Dover Planning Board approves four zoning amendments for town meeting

DOVER -- April 14, 2025, Dover Planning Board unanimously recommended four zoning bylaw amendments to town meeting and deferred a contentious barn site plan review. The board voted 6-0 on Articles 19 through 22, covering a FEMA floodplain map update effective July 8, 2025, administrative dimensional clarifications, an Affordable Homes Act-mandated ADU overhaul removing special permit and owner-occupancy requirements, and an extension of the site plan review decision window from 30 to 60 days. A site plan review application from Archia Homes for a 5,500-square-foot accessory barn at 283 Denim Street was continued to April 28 after board members said the packet lacked a lighting plan and a clear account of intended use. Chair Carol Lisman told applicant Paul Signarella that "this kind of space is just ripe for a different type of use over time." The board also disclosed a town caucus paperwork error that left a two-year Planning Board voting seat unlisted on the May 19 ballot, requiring neighbors to write in incumbent member Katie's name.