Dover Planning Board Recommends Zoning Overhaul for May Town Meeting

DOVER — April 16, 2026 — Dover's Planning Board voted to send two zoning overhaul articles to the May Town Meeting, including a contested site plan review rewrite that passed 3-1. Chair Carol Usman and Town Planner Melissa Santucci-Rossi led the second and final public hearing session on Warrant Articles 18 and 19, with Article 18 — a cleanup of the accessory dwelling unit bylaw — clearing 4-0 and Article 19 — a comprehensive rewrite of site plan review rules — advancing 3-1 over the dissent of Member Valerie Friedman, who objected to exempting garages and sheds with perimeters under 1,015 square feet from the public hearing process. Resident Mike Savage raised concerns that the new two-board process for short-term rental applications would effectively require a $5,000 certified plot plan that the ZBA currently waives; Santucci-Rossi noted the Planning Board retains authority to waive submission requirements. The lone dissenting vote on Article 19, Friedman said, "I'm really concerned about exempting the garages and the sheds without people having an idea of them happening," citing past cases where abutters caught surveying errors professionals had missed.