Questions & Answers Relative to the 6 Proposed Amendments that will be on the March 13, 2018 Municipal Election Ballot
Amendment #1
Amend the City of Lebanon’s official zoning map by rezoning a +/-20.2-acre portion of Tax Map 89, Lot 8 (220 Mascoma Street) from the current zoning designation of Residential One (R-1) to Rural Lands Three (RL-3). The remainder of the property, currently occupied by the Renihan Meadows development, will continue to be located in the R-1 District.
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Amendment #2
Amend the City of Lebanon’s official zoning map by rezoning a +/-26.4-acre portion of Tax Map 74, Lot 8-100 (an undeveloped lot fronting on Mascoma Street), a +/-14.9-acre portion of Tax Map 74, Lot 8-200 (an undeveloped lot fronting on Mascoma Street), a +/-42.3-acre portion of Tax Map 74, Lot 7 (an undeveloped lot fronting on Mascoma Street), a +/-0.9-acre portion of Tax Map 74, Lot 6 (204 Old Pine Tree Cemetery Road), +/-0.2-acre portion of Tax Map 74, Lot 5 (198 Old Pine Tree Cemetery Road), and a +/-1.6-acre portion of Tax Map 74, Lot 4 (an undeveloped lot fronting on Old Pine Tree Cemetery Road) from the current zoning designation of Residential One (R-1) to Rural Lands Three (RL-3). The remainder of M/L 74-8-100, M/L 74-8-200, and M/L 74-7 will continue to be located in the RL-3 District. The remainder of M/L 74-6, M/L 74-5, and M/L 74-4 will continue to be located in the RL-2 District.
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Amendment #3
Amend the City of Lebanon’s official zoning map by rezoning the entirety of Tax Map 63, Lot 4 (an undeveloped lot fronting on Evans Drive) from the current zoning designation of Residential-Office-One (R-O-1) to Rural Lands Three (RL-3); and by rezoning the entirety of Tax Map 77, Lot 127 (an undeveloped lot fronting on NH Route 120) from the current zoning designation of Residential Three (R-3) to Rural Lands Three (RL-3).
Q: Why are these zoning map amendments proposed?
A: The City’s Future Land Use Map (FLUM), which is incorporated into the Land Use Chapter (Ch. 2) of the City’s Master Plan, identifies these areas as “rural”. Characteristics of the land, including floodplain, steep slopes and substantial wetlands, as well as proximity to other natural resources and conservation land, and limited (if any) development opportunities, are consistent with a Rural Lands designation as opposed to a High Density Residential district.
The purpose of the proposed amendments is to bring the zoning of these areas into conformance with the FLUM by changing the zoning designation to Rural Lands Three (RL-3) – the City’s lowest density rural residential district.
Q: Why are these amendments needed?
A: The Zoning Ordinance requires voter approval for any changes to residential district zoning boundaries where the size of the area to be rezoned exceeds ten times the minimum lot size for a Class 3 lot for the respective district as currently zoned.
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Amendment #4
Change “Accessory Dwelling Unit per Section 610” from a Special Exception Use to a Permitted Use in the Residential One (R-1) and Residential Two (R-2) Districts (Zoning Ordinance Sections 308.2 and 309.2).
Accessory Dwelling Units in the R-1 and R-2 Districts will continue to be subject to the requirements of Section 610 of the Zoning Ordinance and will need to demonstrate compliance with those criteria in order to obtain a building permit. However, a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment will no longer be required.
Q: What is an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)?
A: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are intended as an option for homeowners to offer separate and independent living space for their extended families, or to offer small dwelling units as rentals to offset the expense of maintaining the dwelling. They are allowed within single family homes, or within detached structures on single family lots.
ADUs are subject to and must comply with the regulations contained in Section 610 of the Zoning Ordinance. These include the requirement that the appearance and character of an ADU must remain single family in nature.
Q: Why is this amendment proposed?
A: In the R-1 and R-2 districts, ADUs require that a homeowner obtain a Special Exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment. By contrast, a two-family dwelling is a use permitted ‘by right’ in the R-1 and R-2 districts and does not require approval from the Zoning Board. The proposed amendment, which would make ADUs permitted ‘by right’ instead of requiring a Special Exception, recognizes that it should not be more difficult and more costly to create a two-family dwelling than to simply add an ADU to an existing one-family residence.
