LEBANON — Plans to create a “Lebanon Downtown” zoning district with new rules for development were met with approval from city councilors, who praised the effort to increase downtown’s walkability during a meeting last week.
Councilors reviewing the proposal said that drafting design rules for new and renovated buildings could result in a better-looking downtown and encourage more people to visit the neighborhood.
“Anything that feels like a public use is going to lead to a much more vibrant feeling,” said Councilor Karen Zook in a CATV recording of the Wednesday meeting. “And that kind of thing builds on itself.”
The proposed rules, which were spun out of the city’s 2016 downtown visioning study, call for a reduction in minimum lot requirements, which would allow developers to build on smaller spaces.
There are also provisions to increase the “transparency” of buildings, requiring them to have more windows, as well as regulations that would see parking lots moved from the front of shops to the side or back.
Overall, the idea is to make downtown a more inviting place where people can feel safe window shopping, according to Lebanon Planning Director David Brooks.
“It’s about making it comfortable and appealing to be downtown and spend time (there),” he told the City Council.
To that end, the council will be asked in January to adopt several zoning amendments that will set downtown Lebanon apart from downtown West Lebanon — which currently shares the same set of regulations.
The amendments include removing several types of businesses — such as those with drive-thrus — from the list of permitted uses in the new zoning district. Instead, many of those would be allowed with a conditional use permit, which requires Planning Board approval.
The Planning Board also is being asked to adopt new regulations to its approval process to make way for the new zoning. The board will discuss those at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at City Hall.
City councilors predicted the effort likely will take several meetings to fine-tune the proposed rules, saying changes such as requiring some buildings to have two stories and requiring others to have businesses as ground-floor tenants haven’t been discussed in the past.
“There’s a lot of new language, and there’s also a lot of new concepts that we’ve never engaged with in the city of Lebanon before,” City Councilor Karen Liot Hill said. “That’s not saying those are bad ideas. I’m saying we have no experience with them.”
Brooks said that while there aren’t yet plans to update West Lebanon’s zoning rules, that could change in the coming years.
City officials are planning a two-day charrette to explore Main Street in West Lebanon and the surrounding area’s future. The sessions are the first step in a visioning process that is expected to be similar to the downtown effort, according to city officials.
The City Council has been reluctant to fund a full visioning study for West Lebanon while negotiating over the future of the Westboro Rail Yard. They hope the dilapidated state-owned site could be cleaned up but funding for such a project has been stalled as part of New Hampshire’s ongoing budget impasse.
The charrette is expected to begin on Friday, Oct. 18, starting at the Kilton Public Library. Discussions also will take place in the former Seminary Hill School. More information can be found on the city’s website at lebanonnh.gov.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.