Hanover
The Christ Redeemer Church is seeking the town’s approval to build a church at 28 and 32 Greensboro Road, while a group of neighbors has urged the Zoning Board to reject the application.
Both camps say they care deeply about the outcome, which has elevated each project detail to a potential high-stakes disagreement.
The church, which scaled back its proposal to a $5 million, 21,000-square-foot structure earlier this year, currently holds Sunday church services for about 400 congregants at the Hanover High School, and says it has no other viable alternative building sites.
“We have spent over 15 years looking for a suitable facility to purchase or to build in Hanover, including a denied request for a zoning variance in 2006,” said Chris Audino, a pastoral resident who handles administrative matters for the church. “During this time, we have learned that there are essentially no zoning districts in Hanover that allow churches except by special exception or variance.”
But a group of at least 14 neighbors say the project is out of scale for the quiet, residential neighborhood and will have adverse impacts on light, noise levels and traffic.
“It’s not that I’m opposed to a church per se,” Greensboro Road resident Jeff Acker said on Tuesday. “But I know that proposal negatively impacts the character of my neighborhood. I have a hard time thinking there’s a proposal to bring 400 people into any neighborhood that wouldn’t.”
Before it can move forward, the church needs three things from the Zoning Board — permission to create a driveway that is wider than 14 feet, a wetlands exemption that would allow it to impact a wetlands buffer area, and a usage exception to allow for the concept of a church.
All of the information that was specific to the usage question has been gathered by the Zoning Board, but the Zoning Board met last week to review conflicting evidence about whether the church’s design models accurately predict the impact on stormwater flow.
Rather than come to a decision, the board scheduled a new hearing for Oct. 25 and is seeking a third opinion.
The church’s application contains a stormwater impact study by Brent Rakowski of Otter Crook Engineering, a Middlebury, Vt.-based firm.
The study created a model to describe how much water runs off the property during a rainstorm now, and compares it to how much water would run off with the new church and parking lot in place.
But Acker and other neighbors pooled their money to hire Pathways Consulting, of Lebanon, to review the available information.
According to the Pathways report, the church’s analysis misidentified the size of a small wetlands on the property, and also failed to consider the wetland’s current ability to retain water during a storm event.
“In their calculations, they ignored the effect of that wetland pre-development, and included it in the post-development calculation. … Our engineer’s calculation shows that when you include that wetland in the pre-existing calculation, their post calculation rate is higher than the pre-existing,” Acker said.
Audino said he has “confidence in Otter Creek’s expertise, and acknowledge that there are a range of input values that can be used in modeling stormwater.” He called Otter Creek’s calculations “conservative,” and said the church is “open to verifying these numbers so that all involved are confident that all zoning requirements are met and that best practices are observed.”
If the Pathways view is correct, it could throw up another obstacle for the church to try to address.
“You’re not allowed to increase the peak discharge,” said Rob Houseman, director of Hanover’s Department of Planning, Zoning and Codes.
In a June 13 letter, the Hanover Conservation Commission indicated that it supported the project, but before the Zoning Board makes a decision, it hopes to draw on the advice of Keach-Nordstrom Associates, a Bedford-based firm, to resolve the issue.
Houseman said the board is asking the engineering company to evaluate the stormwater management plan for compliance with town ordinances, and to evaluate the conflicting expert testimony. It also asks the firm to weigh in on a related issue — whether the model accurately addresses the risk of the project inadvertently hitting groundwater, and the impact that such groundwater might have on the municipal system’s capacity.
Houseman said once Keach-Nordstrom generates a cost estimate, the work will only move forward if Christ Redeemer Church agrees to bear the cost of the review, and Audino said the church does intend to pay for the independent review.
Acker said that, with the neighborhood situated as it is between the Greensboro Ridge and the Mink Brook, a reliable model is needed.
“It’s important because that’s obviously a part of town that has experienced lots of flooding through the years, including last July 1, when a good section of Greensboro Road was washed out,” he said. “Lots of neighbors have had lots of damage.”
Acker also took issue with an industry standard for stormwater modeling that does not account for water that falls uphill of a property, a calculation that he said is particularly relevant given the geography of Greensboro Road.
Audino said the church also wants to ensure that the projections lead to the right engineering design.
“We share the town’s concern that stormwater be managed well at this site,” he said. “While there will be further rigorous reviews required by the Hanover Planning Board and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, given the history of water concerns along Greensboro Road, we understand and support the Zoning Board’s desire to review the stormwater plans.”
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.