordinance. 

Background Concerning New Student Rental Ordinance Proposal:

A draft zoning amendment was initially prepared by Administrator Todd Selig with input from an ad hoc working group he assembled for advice including Code Officer Audrey Cline, Town Planner Michael Behrendt, Fire Marshall Brendan O’Sullivan, Fire Chief Dave Emanuel, Town Councilor Em Friedrichs, Town Councilor Heather Grant, Planning Board Chair Paul Rasmussen, State Representative Al Howland, and resident Jay Gooze.  The proposal was written in response to evolving societal norms around the definition of family, the community’s desire to preserve and support more housing opportunities, the economic and social impacts of college student rental housing impacting traditional residential neighborhoods and local housing stock, and recent statewide legislative efforts aimed at expanding housing opportunities for NH’s workforce and potentially impacting Durham’s existing local zoning. Administrator Selig recommended that the Planning Board take up the issue to work through the draft as part of the public process. The Planning Board has made several adjustments to the initial draft, which has been posted in advance of an upcoming public hearing on January 8, 2025.

Durham’s current family definition is rooted in a 1950’s definition of family. The zoning proposal addresses evolving societal norms around the definition of family. There are unmarried blended families, unmarried same-sex partners with children, and other family configurations that should be recognized.  

The draft zoning change increases housing opportunities for workforce and young professionals by allowing more than three unrelated to share a dwelling.

Durham property owners have expressed concern that their existing 4 and 5-bedroom homes are unreasonably restricted by the “no more than 3-unrelated” ordinance.  

The draft zoning change defines STUDENT RENTAL as a residential dwelling composed of one or more dwelling units on a single parcel that includes five or more full-time undergraduate college students, as defined by Federal law. The threshold of five applies to the total number in dwelling units on a parcel (For example: a three-unit building with two full-time undergraduate college students in one unit and four in another would be classified as a student rental).

The proposal indicates that Student Rentals (5 or more full time students) will be allowed in specified zones (Central Business, Professional Office, Church Hill, and Courthouse zoning districts), with fire code compliance (sprinklers, etc.). Up to 4 full-time students will be allowed by right in all zoning districts on one parcel (combined dwelling units, such as a Single-Family Dwelling with an Accessory Apartment).  Any number of occupants, assuming no more than 4 full time students, will be allowed in any zoning district with fire code compliance.  

There is a great deal of interest in the state legislature to address NH’s housing shortage. Durham’s historic “no more than 3-unrelated” provision of our zoning ordinance dating to the 1980’s was narrowly preserved in 2024. New legislation has already been introduced that will once again target Durham’s ordinance and our outdated definition of family. The new proposed student rental ordinance would protect Durham because occupancy is limited by the definition of student, rather than familial relationships. The state fire code dictates more than 4 transient individuals sharing a cooking facility would trigger a lodging & rooming house definition, which imposes a sprinkler requirement among other life safety codes. If the more than 4 individuals are full time students, it would trigger a student housing definition in Durham and would only be allowed in certain zoning districts (see above).   The overall effect would be to increase the “3-unrelated ordinance” to 4 occupants allowed in every zone without fire code compliance. Otherwise, 5 or more occupants would require fire code compliance. If newly introduced legislation were adopted in 2025, as it was in 2024, that set an occupancy floor minimum of two occupants per bedroom, Durham would be in compliance. To allow more than 4 occupants in a unit, the landlord would need meet the fire code requirement, and if a property contained more than 4 full time students, it would be limited to the zones noted above because it would now be classified as a student rental.  

Durham Rep. Al Howland has worked to keep the public, Planning Board, and Town Council in the loop concerning legislation pertaining to housing that would impact Durham. .  He provided a write up of all the housing bills last spring, and strongly recommended the Planning Board and Town Council re-examine the “no more than 3-unrelated” ordinance as he feels it would be very challenging to continue to defend. Unfortunately, the Town was unable to have a chance to work on it until late October 2024.  Following two meetings of the ad hoc working group organized by Admin. Selig, a framework was developed and introduced to the Planning Board on November 13, 2024. The community will have a chance to weigh in at the Planning Board public hearing on the proposed zoning change on January 8, 2025.

Rep. Howland reports the NH House Democratic Caucus feels the “no more than 3-unrelated” ordinance is a fundamentally flawed ordinance that they cannot support.  

Questions/Answers concerning the proposed ordinance:

1. Student rental Defined

• How do we define “Student”? Full time, Part-time, Taking a single class, trade school? In person? Remote? Federal law outlined by the U.S. Department of Education defines a full-time college student as someone enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per term. Each individual educational institution defines their particular course credit requirements (i.e., remote v. in-person, number of terms per year, etc.) for registered students.  
• By defining student rental and no other classifications in regard to occupants, could a rental company or individual rent a home to as many individuals as they wish as long as the occupants are not full-time students? Yes, as long as they meet building and fire code requirements.   

2. Grandfathered - What is the impact on grandfathered properties?  

• If the draft zoning changes is adopted, existing properties lawfully housing more than 4 full-time students in one dwelling unit would become legally non-conforming (grandfathered) for zoning purposes and for fire code purposes.  
• Existing properties lawfully housing more than 4 full-time students across multiple buildings or multiple units would become legally non-conforming (“grandfathered”) for zoning purposes and for fire code purposes. 
• If either of the prior two conditions noted exist in the zones where Student Rental is a proposed permitted use, going forward they would be existing “by right” per zoning, and “grandfathered” per fire code. 

3. Cohabitation

Would 4 Students and their significant others who are not students be permitted to cohabitate in a home? Yes, as long as they meet building and fire code requirements.  

4. Student Status

How can you differentiate between a student and a non-student? Federal law outlined by the U.S. Department of Education defines a full-time college student as someone enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per term. The UNH Office of Off-Campus Housing can confirm whether a student is enrolled or not and at what credit hour level.  

