Rural Character

I. "Rural Character"

Characteristics (in no particular order)

• Open fields, meadows
• Quiet
• Privacy
• Sparsely populated
• Tranquility
• As natural as possible
• Keeping building to a minimum
• Right to be left alone
• Diversity
• People minding their own business
• Respecting neighbors' right to peaceful enjoyment of their property
• Woods, forests, trees
• Wildlife
• Wildlife corridors
• Meadows
• Farms
• Low traffic
• Environmental protection of, or from:
• air
• water
• noise
• Open space
• Hiking trails
• Combination of
  • clustered villages and open lands (not all residential on large plots)
  • open space and large minimum lot sizes
• Compact towns surrounded by open fields, farms
• Dirt roads
• Absence of "people pollution"
• Winding roads
• Scenic views
• Wetlands
• Bucolic setting
• Public access to preserved areas
• Less crowded areas with open spaces
• Limited services (except for 911)
• Limited commercial development
• "The way things are now"
• Fishing
• No sewer line extension
• No clearcut large areas for new dwellings
• No building in existing fields
• No large, exposed houses
• Limited number of one-family dwellings
• Very carefully controlled growth (or no growth)
• Space
• Native plants and wildflowers on roadside
• Cows, sheep, chickens
• Coolness (temperature), compared to Hanover, Lebanon
• Pesticide-free zones
• Friendly neighbors
• Affability of people

Personal Comments on Rural Character

• Keep Etna and rural Hanover rural!
• We are losing it!
• Rural character is literally priceless, and when it's gone, it's not recoverable.
• If I didn't want "rural", I would have chosen to live in downtown Hanover or a development.
• I am not anxious to see major changes from the rural character as we now know it.
• I think people that have not lived here all their lives can not appreciate this lifestyle and they try to change what we love so much.
• We must accommodate growing population needs and the need of people without large economic resources. How?
• There is a lot of new construction in our area. I would like to see that slow down.
• Please don't let suburban sprawl happen here!
• Anything that creates industrial noises, air or light pollution, or "aesthetic pollution" (big houses on hilltops, houses done in a very modern style) does not fit "rural character".
• I think a house every three acres is somewhat contradictory to the term "rural".
• "Rural character" should not translate into exclusive turf for 1/2 million dollar homes.
• I strongly believe in residential institutions. We all should be willing to provide welcome to caring/helping services that do not endanger.
• "Rural character' is open space and room between residences. I think of farming and commerce at a personal level. I think of people who are able to smile at their neighbor (who may live next door or on the other side of town. I think of space that can sustain generations of family, and property that is not so expensive or heavily taxed and regulated that our older and younger citizens can't afford to live on it. I think of opportunities to make your own decisions about building and buying and living. I do not think about more government, more regulations, more telling my neighbor what he or she should do with or to their property. I think of a safe and secure area where everyone has the same interest in helping each other keep it safe and secure.
• Community involvement by residents one-on-one and/or with a wider focus.
• There are not enough rural characters in Hanover.
• You can't use regulations to produce rural character. It has to happen naturally. More restrictions chase away the "real" rural townsfolk. They can't afford to live here. More restrictions are great for rich folks who move here for retirement.
• Not everyone can expect to live in "rural Hanover".

Scenic Characteristics

• We should preserve open spaces, woods, pastures as they are to maintain the beauty of rural areas.
• Maintain the vistas of scenic mountains, ridges and farmland, ponds, streams, brooks and waterfalls.
• I am concerned with "blocking" the views in Etna.
• Preserve the Hayes Farm in Etna.

Scenic Roads

• I hope Trescott Road is a Scenic Road!
• Even Scenic Roads should be paved.

Bothersome Factors

Lights

• Night sky is not so dark anymore.
• Dark night sky gone from Stevens Road. (Culprits: Great Hollow Road, hospital)
• Neighbors' spotlights
• "Prison lights at residence at King Hill Road area"
• Lighting is unnecessary in rural areas. All lights should focus downward (even in town)
• Shield security lights

Noise

• Peace and quiet important. All-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snow machines, gunshots invade all our space.
• No loud music outside. Hills reverberate and amplify sound.
• Neighborhood guns (target practice)
• Dogs
• Snowmobiles
• Industry on Great Hollow Road
• Interstate highway traffic
• Air traffic
• "Heavy" noises increasing

Hunting

• Consumptive uses should always be allowed (hunting, fishing, trapping, limited logging).
• Haven't been here through hunting season, so cannot answer

