The City of Lebanon is contemplating the creation of a Special Assessment District to fund necessary capital improvements at and near the intersection of Mt. Support Road and Lahaye Drive. A draft map of the proposed District and identification of the properties potentially impacted is attached.
Pursuant to NH RSA 52-A, Special Assessment Districts are districts in which public facilities and services are to be provided and in which special assessments and charges may be levied and collected to pay for those public facilities and services. Pursuant to Chapter C419:57 of the City of Lebanon Charter, the City Council has the power to determine that the whole or any part of the expense of any public improvement shall be defrayed by special assessments upon the properties especially benefitted and shall so declare by resolution.
The proposed public improvements to be funded through the Special Assessment District include traffic and transportation improvements to the intersection of Mt. Support Road and Lahaye Drive and along Mt. Support Road north of Lahaye Drive. During the course of Planning Board review for several large development projects along Mt. Support Road in the last 12-18 months, traffic studies prepared on behalf of the applicants have highlighted that the intersection of Mt. Support Road and Lahaye Drive is operating near its capacity overall and that certain turning movements are already over capacity and failing. The Planning and Public Works Departments are working jointly to determine what improvements are required to address the existing deficiencies and future operating needs at the intersection.
In December 2020, the Lebanon City Council approved a capital project for the initial design and permitting phase for traffic and transportation improvements at the intersection and the adjacent vicinity. The source of funding for the project is to come from a Special Assessment District to be created, which will be comprised of properties that will be specially benefitted by the proposed improvements.
For any such district, the City is required to calculate the proportionate share of benefits for each property within the district as the basis for the special assessment. In addition, the Special Assessment District is required to be updated as new development occurs or additional improvement plans are proposed in order to ensure that assessments remain proportionate and equitable over time.
To determine each property’s relative share of the anticipated project costs, the Planning Department used the traffic studies prepared for three large developments approved near and along Mt. Support Road (including the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Patient Tower Expansion, the Dartmouth College-Michael’s Student Living residential development, and the Saxon Partners residential development) as well as existing traffic counts and standard traffic projection data. The calculated percentage of all trips through the Mt. Support Road/Lahaye Drive intersection and the relative share of the anticipated project costs for the properties in the proposed district is shown on the attached spreadsheet.
Community Conversation Recording
On March 30th, the Planning & Development Department hosted a Community Conversation to discuss a proposed Special Assessment District for a portion of the Mt. Support Road corridor. During the Community Conversation, Department staff provided an overview of the reasons for proposing the District, the methodology for calculating each property’s proportionate share, the anticipated capital improvements needed for the intersection, and the additional steps necessary to create and implement the proposed District. The Community Conversation was conducted remotely via Microsoft Teams. A recording of the presentation and discussion is available for viewing on the City of Lebanon YouTube Channel.
If you have questions or comments about the proposed Special Assessment District, please feel free to contact David Brooks, Planning and Development Director by email at David.Brooks@LebanonNH.gov or by phone at 603-448-1457, ext. 6134.