Lebanon
The Lebanon Zoning Board voted unanimously on Monday to grant a special exception to a proposed new building. The decision allows its footprint to extend into a 40-foot setback from the street.
Church officials said the proposed building will likely take up 300 square feet of space in the setback. But, they said, the overall church won’t be any larger than its 12,344-square-foot predecessor.
“We are just going from a long rectangle to more square,” Stephen Girdwood, the church’s attorney and building committee chairman, told the board in an audio recording of the meeting.
The church’s new shape will “create a building that is more conducive to the way people worship, the way churches are designed now,” he said, adding it will allow for a larger lobby and more classroom space.
Congregants have been working for months on plans to rebuild the church, which was destroyed after an arson fire leveled much of the building in December. The remains of the structure, erected in 1870, were razed in February due to safety concerns.
Police arrested 28-year-old Lebanon resident Anthony Boisvert and charged him with multiple counts of arson in connection to the church fire and others in the city. He’s also facing first-degree assault, witness tampering and felony burglary charges in connection with events following the blaze.
Boisvert has pleaded not guilty.
During Monday’s meeting, congregants said they were challenged to design a new building on the roughly quarter-acre lot.
John Hawks, who also serves on the building committee, said the church is devoted to making sure any design fits in well with neighboring buildings.
“We really feel it’s very important to keep that look and feel,” he said.
With Zoning Board approval, the project will next be heard by the Planning Board during its Aug. 14 meeting. If all goes well, officials said, construction can begin in September.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.