Lebanon
But it will be up to voters on Tuesday to decide whether to allow “home-based contractor yards” in the city’s rural zoning districts, a change that could give contractors permission to openly work and store construction materials at home.
“I think that this is an issue that most New Hampshire communities grapple with and they’ve dealt with it in different ways,” Lebanon Zoning Administrator Tim Corwin said in an interview last week. “I think we’re sort of on the leading end of this to try to permit this where it makes sense.”
If voters pass Amendment 2 at the polls, contractors would be able to apply for a special exception to conduct business at home. The approval process would include a hearing before the Zoning Board, and a permit could only be approved if the property is larger than an acre and in one of the city’s three rural lands districts.
“These are not going to be easy to obtain. There are several requirements to be met, screening, limitations on what you can keep on your property and where,” Corwin said.
He said it’s currently very difficult to obtain approval for a contractor yard. Some are grandfathered in or allowed as accessory to an existing business, Corwin said, but both are tough to prove.
Contractors could apply for a variance, he said, but zoning regulations set a high bar for those, too.
That’s what Slayton Hill Road resident Terry Melendy found out last year, when the city determined that vehicles parked on his 6-acre property constituted a contractor yard. Melendy appealed the decision, but lost before the Zoning Board, which ruled in August that some of the vehicles were used as part of his landscaping business.
A message left on Melendy’s home phone was not returned on Wednesday. Neither were messages and emails left for his attorney, Barry Schuster.
Corwin said the city’s efforts to enforce the Zoning Board ruling currently are on hold as the ballot initiative progresses. If voters approve the amendment, Melendy would qualify to apply for a special exception, Corwin said.
Even if voters approve the new rules, Corwin said, that won’t be enough to change a property’s status. Residents still will have to apply to the Zoning Board to comply with city regulations.
“If they’re legal today for whatever reason, they’ll remain legal,” Corwin said. “If they’re not legal today, if they’re operating in violation of the zoning ordinance, they’ll continue to operate in violation of the zoning ordinance.”
Also at the polls, Lebanon residents will decide whether to approve new solar regulations. Another zoning amendment calls for community solar arrays to be allowed in the city’s residential and rural districts.
Although city regulations currently allow residents to use solar panels on their personal properties, there are no rules regarding off-site solar that could power multiple homes or businesses.
Corwin cited the Sachem Village neighborhood as an example of how the amendment could change city planning. The neighborhood is located entirely on a single piece of property and utilizes a shared district heating system. But if the new regulations pass, he said, future developments could share solar energy, even if they’re physically located on separate parcels.
The city’s last zoning amendment would codify changes the City Council made in January, when it voted to streamline subdivision regulations. However, those regulations require voter approval so that the city can change its land use tables, which define what’s allowed in each zoning district.
“That can only be done by voter approval. It’s really just an editorial change that needs to be approved by the voters,” Corwin said.
City Planning Director David Brooks said much of City Council-approved revisions don’t change how developments are planned, but what the city calls them. The rules do away with “cluster subdivisions” in favor of “planned unit residential developments.”
“It’s just called something different now,” he said.
Voters can find more information on the zoning amendments, including a Q&A sheet, on the city’s website at lebanonnh.gov and by clicking on “Election and Voter Information.”
Polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. in Lebanon’s three wards.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.