Hanover
The panel may also wind up assessing whether a neighboring Dartmouth tennis center is exceeding its noise permit.
Abutters to the proposed 70,000-square-foot indoor practice facility off South Park Street have opposed the project every step of the way, saying the size of the building would have an adverse effect on their neighborhood.
The Hanover Planning Board in September started a clock for a final decision by declaring Dartmouth’s application complete, which set a two-month deadline to reach a decision on the application: Nov. 10.
Board members, however, said this week that they were likely to ask Dartmouth for an extension, given the amount of work required on the practice facility and on potential zoning amendments for Town Meeting.
“I would love to meet that deadline,” Planning Board Chairwoman Judith Esmay said, speaking over the phone on Tuesday, but “I’m not sure it will be possible.”
Practice facility neighbors, meanwhile, have opposed the development through a number of different means.
They have questioned Dartmouth’s studies of expected real estate values, building shadows, and noise, and accused individual Planning Board members of having conflicts of interest through their relationships with the college.
The two board members in question vehemently denied the charges during a meeting in late August, according to minutes, and they are still hearing the case.
A challenge from neighbors on sound also may add to the board’s pushing back its site plan review decision.
On Nov. 1, the last Planning Board meeting before the deadline, board members are scheduled to review a new noise study, conducted independently by town-hired contractors, requested by neighbors who criticized the college’s own sound reports.
Hanover Planning and Zoning Director Robert Houseman said he had already confirmed with college officials that they would agree to an extension until Dec. 21, should the board vote to ask for one.
“It’s difficult for board members and the public to be presented with a report on a given night and then make a decision,” he said.
As a separate request, the neighbors have asked the board to revoke the adjacent Alexis Boss Tennis Center’s site plan permit, saying it is exceeding the noise levels allowed for its 1999 construction.
That matter also will wait until the independent sound study comes, town officials said.
One of the most vocal neighbors, Kelly Dent, of Chase Road, is also vice chairwoman of the Planning Board.
Dent, who has recused herself from board decisions but argued against the project in meetings, said the neighborhood had been concerned about bias in the college’s own sound studies.
“We’re still not sure what kind of noise it will make,” she said on Tuesday.
Dent made an extensive presentation to the board at its latest meeting, on Oct. 4, covering the negative effects she anticipated the practice facility would have on property values, including shadows and noise, among other factors.
Dartmouth officials have presented studies saying that the building would have a negligible effect in these areas.
Administrators say that college athletes need the facility in order to extend their practice facility during cold weather. Its location — between Tyler Road and South Park Street, east of campus — can’t be changed, either, because athletes must be able to walk to practice, college officials say.
Dent sounded optimistic in a phone call on Tuesday, but said that should the permit for the building go through, some neighbors were ready to challenge it in court.
“That is on the table,” said Dent, who herself has been making filings to the board through the Concord-based attorneys of Cleveland, Waters and Bass. “There are several who have discussed that possibility.”
The board was scheduled to meet on Tuesday night, but not to discuss the facility. Its next meeting is Oct. 25.
Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or at 603-727-3242.