At last night's meeting of the Hanover zoning board, angry residents of Occom Ridge Road vocalized their opposition to expanded parking facilities at the proposed Center for Jewish Life at Dartmouth.
Gordon DeWitt, director of facilities planning, asked the board last night for a special exception to zoning laws that prevent parking on lots adjacent to the area of primary usage. He commented that he does not "believe this lot changes the character of the zone."
Foundation of Jewish Life Chairman Bruce Pacht indicated that the proposed parking lot and landscaping would make the lot "more attractive than it is now."
But residents disagreed. Occom Ridge resident Jim James called the proposal an "asphalt jungle" and compared it to the Grand Union lot.
Throughout the meeting, residents even referred to the proposed center as "Grand Union."
George Hawthorne called the opposition's comparison to Grand Union "a distortion," arguing that there are more parking places at the grocery store on S. Main Street than at the proposed center.
Though the hearing was scheduled to discuss only the College's proposal to extend a parking lot onto the land behind Delta Delta Delta sorority, Hanover residents also mentioned problems regarding traffic, safety and use of the center.
The proposed center has been a tempestuous issue since a petition signed by 70 area residents was sent to College President James Freedman and the Board of Trustees in November. The petition expressed concern over "parking size and placement, traffic access and safety, scope of services, and size-design of the building."
Resident Anne James said her "main concern is for the safety of pedestrians." However, a Resource Systems Group study published in February suggests that traffic will not be increased significantly. The same study cites police records which show that there have been no recent accidents involving pedestrians in the Occom Ridge area.
In response to community concern, the College downsized the proposed center by 1,400 square feet and changed the design to include only one above-ground story.
College Counsel Cary Clark said "a great deal of effort has been made to keep dimensions comparable to houses in the neighborhood."
Also in response to community pressure, the town increased the number of parking spaces since the last meeting because residents feared a lack of parking would force users of the center to park on Occom Ridge.
Clark said residents were "clearly arguing for a larger lot" at the last town meeting.
The town imposed an increase from 22 to 38 parking spaces at the facility. The College's new proposal includes 41 spaces, 19 of which are on the proposed expanded parking facility.
But last night, residents were still expressing displeasure over the parking plans.
In a speech at the hearing, resident Len Morrissey stated that the parking lot is poorly designed. He said that "CJLD users ... would choose to park on Occom Ridge rather than cope with the probable delays, inconvenience and uncertainty of using the parking lot."
The chairman of the zoning board, who will not vote on this case, criticized the opposition for not addressing the issue at hand.
Not all of Occom Ridge is resisting the proposed facilities. Resident Rebecca Rosenberg said she thinks "this whole thing is getting blown out of proportion."
The issue will be decided during the deliberative meeting of the zoning board on Nov. 3.
