Jonathan Edwards, Director
Planning@HanoverNH.org

Rural Study Group 2007

Other Documents
Downtown Hanover Vision
Guiding Growth in Rural Hanover
'Something for Everyone' Scenic Locales Report
Class VI Roads In Hanover

Zoning
Zoning Board of Adjustment
Zoning Ordinance


Conservation
Conservation Commission
Open Space Priorities Plan
Trails
Flora and Fauna
Protected Lands

Affordable Housing
Affordable Housing Commission
Affordable Housing Study
Gile Tract Housing

Inspections
Building Code
Building Code Advisory Committee






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2.7 Zoning Recommendations

2.7.1 Creation of a Downtown District

Currently the core commercial Downtown area is designated in the Zoning By-law as part of the 'B' Retail Business District defined as the 'B-2 Central Business District'. In addition to the B-2 area the B category includes B-1 Neighborhood districts (such as the area adjacent to the intersection of South Park Street and Lebanon Street).

The special character of the Downtown, and in particular the objective of promoting a greater mix of uses including residential uses, is inadequately reflected in the existing definitions pertaining to the B-2 District. Currently residential units are allowed only as a Special Exception. Consideration should be given to replacing the existing B-2 zoning in the Downtown area (figures 35+36) to be redefined as a Downtown District to permit a mix of uses at densities suitable to accommodate new growth for both commercial and residential uses.


Figure 35 Existing and proposed zoning districts - Option 1.


Figure 36 Existing and proposed zoning districts - Option 2.

Consideration should also be given to eliminating a variety of uses that are allowed by Special Exception including: auto storage; drive-in restaurant, vehicular sales and repair facility, and auto service station.

To better reflect the special status of the Downtown, consideration should be given to the creation of a new zoning category represented as a 'D' Downtown District. Within this category two districts could be created and defined as D-1 Downtown Core and D-2 Downtown Buffer districts. The D-1 district would encompass areas that are appropriate for core area development at relatively high densities (2.4 Floor Area Ratio) in locations that are adequately separated from existing stable, low-density residential areas. It is recommended that future buildings in the D-1 District be flexible in design to accommodate future conversions between residential and commercial uses and that a height limit increase of 3 feet (from 42 to 45 feet) be considered to allow for this flexibility. The top floors of buildings higher than 40 feet are recommended to be setback a minimum distance of 5 feet utilizing a terrace setback or sloping roof to assist in reducing the perceived height and bulk of buildings in the D-1 area.

The D-2 district would pertain to areas (South Street for instance) where Downtown commercial uses are encouraged but where development must be sensitive to adjacent, stable low-density residential areas. In general a mix of street related commercial uses should be encouraged with residential uses above. In contrast to the D-1 Downtown Core District which specifically encourages a more urban, commercial type building form, the D-2 Downtown Buffer district should encourage house-type built form with a height limit of 35 feet and a recommended FAR of 1.5 (see figures 19+20).

2.7.2 Commercial and Residential Intensification

Within the D-1 area new development should allow for a variety of occupancies. Currently Hanover is experiencing a shortage in mid-price housing with proximity to the College and Downtown. Proposals for housing uses within the Downtown core should be encouraged both to address this immediate need and to support the objective of creating a safe and vibrant downtown through a mixture of commercial and residential uses. Yet in considering the long-term future of Hanover it should be recognized that the expansion of Downtown commercial uses into residential areas would be far less desirable than the intensification of residential uses within existing residential-only districts close to the Downtown core.

Caution should therefore be exercised in an approach that 'uses-up' prime sites suitable for more intensive commercial uses (such as the HIC and Grand Union sites) by permanently locating residential uses on those sites. A recommended solution to address this issue is to ensure that all new structures developed within the core area of the Downtown (D-1 district) are flexible to the extent that they can be reasonably converted from residential uses to an office, live/work or other appropriate commercial use in the future. This approach has design and building height implications. For instance, adequate acoustical separation cannot be easily achieved with wood-frame construction; therefore concrete and steel construction suitable for commercial building types is preferable.

Parking standards for the D Districts should be less restrictive than the current standards in the zoning ordinance. For instance consideration should be given to the provision of 1 space per residential unit for residential developments as opposed to the current standards contained in Section 404 of the Zoning Ordinance. Commercial parking requirements should also be reviewed. For instance, commercial properties should be provided with the option of providing parking both on-site and off-site in conjunction with a cash-in-lieu Town parking initiative that will assist in the financing of public parking facilities.

2.7.3 Floor Area Ratios in the D District

With parking provided either through below-grade structures or in public facilities off-site, and based on buildings up to 4 floors in height a net site density of 2.4 FAR should be considered as a form of density control in the D-1 District.

With surface or structured parking provided either on-site or off-site, and 3 floor, house-form buildings, a 1.5 FAR should be considered for the D-2 Districts.

