NORTH HAVERHILL — Attorneys for Christ Redeemer Church argued in court this week that Hanover’s zoning ordinance discriminates against churches by limiting new construction to just two zoning districts while allowing buildings for secular institutions in more parts of town.
But Hanover’s lawyers characterized the town regulations as “content-neutral” and defended limits the Zoning Board placed last year on a 21,250-square-foot church proposed for Greensboro Road.
Both sides met in Grafton Superior Court on Tuesday morning for a three-hour hearing whose outcome is expected to determine the fate of Christ Redeemer, a Baptist congregation that has sought to build a house of worship in Hanover for more than 16 years.
The church sued Hanover last year, saying the town’s zoning violated federal law and arguing a special exception for its project placed unreasonable conditions on the building.
Those included a limit of 300 occupants and operating hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
Churches are allowed by right — or without having to seek Zoning Board approval — in Hanover’s institutional and downtown districts, which together make up less than 5% of the town’s land, Manchester attorney Michael Tierney said during the court hearing, which was held via teleconferencing software.
But most of the land within the institutional district is owned by Dartmouth College and the Hanover School District. That means downtown, or 20 acres south of the Dartmouth Green, is the only option for those seeking to build a house of worship, said Tierney, who represents Christ Redeemer.
“Even if there were opportunities in the downtown district — which there aren’t — it would only be 0.11% of the land in the town,” he said.
Tierney went on to point out that the ordinance allows movie theaters and private clubs in its business district, which adjoins the downtown district, and schools with auditoriums are allowed in the rural residential district.
But the church’s difficulty in finding a suitable property isn’t the fault of Hanover’s zoning, said Daniel Mullen, a Concord-based attorney who represents the town.
Instead, he said, it’s “limitations of the marketplace” that are stopping Christ Redeemer from building in a zoning district that allows churches.
Mullen also contended that Christ Redeemer isn’t being prevented from building, saying it simply has to abide by limits designed to protect neighbors from noise and traffic.
“The church was granted a permit. They can build the church, they can hold services,” said Mullen, who added that the same restrictions would be placed on a secular institution, such as a bed-and-breakfast capable of holding hundreds of people.
Tierney contested that assertion by saying the town does discriminate by denomination. For instance, St. Denis Catholic Church is allowed to hold midnight Mass but, under Christ Redeemer’s approval, it cannot hold a sunrise Easter service.
Town officials also made comments during the church’s review that the building should look more like traditional 19th-century structures, Tierney said, pointing to those statements as evidence of favoritism toward other Christian denominations.
Christ Redeemer, which held services at Hanover High School before the COVID-19 pandemic and, according to its website, will soon have services at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lebanon, proposed a new structure for its roughly 400 congregants at 28 and 32 Greensboro Road in 2016. However, that $5 million project was downsized in 2018 after the earlier plans received pushback from neighbors.
Earlier efforts to build a church on Buck Road were unsuccessful.
The latest plans include 120 parking spaces, which neighbors say would significantly increase weekend traffic on their largely residential street.
Both Hanover and Christ Redeemer are seeking summary judgment in the case, meaning the attorneys believe there is enough evidence to forgo a full trial.
Judge Peter Bornstein said Tuesday he will issue a written order on the church and town’s dispute, but didn’t give a time frame.
He also took up arguments made by neighbors Jeff and Lara Acker who are also appealing the Zoning Board’s 2019 approval of the church. They say the board review was incomplete because it didn’t fully take into account Christ Redeemer’s impact on wetlands.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.