Overhead Utilities

• Above-ground utility lines are unattractive, subject to ice
• Prefer underground utilities
• Never lost power during January 1998 ice storm because of underground utilities

Other

• Littering, especially along roads in summer and autumn months.
• Condition of homes in Etna (respondent wants "more strict rules")
• Trash and junk cars on neighboring properties.
• Non-planned suburban development
• People are building in areas not suitable for homes, causing drainage problems, poor siting
• Neighbors' houses
• Overdevelopment
• Wildlife overpopulation
• Washboard roads, dust or mud
• Steep dirt roads
• State and town road signs
• Bicycles racing in the middle of the road
• Off-road vehicles
• Off-highway recreational vehicles (OHRVs)
• Unrestricted dogs

RR Zone Planning & Development Patterns

Lot Size

• 3-acre lots do not preserve "rural character" nor prevent fragmentation of land and traffic generation which leads to "suburbanization". Much larger lots, or houses clustered in wooded areas, are needed.
• I would support an increase in minimum lot size.
• Should be:
  • 4 to 10 acres
  • 7 acres
  • 10 acres
• Best achieved with at least 1/4 mile between homes for space, privacy and natural surroundings.
• Largely undeveloped land
• Increase lot size to 10 acres to protect septic runoff, well water

RR Zone Permitted Uses & Special Exceptions

• Any business (potential profit-making enterprise) should be scrutinized and heavily restricted because this isn't a business district.
• Eliminate uses which bring cars in and out (i.e, private clubs)
• Keep as much [rural character] as possible in RR or F Zones.
• Keep permitted uses as long as they do not increase density.
• Give the individual homeowner broad latitude in how to manage the land. Don't invoke more restrictions on the individual (that we do need to impose on the developers).
• Businesses only that do not physically change RR area
• I would like to see any business have "rural character" as far as the building and sign.
• No industry, as is now on Great Hollow Road

Residential Development

• Houses scattered in countryside
• Lack of "development" type housing in rural areas
• Do not suburbanize the rural landscape by creating roads and cul de sacs going nowhere with houses in the middle of lots. Use the European model.
• New construction "in" landscape (restrictions to preserve view for others, underground utilities, etc.)
• New major development should be regulated case-by-case, respecting areas of particular beauty, environmental significance, etc.
• Single houses along roads, whether town-maintained or not
• Houses located close to the road look like city developments.
• Care of aesthetics, zoning, neighbors
• Limit size of residences in RR zones.
• Large exposed houses and clearcutting on high slopes should not be allowed. They destroy "rural character" for the whole region.
• Restrict sitings of residences on ridgelines and hilltops.

Clustered Housing, Villages

• Strengthen village centers, coordinate and cluster houses so open space is not broken up into little pieces
• No cluster houses in fields and pastures
• I am opposed to cluster developments.
• I wouldn't want to live in a clustered development. Space around me is important.
• Clustering is not attractive.
• Depends on how cluster developments are done. Ivy Pointe and Cuttings Corner are not an improvement.
• The cluster development at Cuttings Corner is an eyesore. We hope any future cluster developments will be better planned and buffered with more landscaping at the very least.
• Clustering might work, or it might look like Cuttings Corner.
• Cluster development with open space around will not enhance the area unless the open space is preserved and available for use by the public with markings and trails.
• Increase the setbacks.
• Enhanced setbacks.
• Cluster development should be better protected from public view than in the past.
• Require mature trees to hide all cluster developments from roads and neighbors.
• Restrictions should be balanced with uses that maximize village characteristics and foster mini-neighborhoods.
• Villages should be intentionally created instead of the proliferation of large, vulgar houses on ridgelines, as is happening now.
• Important to avoid sprawl. Clustering with ample easements and adequate open space seems right, with protections for existing abutters.
• PRD approach will be necessary to preserve open space to avoid strip development and increasing sprawl.
• Simpson development on Lyme Road had the opportunity to keep a buffer of existing trees between the houses and the road, which would have lessened road noise for the cluster as well as reducing the visual impact from the road. Developers do way too much clearcutting.
• No scattered small villages
• Cluster or village development benefits the developer by allowing units to be built for lesser cost. This type of development will accelerate growth and contribute to sprawl.
• Zoning should not allow developments such as "Cuttings Corner" to be duplicated. That development is ugly and most of rural Etna is disgusted by it.
• Denser cluster zoning OK to preserve more open space areas (overall sparser population)