HANOVER — Voters will have the chance next week to undo some zoning changes approved at Town Meeting last year.
A petitioned warrant article brought by resident Randy Mudge would eliminate the possibility of building triplexes and fourplexes in districts previously zoned for single-family homes. If the article is approved, duplexes would still be allowed and triplexes and fourplexes would be permitted in other residential zones.
Last year, Hanover voters approved a list of zoning changes intended to “incentivize” the development of small multi-unit buildings — known as house-scale residential units — and to ease zoning restrictions in parts of town with municipal water and sewer, according to the 2025 Town Meeting warrant. The article passed 703-575.
“House-scale residential dwellings sounds sort of very nice but they didn’t live up to the goal that they asked for, which was to have it fit within the neighborhoods,” Mudge said in a Thursday interview. “And, they claimed it was a modest change, and it was really radical.”
The 2025 zoning changes allow for four smaller units in up to two buildings per lot in areas that previously allowed one or two-family residences. The amendment also changed other requirements such as allowing smaller minimum lot sizes, frontages and building footprints, which create conditions for denser development.
The goal of the amendment, which was proposed by the Planning Board, was to help address a housing shortage in Hanover by making it easier to build smaller, more affordable units that still fit in with an existing neighborhoods.
The Hanover Planning Board reviewed Mudge’s proposed amendment at a March 24 meeting and voted 5-1 against it, according to minutes from the meeting.
The board discussed the sustainability of infill development versus sprawl, considered specific sites and constraints, discussed how compatibility with the town was a key part of the 2025 amendment and would be improved by another 2026 warrant article, and that “existing zoning is intended to create spaces for all people,” according to meeting minutes.
But to Mudge, the possibility of building multi-unit buildings in historically single-family residential districts is too much for existing neighborhoods to accommodate. Hanover lacks infrastructure — such as sidewalks or adequate parking — in many places, he said.
Several Hanover residents also turned out last month to oppose Hanover developer Jolin Kish’s plans to add a third apartment to her Ledyard Lane home, an addition made possible by last year’s zoning changes.
Residents were concerned about increasing traffic, safety and increasing density in the neighborhood. The Planning Board is scheduled to hold a second hearing on the project Tuesday.
While he understands that Hanover needs more housing, Mudge said the addition of duplexes in all residential districts and multi-family homes in other parts of town, both of which were approved in 2025, will go far enough to address the problem.
Mudge said he has been opposed to the changes since the beginning, but struggled last year to raise enough attention about the article and get people to vote it down at Town Meeting last May. He filed the petitioned article for this year’s Town Meeting in February.
Mudge needed at 25 of Hanover’s roughly 8,000 registered voters to sign the petition in order for it to go on the Town Meeting Day ballot. Hanover Town Clerk Tracy Walsh said he “more than met that threshold,” but declined to say how many signatures Mudge collected.
Jennifer Murray, director of Planning, Zoning and Codes, did not respond to an email or phone call requesting comment last week.
As Mudge is seeking to undo some of the zoning changes made last year, another item on this year’s ballot, Article 2, seeks to “clarify multiple sections” of the overlay approved in 2025.
If passed, the warrant article would “tighten definitions and standards” in the zoning ordinance and add review criteria for house-scale residential developments to make the section “clearer and more consistent.”
The article would also allow driveways to be up to 16-feet wide to allow for shared driveways. Currently, driveways in Hanover can be up to 14-feet wide.
Four other zoning articles on the ballot would bring Hanover’s Zoning Ordinance in line with changes to state law, including updating rules for accessory dwelling units, floor area requirements, noise standards and extending the appeals deadline for Zoning Board of Adjustment cases.
All zoning issues will be decided by Australian ballot.
Ballot voting is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 12 at Hanover High School, 41 Lebanon Street.
