Dover Housing Task Force Opens First Public Forum on Housing Strategy

DOVER -- April 1, 2026, Dover's Housing Task Force launched its first public forum, presenting data showing a $1.6 million median single family home sale price and a subsidized housing inventory of just 2.82 percent against a 10 percent state target. The webinar, attended by 25 residents, was the first of three planned community engagement sessions with consultants Barrett Planning Group, hired roughly three months ago after a formal RFP process. More than 95 percent of Dover's land area is zoned exclusively for single family residential use, and task force consultant Tony noted that the town's RM multifamily district is not mapped, making Dover technically non-compliant with state Chapter 48 and leaving all recent multifamily development to proceed through the Chapter 40B state bypass. Task force member Carol Lisbon confirmed Dover has not adopted the Community Preservation Act, costing the town significant state funds, and said nearly any recommendation from Barrett Planning Group "would require some kind of zoning change." Residents raised concerns ranging from limited water supply to the need for historic district protections, while resident John Jeffries argued that without major infrastructure investment in the town center, water, sewer, and parking, neither housing nor commercial development will materialize.