Lebanon
The 4-1 vote was delivered shortly before midnight following hours of debate over the proposed rink’s hours, parking and landscaping plans.
Per the board’s decision to grant three variances and one special exception, the nonprofit Campion Sports and Recreation Project will be allowed to construct a two-rink facility to alleviate the shortage of ice time in the Upper Valley.
The facility will nearly triple the rink’s current footprint, be open year-round for activities, and will be allowed up to 200 parking spots along the north, east and south sides of the building.
A Planning Board review is the project’s next step. Zoning Board and state approval on wetlands also is needed before construction can start.
Voters in Hanover, which owns the property, accepted a land gift from Dartmouth College earlier this month that the town plans to add to the rink property.
While the Zoning Board approved the project, it also put constraints on the rink’s operating hours, landscaping and noise.
Under the board’s decision, the complex will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., except from mid-March to mid-October, when the building’s hours will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Sundays, the rink will open at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Board member William Koppenheffer said he hoped setting limited hours would ease concerns voiced by neighbors.
During the two-month hearing process, residents from both Main Street and Gould Road said the rink has not fulfilled promises to shield neighbors from cars’ headlights streaming into their houses. They also contended that increased use of the facility would make the current noise levels much worse.
“There may be some people who would rather skate later, but the neighbors didn’t sign on (for year-round operations) when they bought their houses,” Koppenheffer said.
He agreed to compromise on the 6 a.m. winter opening after members argued the rink should be open before work and school begins.
Both board member Jennifer Mercer and Chairman Jeffrey Halpin said the rink should be able to accommodate busy work schedules.
Campion officials will be required to plant more vegetation along the rink’s north parking lot to better protect Gould Road residents from car lights. The board left the number and configuration of bushes and trees up to the Planning Board.
The Zoning Board decision also requires installation of a seasonal screen to reduce the amount of light that will be seen during the winter months.
The board agreed to instruct the rink to buy a quieter cooling tower with noise-abating technology to reduce sound.
The conditions weren’t enough to convince board member Al Patterson that the project would be good for the area, however. Patterson, a retired Hanover police officer, was the lone dissenting vote.
“Unfortunately, it’s at the expense of the abutters,” he said.
Patterson questioned whether the Route 10 corridor was the right place for a two-rink facility, and said the rink’s current location isn’t the only place in the Upper Valley that could house a rink.
Koppenheffer disagreed, saying the board’s conditions will make things better for the rink’s neighbors.
“I look at it as an opportunity for us to alleviate some, if not all, of the problems the neighbors have complained about,” he said.
Dan French, president of the Sports and Recreation Project, said he was thankful for the Zoning Board’s decision. He said on Tuesday that a design team will be meeting within the next month and will decide when to apply for site plan approval with the Planning Board.
Because detailed schematics haven’t yet been drawn up, French said, the organization doesn’t have an estimate for the cost of the building. He said detailed designs also are needed before the nonprofit will begin to court large donors.
“We’re all very excited about the outcome and looking forward to moving ahead,” French said.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.