"We've learned to go where we're wanted."

Mar 29

Short version: we tried to build two 2-BR modular units to replace two demolished mobile homes. The City elected to use the date they issued the demolition permit, not the day the actual demolition occurred, for the 2-year anniversary by which we had to replace the non-conforming use. They made a number of other erroneous reads of their own ordinance, and by the time we navigated 6-months of delays we could no longer meet project deadlines and we took a hefty loss on the architecture and engineering.

Now, imagine those same issues extrapolated onto the broader River Park project, and you’ll see our reluctance to continue blindly moving forwards into additional costly challenges.

submission to city staff and Timeline of advancing housing efforts

A creative response to the housing crisis

Amidst the challenges of the first-year of the Covid-19 pandemic the already acute housing crisis in the Upper Valley was getting worse. In addition to the influx of “Covid refugees” (Lebanon had the 7th highest change in net in-migration during COVID-19 pandemic New York Times), Dartmouth students were returning to campus, and given travel restrictions about 500 students that would normally be studying abroad were now headed back to the Upper Valley.

As we determined how to re-set following the March, 2020 stoppage of River Park development, we started looking into housing solutions to address the immediate needs, ranging from modular dorms to new types of housing. One idea we came across was Bequall, a modular housing start-up based in Boston that was collaborating with CBT Architects (a world-renowned firm that David Clem and Chet Clem had each worked with previously on other projects). Impressed with the idea, and facing significant limitations in material supply and labor in the Upper Valley, we connected with Bequall and CBT and began a collaborative process to develop a “test case” in West Lebanon.

**215-217 N. Main Street**
located between River Park and Wilder Dam

The Location + Opportunity

We owned a small parcel along Route 10 just north of the River Park project that had a ticking time-clock of property rights about to expire. We had purchased the property at 215-217 N. Main Street in 2012 as it was 1 of 3 parcels between River Park and the Wilder Dam, and we saw it as an opportunity to facilitate future trail connectivity— one piece of the larger puzzle that has evolved into the West Lebanon Greenway.

There were two existing manufactured homes on the single parcel, a non-conformity in the eyes of the Lebanon Zoning Ordinance that only allowed a single dwelling per parcel in the RL-2 Zone which the parcel exists.

When we purchased the property both buildings had existing tenants. We allowed those tenancies to continue until they elected to move out, at which point we elected to remediate, demolish, and remove the two structures that had outlived their useful life and were beyond repair.

Once we demolished the two manufactured homes on April, 2019 (memo sent to City of Lebanon), we knew we had two years under the Lebanon ordinance to retain the non-conformity of two dwellings on a single parcel. That was material to the decision to purchase the property, and redevelopment plans, as the parcel is tight along Route 10 and has a small buildable area before it drops off to the river.

Unfortunately, when we started in November, 2020 towards meeting that presumed April, 2021 deadline, we were instead held to the date the demolition permit was issued not the actual date the use was discontinued.