Concord
A spokeswoman for Dartmouth declined to comment on that claim on Thursday. A handful of fraternities in the college’s history have returned to campus after being “de-recognized.”
The fraternity’s lawyer, Carolyn Cole, last week laid out Alpha Delta’s legal arguments that its members should still be allowed to live in the organization’s East Wheelock Street mansion.
Alpha Delta was Dartmouth President Phil Hanlon’s fraternity while an undergraduate in the 1970s, and served as partial basis for the 1978 movie Animal House.
The frat was de-recognized by Dartmouth in spring 2015 after members admitted to having burned brands into their skin.
With the loss of ties to the college, Alpha Delta soon learned from town officials that it also would have its zoning status as a student residence revoked. That would mean that members could not live in the $1.4 million house at 9 East Wheelock.
Alpha Delta fought back, arguing that it should be considered “grandfathered” under the town’s 1970s-era zoning ordinance. The Zoning Board of Adjustment in 2015 ruled against the frat, and an appeal was denied in Superior Court.
Cole last week told four state Supreme Court justices — Associate Justice James P. Bassett, a 1978 Dartmouth alumnus, recused himself — that Alpha Delta’s private property rights should be independent of Dartmouth’s influence.
“The zoning for this property should not depend on whether Dartmouth College allows its students to live there or not,” she said, according to a recording of the event. “This is a private landowner with vested nonconforming rights.”
Justices interrupted frequently with questions during the half-hour oral arguments, feeling out the corners of Cole’s argument and asking for further clarification from Laura Spector-Morgan, Hanover’s attorney.
Spector-Morgan said Alpha Delta had operated “in conjunction with” Dartmouth in 1976, when the ordinance was adopted.
Under New Hampshire law, a zoning use of a property may remain grandfathered as long as it does not substantially change from what it was when the relevant ordinance was adopted.
This means that when the fraternity lost recognition in 2015, its use of the property changed and became illegal, despite its prior use as a residence before the change in town zoning, Spector-Morgan said.
“The uncontroverted facts are that in 1976 this fraternity operated in conjunction with the college,” she said.
Alpha Delta’s lawyer vigorously denied that assertion.
“There is nothing in the record that has any reference to whether Dartmouth provided any health and safety oversight prior to 1976,” Cole said. “Zero.”
New Hampshire Supreme Court spokeswoman Carole Alfano said the court can be expected to release a decision within three to six months.
Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or at 603-727-3242.