5. Parking

Do you plan on making any requirements for off street parking for these properties? There is no change being proposed to the existing parking section of the zoning ordinance.  

6. Unsightliness

With an increase to the allowed number of occupants on single-family dwelling properties, is there a plan to keep them from becoming eyesores to neighbors and citizens? The existing trash, parking, noise, and disorderly house ordinances will remain in effect.  

7. Enforcement

How do you plan to enforce these changes to the zoning rules? The UNH Office of Off-Campus Housing can confirm whether a student is enrolled or not and at what credit hour level.  

8. Discrimination 

By creating a law singling out “Student rentals” could the Town be liable for discrimination by allowing a property to be rented to more than 5 occupants for non-students but not students in restricted zones?  We believe the answer is no.  Students are not a protected class, the term "student" is defined and used in other states without issue, and in late-2024 a NH State Senate subcommittee was evaluating creating a definition of student housing on the state level. 

9. Why limit student housing to certain zoning districts?

Over the years, Durham has experienced a marked difference in lifestyles between off campus undergraduate college student housing and those households that are occupied by working professionals or families that frequently causes an undesirable impact.  

Did you know that there are 61 known cellar holes in Durham? Northern New England is full of reminders of past lives: burial grounds, stone walls, old foundations, and more.

Please join the Durham Historic Association in the Durham Town Council Chambers on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 2pm, for A Walk Back In Time: The Secrets of Cellar Holes, presented by Adair Mulligan and co-sponsored by NH Humanities.

Mulligan, Executive Director of the Hanover Conservancy and former Conservation Director of the Connecticut River Joint Commissions, will speak on the topic of Cellar Holes and the rich histories to be discovered in their remains. Light refreshments will be served. Inclement weather date: Sunday, January 12.

Did You Know?  U-Haul Programs

U-Haul has multiple innovative programs that support sustainability and promote the principles of reducing, reusing and recycling. 

Box Exchange

In an effort to reduce waste, U-Haul has created a program that helps its customers connect and share resources- to sell, give away, or find boxes and moving supplies.  This service not only benefits customers, but the environment as well by keeping moving supplies out of the landfills. 

Go to www.uhaul.com/boxexchange for more details. 

Box Buy Back Program

U-Haul Will refund the full purchase price of any unused box returned to them. They guarantee 100% buy-back of any unused U-Haul boxes, with receipt, at any U-Haul center location. In addition to your own savings, you’ll be cutting back waste at the source and reducing demand on the earth’s natural resources - trees.

U-Haul boxes contain up to 90% post-consumer fiber. When you purchase boxes made from recycled, corrugated material, you are helping to preserve our natural resources.

Source: U-Haul.com

Brought to you by the IWMAC Committee 

Questions about recycling or composting? Email us at: DurhamRecycles603@gmail.com

Check us out on Instagram: sustainable.durham.nh

Not sure if an item can be recycled? Check here: https://recyclesmartma.org/

OYSTER RIVER SCHOOL NEWS

ORCSD School Board and Oyster River Teachers' Guild Announcement

On December 18, 2024, the ORCSD School Board and the Oyster River Teachers' Guild announced they had completed a new teachers’ contract. This agreement reflects a collaborative effort to ensure the continued excellence of education in our district while remaining mindful of the district’s fiscal responsibility. 

The Teachers’ Guild and the School Board demonstrated their full support by unanimously ratifying the contract. We believe this agreement benefits students and staff, emphasizes the importance of mutual respect and shared goals, invests in our educators, and strengthens the foundation of our schools.

ORCSD School Board Openings and Warrant Deadline

OPENINGS: Individuals wishing to file for a school district opening must do so between Wednesday, 1/22/25, and up until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 1/31/25: one moderator position (1-year term) and two At-Large School Board members for the ensuing three years. There is no filing fee to register for placement on the ballot. Contact School District Clerk Susan Caswell at 603-550-2592 to set up a time to file, or Wendy DiFruscio at the SAU 603-389-3286 to make an appointment.

WARRANT DEADLINE: The deadline for submitting petitioned warrant articles for Session I of the Oyster River School District Annual Meeting is 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. All petitioned articles must be submitted in writing, signed by 25 or more registered voters from Durham, Lee, or Madbury and given to a school board member or delivered to the school district office (SAU #5, 36 Coe Drive, Durham). For additional information contact Wendy DiFruscio at the school district office at wdifruscio@orcsd.org, or 603-389-3286.

Notice of Public Budget Hearing

The ORCSD School Board will hold a public budget hearing on the proposed 2025-2026 school budget January 15, 2025, 7:00 p.m., in the Morse Recital Hall at Oyster River Middle School (1 Coe Dr, Durham, NH 03824).

ORCSD School Board Meeting Schedule

The 2024-2025 ORCSD School Board meeting schedule can be found on the district's school board Meeting Schedule page HERE.

Oyster River High School Receives a Certificate of Inclusion

ORHS has been awarded a Certificate of Inclusion recognizing its commitment to creating an inclusive school community. The certificate was received following the school's participation in the Special Olympics New Hampshire's Unified Champion Schools program. 

Yash's Mast Way Math Challenge Club

Mast Way School’s fall 2024 math club was led by Yash Joglekar, a former student who is now in 8th grade at Oyster River Middle School (ORMS). Learn more HERE.

ORHS Kristen Perron Named 2025 Assistant Principal of the Year

On January 3, 2024, the New Hampshire Association of School Principals (NHASP) selection committee announced that Ms. Kristen Perron of Oyster River High School (ORHS) had been named Assistant Principal of the Year, for 2025-2026, a recognition that underscores her exceptional leadership and profound impact on students, parents, and staff.