Some College students will have input in the upcoming revision of Hanover's master plan next spring, when the town's planning board will include students in its first survey of voters since 1981.
The master plan outlines the town's long-term plans and goals in areas such as population growth, affordable housing, economic development, transportation, recreation and use of natural resources.
Only students who are registered to vote in the town of Hanover will be allowed to participate in the survey, said Peter Johnson, the town's code administrator.
Important issues that will be addressed in the master plan revision include the departure of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for Lebanon, transportation problems and the future of Ledyard Bridge.
Board member Mark Severs said the survey allows the board to "get a general feel for what the town citizens would like to see," before proceeding with the revisions.
Katherine Connolly, the town selectmen's representative to the planning board, questioned whether surveying students might waste town money.
"The survey has all sorts of questions which, in my opinion, a Dartmouth student would not consider ordinarily or might be burdened by," Connolly said.
"A Dartmouth student receiving this long questionnaire, which is probably totally irrelevant to his or her life, would probably discard it and it's costing the town money," she added.
The survey is expected to cost between $2,000 and $3,000 dollars.
Severs led support for the plan. "As long as [students] are registered voters, they should be included," he said.
"You might find some very thoughtful responses [from them]," Severs told the Valley News.
Dartmouth Sociology Professor Robert Sokol, who will conduct the survey, also supported the inclusion of students.
"Anybody that is a resident in the community should have a shot at having their views heard," Sokol said.
State law requires that the town have a master plan and that it be periodically updated, according to Severs. The current master plan was formulated in 1986.
"The town has changed considerably in the past eight years," Johnson said.
Students with Hinman Box addresses account for 922 out of approximately 6,000 Hanover voters, according to Connolly. The number does not include students who may be living off-campus but still in Hanover.
When the last master plan survey was conducted in 1981, the small number of students registered to vote were included in the survey.
Sokol said not all 900 students would receive surveys and that he did not expect all of the students surveyed to complete the survey.
