The College is grappling with the town of Hanover over proposed construction plans for the 23 moderately priced homes for Dartmouth faculty near Grasse Road -- a site that is sandwiched between protected wetlands.
Members of the Hanover Conservation Commission contend that the proposal -- which aims primarily to provide affordable housing for Dartmouth faculty who are currently forced to live far from campus due to the high cost of Hanover real estate -- is impermissible because it violates both state and local ordinances protecting wetland environments.
"There are several houses [in the plan] that are beyond the buffer zone and will actually be constructed on wetland areas," Conservation Commission member Kittie Murray said. "The College is just blundering ahead without understanding the damage it will cause," she added.
The source of the conflict comes from a 1998 change in town ordinances concerning wetland preservation. Last spring Hanover citizens voted to use a broader definition of wetlands to enhance protection of these areas. The vote rendered certain construction plans -- which previously could have been approved without much scrutiny -- subject to more extensive review.
The College currently seeks a special exception to the ordinance from the Hanover Zoning Board that would allow the plans to go through unchanged. Assistant Director of Dartmouth's Real Estate Office John Caulo said their proposal will have minute impact on wetland areas, if any at all.
"It's not like we intend to come in and desecrate the environment," Caulo said. "Less than one percent of our plans will have a direct impact on the surrounding area."
This reasoning has not convinced the Conservation Commission, whose duty is to advise the town Planning Board on environmental matters.
"We have a mandate to protect the natural resources of the town. The College doesn't seem to be willing to compromise. They're ignoring the issue," Commission member Kittie Murray said.
Town Selectman and alternate member of the Planning Board John Colligan agreed that the College has thus far seemed to sidestep the issue at hand. He said applicants for Zoning Board special exceptions have an obligation to demonstrate that their plans avoid and minimize the effects on wetlands as much as possible.
"Dartmouth has a terrific goal in building affordable housing, but they have failed to prove that their plans conform to these site-specific concerns," he said.
But at an informal meeting attended by The Dartmouth with members of the Dartmouth Real Estate Office on Tuesday night, many Planning Board members seemed less critical of the plans than they had been on previous occasions.
With colored maps detailing the proposed site, Dartmouth officials painted a more environmentally friendly picture of this project which has been subject to great amounts of speculation.
Many Planning Board members said they were surprised by the small size of the affected wetland areas. Because their previous knowledge of the plan was largely limited to an article in Monday's Valley News, they said they had believed the plans would have more drastic effects.
Referring to the site's proposed green -- an aspect of the proposal designed both to alleviate the isolating aspect of urban sprawl as well as add to the neighborhood aesthetically -- Planning Board member Jack Nelson said, "This common area has a very high value on my list. I don't know just what the particular value of these wetlands is, but I think it's safe to say that not all wetlands are equally valuable."
Planning Board member Shawn Donovan said further, "It's up to the Zoning Board right now, but I'm not convinced that the measure to protect the wetlands accurately addresses this situation."
Dartmouth Real Estate Office member John Caulo agreed with many of the members' remarks and volunteered to take them on a tour of the proposed site. "Most of the so-called 'wetland' areas we're talking about here are really two feet wide gullies that serve as run-off during the spring," he said.
Caulo said the College has planned on adding drainage systems beneath the roads to compensate for run-off.
Still, Conservation Commission members hold that the College's attempts to justify the plan ignore the point. "There's no discrepancy here about what wetlands are. They're clearly defined and clearly marked by the quality of soil, the vegetation, and the wildlife that inhabit them," Murray said.
While Caulo admits the College's plans do not comply with town ordinances, he maintains that there is ample cause for the Zoning Board to grant an exception.
"I respect the Conservation Commission members and what they're trying to protect, but the fact of the matter is that the amount of damage will be entirely minimal," he said.
"The site won't affect any wetland wildlife, it won't encroach on any breeding grounds for fish ... again, what we're talking about here is a very small area. The problem is that with the current regulations even a two foot wide drainage ditch requires 75 feet of buffer zone on either side to ensure its protection," he said.
However, precedent is also a major concern for Commission members. There is a fear that if Dartmouth is granted an exception to the law in this case, other contractors will exploit this leniency and even greater damage to the environment will result.
"Precedent is very important here," Murray said.
"Dartmouth has a history of responsible construction in Hanover, but if the College charges ahead it could pave the way for other developers who have less lofty goals than providing affordable housing," she said.
Both Caulo and Selectman John Colligan agree that the Zoning Board's decision for an exception should be irrespective of the organization's motives.
"The issue at hand here is not whether Dartmouth should be able to provide affordable housing, rather it's site-specific. Are the effects to the environment being eliminated as much as possible? They will have to be, because once a mistake of this sort is made, it can't be taken back," Colligan said.
