The Town of Hanover will hold its annual town meeting tonight at 7 p.m., where residents will vote on a zoning ordinance that may affect proposed housing developments.
The town will vote on articles relating to the Hanover Zoning Ordinance. Proposed by the Hanover Planning Board, the zoning ordinance would add new zoning districts for general residence, forestry, recreation and offices while reducing and amending the uses of the rural residence zoning district, a district of larger plots of land set aside for habitation.
Julia Griffin, Hanover's town manager, said that the demand for housing has increased significantly during the last decade for several reasons. Families with young children are attracted to the area's schools, retirees appreciate Hanover's cultural benefits, urban dwellers look to relocate to a rural setting and new employees from the expanding College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are searching for local residences.
The persistent pressure on the housing market has caused the price of housing to rise roughly one percent per month, one of the highest rates of increase in the state, Griffin said. As a result, property taxes have also risen substantially.
"We worry about the folks who are already here, particularly people who are in a limited income bracket," Griffin said.
To alleviate the rising property taxes, the Hanover Affordable Housing Commission has agreed to build 14 units of affordable housing, restricted to families with incomes of $40,000 or less, on East Wheelock Street.
Other projects that are being discussed are targeted toward a wider range of incomes. Twin Pines Housing Coalition will begin construction on the Gile Tract off Medical Center Drive within the next year, and half of the houses there will be considered generally affordable. The houses in the Velvet Rocks housing development off Greensborough Road will cost anywhere from $400,000 to $800,000.
Not all Hanover residents are pleased with the newly proposed districts, however.
Residents for Responsible Growth, a local group of roughly 150 members, has been particularly active in opposing the rapid construction in store for the town. The group formed when the construction at Velvet Rocks exposed the area to erosion.
Michelle Russell, a graduate student in public health and a member of Residents for Responsible Growth, said that the group is concerned about the potential damage that rapid building may cause, including a significant impact on the infrastructure of Hanover with respect to the roads and schools.
"If the town wants to preserve its character and not be at the mercy of contractors who just want profits, then we have to pass zoning laws," Russell said.
In particular, the group supports the removal of a continuing care retirement community and planned residential development from the rural residence zoning district, protecting wetlands and increasing the lot size in the rural residence zone.
Both the town's residents and Dartmouth students will likely be affected by the increase in housing.
"I came to Hanover for a rural setting," Alex East '09 said. "If they increase the population, you can guarantee that there will be issues."