In addition, the 2012 Master Plan recommends that the City allow for and encourage accessory apartments with reasonable restrictions for owner-occupied single-family homes as a means to help address the overall shortage of housing, and particularly affordable housing in the City. By easing the burden of creating an ADU and helping to facilitate the creation of these smaller, more affordable, accessory units, the proposed amendment furthers the goals of the Master Plan.
Q: How will this impact my ability to use my property?
A: If you have a single-family dwelling in the R-1 or R-2 District and would like to add an ADU, you will no longer need to obtain Special Exception approval from the Zoning Board of Adjustment. However, all requirements of Section 610 of the Zoning Ordinance and all other applicable regulations will continue to apply.
Q: Why is this amendment needed?
A: The Zoning Ordinance requires voter approval for any changes to the text of the residential district tables of use. In this instance, voter approval is required to change “Accessory Dwelling Unit per Section 610” from a Special Exception Use to a Permitted Use in the R-1 and R-2 Districts.
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Amendment #5
Remove “Private education facility conversion per Section 601”, “Library or museum conversion per Section 601”, and “Theater, concert hall, movie theater conversion per Section 601” from the list of uses permitted by Special Exception in the Residential Two (R-2) District. (Zoning Ordinance Section 309.2).
Q: Why is this amendment proposed?
A: In March 2013, voters approved amendments to the R-2 zoning district expanding the table of Special Exception uses to include conversions of existing buildings to private education, theaters, concert halls, libraries, and museums. These changes were proposed by the Planning Board and approved by the voters at a time when the former Junior High School and School Street School facilities were transitioning from public to private ownership and each of the former school facilities was located within the R-2 zoning district at that time.
In January, 2018, the City Council rezoned portions of Bank Street and School Street – including the former school facility properties – to Residential Office (R-O). At the same time, the Council amended the R-O District table of uses to allow conversions of existing buildings to private education, theaters, concert halls, libraries, and museums by Special Exception.
In tandem with the Council-approved changes adopted in January, this proposed amendment removes conversions of existing buildings to private education, theaters, concert halls, libraries, and museums from the R-2 District table of uses. This proposal recognizes that the remaining areas of the City zoned R-2 are predominately a mix of single-family and multi-family residential and are not appropriate for commercial use.
Q: How will this impact my ability to use my property?
A: If your property is located in the R-2 District, the amendment will remove your ability to seek a Special Exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to convert an existing building to a private education facility, a theater, a concert hall, a library, or a museum (note that new construction for these uses is prohibited in the R-2 District under both the current and proposed regulations). Any such existing use that is currently operating legally within the R-2 District will be considered “grandfathered” and will be permitted to remain.
Q: Why is this amendment needed?
A: The Zoning Ordinance requires voter approval for any changes to the text of the residential district tables of use. In this instance, voter approval is required to remove “Private education facility conversion per Section 601”, “Library or museum conversion per Section 601”, and “Theater, concert hall, movie theater conversion per Section 601” from the list of uses permitted by Special Exception in the R-2 District.
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Amendment #6
Remove “Accessory Use to a Permitted Use” from the list of Permitted Uses and remove “Accessory Use to a Use Permitted by Special Exception” from the list of Special Exception Uses in all zoning districts (Zoning Ordinance Sections 303.2, 303A.2, 304.2, 305.2, 306.2, 308.2, 309.2, 310.2, 311.2, 311A.2, 311B.2, 312.2, 313.2, 314.2, and 315.2), and add a new Section 302.2 to the Zoning Ordinance, titled “Accessory Uses.
Q: Why is this amendment proposed?
A: The proposed amendment is intended to streamline and economize the Zoning Ordinance. Currently, “accessory use” as a permitted use and “accessory use to a use permitted by Special Exception” as a use permitted by Special Exception is unnecessarily repeated in each and every zoning district table. Under the proposed amendment, this verbiage will be removed from the individual zoning district tables and a new section of the Zoning Ordinance will be inserted to address the regulation of accessory uses in a single section.
Q: Will this impact how I can use my property?
A: No. The proposed amendment is editorial in nature and will have no impact on how you can or can’t use your property.
Q: Why is this amendment needed?
A: The Zoning Ordinance requires voter approval for any changes to the text of the residential district tables of use, even those changes that are non-substantive in nature. In this instance, the proposed amendment simply allows an editorial change to centralize accessory use regulations instead of repeating them in each and every zoning district table.
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