The town’s Zoning Board later this month will hear a petition to change the allowed use of the former Alpha Delta fraternity house from office space back to student housing.
Adjacent to the Dartmouth College campus and set among other college buildings, the property at 9 East Wheelock St. was built in the early 1920s. The fraternity is famous for serving as the inspiration for the film “Animal House.”
The house served as an Alpha Delta student residence until 2015 when the college revoked the fraternity’s student organization status after multiple disciplinary violations involving alcohol and hazing, including having new members branded with the fraternity letters.
At that point, the Hanover Zoning Board determined the house could no longer serve as a student residence because it was no longer operated “in conjunction with another institutional use.” The fraternity’s derecognized status, which remains in effect today, meant that the college would be unable to supervise student health, safety and appropriate conduct.
In 2017, the Alpha Delta Alumni Corp., which owns the property, made several attempts to have the building reopened as student housing. That included a proposal at Hanover Town Meeting to remove the zoning requirement that student residences in the campus “institutional” district be operated “in conjunction with another institution” such as Dartmouth College.
Prior to the town meeting, Dartmouth officials spoke in opposition to the measure, expressing concern that it could limit the school’s supervision over its students and lead to public safety problems.
Several Dartmouth students argued that the measure could enable more dangerous behavior in unsupervised student societies and allowed wealthy, exclusive clubs such as fraternities to act with impunity.
The proposal ultimately failed, 1,993 to 1,471.
The building remained unused from 2015 until 2018, when the fraternity requested that the property’s allowed use be changed. Since then, it has provided office space for the alumni corporation as well as a venue for various organization events.
New proposal for oversight
In September, the fraternity submitted an application to change the building’s use back to a student residence while continuing to host events. The fraternity proposed creating an alternative supervision structure to the college’s made up of an Alumni Oversight Board to manage special events and public gatherings. The board would also provide annual compliance reports to the Hanover zoning administrator.
Scott Snyder, a Dartmouth professor and Alpha Delta alumnus, prepared the application on behalf of the fraternity.
“These measures provide student protections, continuous supervision, behavioral oversight and an enforceable line of accountability,” the application states.
Fraternity alumni believe that reopening the building to student residents would provide additional housing in a town that generally lacks affordable options.
The existing Alpha Delta building has room to lodge 20 or more students next to the Dartmouth College campus.
“With these [oversight] improvements, 9 East Wheelock will be brought to standard and contribute to easing the ongoing housing shortage in the Hanover community,” J. Michael Hafner, board president for the Alpha Delta Alumni Corp., wrote in a letter to the town.
Town officials are prepared to give the idea a hearing.
“I don’t think the Town would have any special concerns as long as the requisite oversight required by the Zoning Ordinance is in place, as it is with other Dartmouth fraternities,” Hanover Zoning Administrator Bruce Simpson said.
What remains unclear is whether the fraternity would need to have its student organization status with Dartmouth College restored in order to provide student housing. University officials declined to comment.
The Hanover Zoning Board will decide if the proposed measures are enough to allay the town’s concerns about returning the building to its original use.
The board will hear the fraternity’s petition at 7 p.m. on Nov 20 in the Town Hall Boardroom, 41 South Main St.