League of
Women Voters of the Upper ValleyLeague of
Women Voters of the Upper ValleyOne of the important ways in which Hanover maintains its community character and conserves its natural beauty is through the planning and zoning processes described in this chapter. The Planning and Zoning Department is responsible for planning for the town’s future in such areas as land-use, economic development, housing policy, transportation, natural resource protection, and maintaining and enhancing Hanover’s special character and quality of life.
What is the Master Plan?
The Master Plan, adopted in 2003, is a vision of a desirable future character for the town. It is used to formulate and revise land-use for the town’s land, natural resources, economy, and demography. You are encouraged to become involved in the Master Plan in a variety of ways.
• Information: You may consult copies of the Master Plan and other land-use documents in the Town Hall—including maps for zoning, wetlands, habitats, slopes, utilities, roads, open lands, trails, aquifers, flood plains, and other features. In addition, the Master Plan is available at the town libraries and on the town website, http://www.hanovernh.org/stories/storyReader$88
• Participation: If you are interested in Master Plan issues, the Planning Board is open to citizen suggestions, comments, and ideas about Hanover’s future. All Planning Board meetings, usually held on Tuesdays, are open to the public.
How is the Master Plan implemented?
The Master Plan is implemented through a variety of policies and regulations, illustrated on this diagram.
The Zoning Ordinance: The Zoning Ordinance is one way the Master Plan is implemented. This ordinance defines allowable types and intensities of land-use, both natural and developed. Copies are available at the Planning and Zoning Office in Town Hall. The Zoning Ordinance may be amended only after being discussed at two or more public hearings, and approved by a two-thirds majority on the written ballot at Town Meeting.
Four kinds of cases involving the Zoning Ordinance are heard by a citizen judicial board called the Zoning Board of Adjustment, or ZBA. ZBA cases are heard at noticed public hearings. They also involve the Conservation Commission if a wetland or water body may be affected.
• Appeals/re-hearings: hearings to reconsider (1) a decision of a town official, such as the zoning administrator or building inspector or (2) a prior decision of the ZBA or the Building Code Advisory Committee.
• Special exceptions: certain permissible exceptions to the Zoning Ordinance, given an extra level of oversight and requirements.
• Equitable waivers: exceptions granted, under close scrutiny and very specific conditions, to permit existing dimensional violations.
• Variances: allowances granted under intense scrutiny to vary from the Zoning Ordinance regulations due to extenuating circumstances not of an owner’s desire or making.
Site plans and subdivisions: The Master Plan is also implemented through site plan reviews and subdivision regulations adopted by the Planning Board. To voice your opinion regarding a proposed site development or subdivision, attend the public hearing—which is announced in the newspaper and by written notice to abutters.
• Site plan review: The Planning Board reviews site plans for developing tracts of land for nonresidential uses and for multi-family residential uses. (See also the "permits" section on the next page.)
• Subdivision review: The Planning Board reviews plans for dividing raw land into individual lots for development or construction.
What is the building code? How is it implemented?
The building code—together with the fire, health, and life safety codes—provides standards for safe construction. Hanover’s codes are adopted by the Select Board, based on the advice of the Building Code Advisory Committee. The building code is available in the Planning and Zoning Office in Town Hall.
• Building code compliance: The building inspector reviews all plans for compliance with building, mechanical, fire, and life-safety codes. You may appeal the building inspector’s decision through a public hearing before the ZBA.
• Permits: Building permits are issued through the Planning and Zoning Department at Town Hall. You must apply for permits if you wish to (1) construct, alter, move, or demolish a building, structure, or sign or (2) work within or near a wetland or water body— in which case the Conservation Commission makes site visits and recommendations.
How is regional planning accomplished?
Regional planning for Hanover and thirty other local communities is handled through the Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission. A staff of professionals assists member towns in a broad range of planning and development analyses including land-use, transportation, and solid waste management. (See Chapter III for more information about this commission.)
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