2.7.4 Height Limits

The height limit of 42 feet in the existing B-2 CBD District should be considered for an increase of 3 feet (to 45 feet) as it pertains to the D-1 District. The present height limit will accommodate both a three-floor commercial building (floor-to-floor heights [ff] as follows: street level 18 ft., plus two office floors at 12 ft. ff = 42 feet) and a mixed-use building with retail at grade and three residential floors above (street level retail 15 ft. ff and three residential floors at 9 ft. ff. = 42 feet). A minimum floor-to-floor height for upper floor office or live-work units is 10 feet. Within the existing 42 ft. height restriction a 4-floor building built with 3 residential floors of 10 ft. ff. will allow for only a 12 ft. street level retail floor, which is inadequate for retailing. In order to provide an adequate retail floor-to-floor height of 15 feet on the lower level, an additional 3 feet is needed.

It is therefore recommended that within the D-1 area the height limit be increased from 42 to 45 feet. In order to mitigate the perception of overly tall structures it is recommended that the height restriction include a provision that for structures taller than 40 feet a minimum setback of 5 feet for the upper floor be accommodated where the building faces a street, lane or other public area. Both the setback and height limit provisions should be calculated on an average basis to allow for pitched rooflines.

2.7.5 Live-Work Units

This approach of future flexibility can also be complemented with zoning provisions within the D-1 district that allows for live-work units accommodating home-based businesses, studio type businesses or residential loft-type living.

2.7.6 Residential Intensification in the GR Districts

In addition to several residential intensification areas identified in the Downtown District (figure 37), several other sites have been identified as potential areas appropriate for intensification. These include the valley area at West Wheelock Street and West Street, and the South Park Street corridor and triangle lands bounded by Lebanon to the west, South Park to the west and Memorial Stadium to the north.


Figure 37 Potential areas for residential intensification.

If the lands currently occupied by the High School and Middle School become available as a redevelopment site in the future this area would also be appropriate for medium density housing that could serve the market for reasonably priced housing suitable for families.

In considering the potential mechanisms to encourage the supply of more housing in and adjacent to the Downtown a review of the existing density provisions is being undertaken.

Generally the existing GR-1 and GR-2 districts carefully limit the density of housing but have little impact on the form of medium density development. An over-riding objective in any of the GR districts should be to maintain 'house-form character' that ensures compatibility between single-family and multi-family housing and more generally complements the heritage scale and character of Hanover's neighborhoods. The current GR-2 District provisions allow for moderate densities of housing where large, consolidated sites are available. Provisions in the ordinance allow for multi-unit development in Section 502 Planned Residential Development. For instance a one-acre site can provide in theory 17 units of housing. However the open space requirements of this section call for a minimum 65% of the lot to be for open space and outdoor recreation areas. In addition the off-street parking requirements for residential developments contained in Section 404 requires a level of on-site parking which is difficult to achieve in a Downtown context. While these standards may be appropriate for a rural or suburban setting these provisions are onerous within a Downtown context and discourage innovative multi-unit housing development. Despite these provisions examples of housing built to this density have not always resulted in a built-form that is compatible with the character of the Town. However this is not necessarily a problem of density, it is a result of the lack of built-form guidelines and zoning controls that ensure that higher density housing remains house-form in character.

To encourage more affordable, innovative multi-unit housing consideration should be given to the adoption of a GR-3 District category in the zoning ordinance to allow for densities up to 30 units per acre while maintaining the current maximum height restriction of 35 ft. This will allow for town-house format housing of between 20 and 30 units per acre to be developed based on at-grade, rear garage parking or below-grade structures (figures 38+39). The increase in density provisions should be accompanied by specific zoning controls and urban design guidelines to ensure that the following characteristics are achieved:

· All units should have a principal façade and front door that is accessible at grade level from a public street, public lane or private lane.
· Parking areas should be well screened from the public street preferably located at the rear of each unit and accessible via a public or private laneway.
· Traditional house form elements including pitched roofs, gable ends, dormer windows, front porches, front steps and other architectural features that express individual homes should be incorporated into the design.
 

Figure 38 Example of multi-unit housing (New Haven).

Figure 39 Higher density housing at 30 units per acre which is house form in character (New Haven).

Other density controls should be considered in the GR-3 District including a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) provision for townhouse developments where parking is provided on grade. Further investigation should be undertaken to determine an appropriate FAR standard for this type of development. For instance a 0.9 FAR applied to a gross site area prior to the subtraction of any public rights-of-way such as roads or lanes will be equivalent to a net FAR on a typical freehold townhouse of 1.5. The GR-3 zone provisions for open space and parking should provide standards which are less restrictive than the current standards which apply to the GR-1 and GR-2 districts.