West Lebanon
If built, neighbors warn that the construction could alter the natural setting and close-knit community that now exists about a quarter mile south of the Lebanon-Hanover town line.
“I am concerned that if the plan is approved as proposed, the character of the neighborhood will be lost,” Wildwood Drive resident Tania Covertini, wrote in an email this weekend.
“What will happen to the wildlife for example? And to the safety of the kids due to increased traffic?” she said. “To my knowledge, there has been no effort so far to engage the neighborhood in a dialogue about the plan.”
The development, which is proposed by Hanover radio magnate Jeff Shapiro, includes plans for 17 new 1½ story cottages along a private drive accessible via Oak Ridge Road, according to preliminary plans submitted to the city. Each cottage would have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an attached garage.
Another four units would be duplexes designed to “provide architectural consistency and scale relative to the Oak Ridge Road residential neighborhood,” the plans said.
The private lane running through the development would include a small, green space that would provide maneuvering for large vehicles, including fire trucks. And engineers also plan for community spaces.
”The project will incorporate community gardens, a garden shed in the southeast portion of the property and stormwater management features in setback areas where technically and aesthetically appropriate,” Jeff Goodrich, president of Lebanon-based Pathways Consulting, wrote in a letter to city planners.
”The project will also incorporate vegetative screening with a goal of enhancing the proposed project and providing some screening adjacent to appropriate existing residences,” he added.
The plans will be discussed in a conceptual hearing before the Lebanon Planning Board tonight, in what is considered an early step toward gaining regulatory approval.
If Shapiro decides to continue with the project, his final plans would be subject to a full hearing before the board.
Shapiro, who owns the Great Eastern Radio media group, purchased two properties on Oak Ridge Road for a combined $534,000 between 2012 and 2014, according to city records. Both would be combined into a 5.3-acre parcel for the planned development.
Although city regulations call for single family homes near Oak Ridge Road to be built on quarter-acre lots, Shapiro is proposing making use of an option to build a “planned unit residential development,” or PURD.
In exchange for smaller lot sizes, PURDs set aside large tracts of land to be conserved as open space. About 53 percent of Shapiro’s property would be left undeveloped, under his proposed plans, which is about 3 percent above the minimum requirements.
But it’s the density of the proposed homes that partially worries Covertini, who wants to see the area’s existing character preserved.
”It is an exceptional place where the unique character of the homes (each different from one another), the beautiful natural setting and the great sense of community makes it perfect,” she said.
Oak Ridge resident Rand Swenson has similar worries about the project.
”I have concerns, including the scale of the property, traffic and the change in character of what is currently a very low-density residential neighborhood,” he wrote in an email last week.
Residents living near Route 10 have long opposed plans to further develop the neighborhood, challenging several proposals in recent years.
Plans to expand the James W. Campion Rink were approved by the city’s Zoning Board in late 2016, but not before a lengthy review process where neighbors worried about increased traffic and noise problems that an upgraded rink could bring.
The Planning Board has not yet reviewed the project.
Residents also rallied in the summer of 2016 to effectively kill a proposed rezoning of the Route 10 corridor.
The plan would have allowed for the construction of office space, and lessened restrictions on the building of recreational facilities and retail shops.
But residents protested, arguing at a community meeting that the rezoning could diminish the neighborhood’s residential character.
The community also has expressed concerns about the safety of Route 10, after a 78-year-old Pinewood Village resident died in 2010 when he was hit by two cars at the intersection of Oak Ridge Road.
The city in 2014 approved several improvements to the intersection, including pedestrian-activated lights and a median, in response to residents’ concerns.
The Lebanon Planning Board is scheduled to discuss the proposed 21-unit development when it meets at 6:30 p.m. tonight at City Hall.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.