West Lebanon
More than 20 people filled a room in the Kilton Public Library on Wednesday night to hear about 10 areas on the city’s west side where existing regulations conflict with Lebanon’s 2012 Master Plan.
As city planners explained changes in the plan, only a handful of people expressed concern or approval. Those who did speak worried that extending some zoning districts would allow businesses to expand into what are now largely residential neighborhoods. The group also offered overwhelming support to plans that would expand the rural designation to more lands.
Wednesday’s forum was the first of two this month where city planners hoped to measure attitudes toward rezoning portions of the city. A second meeting is scheduled next week to discuss possible chances in the eastern half of the city.
During the forum, officials said they want to know whether zoning proposals in the Master Plan are still acceptable to residents. Although resident input weighed heavily in crafting the guiding document five years ago, planners want to make sure public opinion hasn’t shifted dramatically.
“Before we start proposing zoning amendments, we want to know from you whether the Master Plan future land use map still reflects what the community wants to see happen,” said Lebanon Planning Director David Brooks. “Consider this a five-year check in on that map.”
If the map isn’t right or if residents do not want change, Brooks said, city officials would update the Master Plan to reflect those sentiments.
Opposition to a proposed mixed-use zone from residents in the area of Sachem Village has already led to planners abandoning plans to rezone there, he said.
Much of the Master Plan’s goals have been accomplished in the last five years, Brooks said, but city estimates that roughly 6 percent of city land doesn’t match what was outlined in 2012.
Properties that overlap in two existing zoning districts account for much of that land.
When officials were working on the Master Plan, they sought to place properties in one district, Brooks explained. That way, he said, a business or developer would be able to utilize as much of their land as possible.
As a result, the plan calls for several changes that would expand West Lebanon’s central business district to reflect existing property boundaries.
Both Main Street and a portion of Bridge Street would see business districts expand, if the city were to enact the Master Plan’s zoning guidelines, a notion that didn’t sit well with everyone in the crowd.
“I just want to emphasize that I’m 72 years old. I’ve been here all my life, and at one time, West Lebanon was a beautiful place,” said one man in attendance.
Others agreed that allowing businesses to expand their footprint could create trouble with nearby neighborhoods by diminishing quality of life or creating traffic problems.
The plan also calls for mixed-use zones in areas that might already have businesses, offices and homes mixed, but are currently in a zone that doesn’t reflect the neighborhood characteristics. That’s the case with a stretch of land near South Main Street, Brooks said.
And in some cases, the Master Plan attempts to reclassify properties that find themselves in zones the owners don’t want to be in. A small, inaccessible parcel of the land abutting the Mascoma River would be transferred from an industrial to a rural zone, under changes in the Master Plan, an idea which drew applause.
The plan also calls for two properties near Pike Industries to change to rural zoning, along with a parcel of wetlands east of the airport.
City officials said they intend to put Wednesday’s presentation and and accept comment online at lebanonnh.gov.
Another community forum on zoning is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.