NEWS

Residents sound off on parking, development

Dover’s rising taxes another top concern at Coffee With the Mayor public hearing

Karen Dandurant news@seacoastonline.com
An estimated 200 residents attended the Coffee With the Mayor public hearing at The Strand Theater in Dover on Saturday where top concerns included the development of higher-priced housing, parking and the city’s rising taxes. [Daniel Pontoh photos]

DOVER — Parking, development and property taxes dominated discussion as a couple hundred people turned out Saturday for a Coffee With the Mayor public hearing.

The hearing at The Strand theater offered a chance for residents to ask questions and air concerns about things in the city.

Attendees were asked to fill out a form before the meeting with questions they wanted to ask, which were managed at the meeting by City Manager Michael Joyal.

Mayor Karen Weston said this was first such meeting but added she would like to see more.

"We want to hear what our residents have to say," she said. "We monitor social media and knew there were concerns. So we invited our residents to come and let us know what they are thinking."

Prior to the meeting, a group of concerned citizens stood in front of The Strand with a sign that read "Make Dover affordable for all.

"It seems like there is a lot of luxury housing happening in Dover," said Griffin Sinclair Wingate, who runs a nonprofit group in the city. "There is a community of folks concerned about keeping Dover affordable and keeping it the thriving community it is now."

Dover resident Daniel Pontoh said he just found a new apartment he will be moving into.

"But it was a process trying to find a new place," he said. "Everywhere I went I was told they had six to seven showings each day. I am concerned that our city leaders and the developers are not considering the working class people who made Dover the city is is. I am not against development. I just do not want to see development that forces people out of the city."

No solutions to resident concerns were brought forth. City officials instead tried to explain the reasoning behind decisions questioned by residents, leaving some residents frustrated.

"This was all a waste of time," said Hanna Jacoby, an older resident of Dover, who has lived in the city since 1972. "Nothing will change from this. I still cannot shop downtown because I can't park here. I can still walk, but for some downtown is completely inaccessible. I love Dover but the the taxes are high and we watch as stores we like downtown leave the city because they can't make a go of it here."

"We just can't say no," said Assistant City Manger Chris Parker, talking to resident concerns about the number of apartments being developed, and the impact on parking and traffic. "We operate based on state statutes, not just our own rules and regulations. New Hampshire is a property rights state. It does not allow us to limit the number of permits given in a year as in states like Maine. It doesn't allow us to declare a growth moratorium, unless we show a need and have a plan to resolve the problem. We are not allowed to dictate rent prices to a developer, only to make sure we have a percentage of affordable housing per the state. On some issues, we can only suggest to developers."

Parker said the city can use its Planning Board process to make sure the development meets its zoning ordinances.

Parking Manager Bill Simons took a lot of heat on parking issues, mainly because the city sells permits for certain lots and the parking garage, a move residents feel limits their own parking options.

Simons said new developments, whether business or residential, must provide for their parking. It there is not enough on site, the city has the option to sell permitted spaces to meet their parking needs.

"In my opinion, we will eventually need a second parking garage," Simons said. "We have identified four potential locations."

Parking lots on First and Third streets have had space sold to developers. City officials said they would like to see the downtown spaces preserved more for visitors, and find ways to have business owners downtown use other parking areas.

"Those lots were public," said one resident. "Now the city has taken away those spots."

"Managing the parking is going to be an ever evolving system, based on things like development," Joyal said. "It will always be fluid. If we find the demand increases too much, we may need to add the second parking garage."

One resident asked why all this development was not making his taxes go down. The answer: The new $87 million high school and a second capital expense project, the renovation of Garrison Elementary School.

"We need to get commercial development in here to help offset our property taxes," Weston said. "If any of you have those connections, tell them we would welcome them here in Dover. We feel your pain. I own a couple of properties in the city and I am also watching my tax bill go up."