LEBANON — The City Council is set to hear outside recommendations Wednesday on the housing chapter of Lebanon’s Master Plan, which is being updated from 2012 to reflect modern housing needs.
The Planning Board may adopt the draft after a public hearing July 22.
A major finding so far is that Lebanon residents largely want single-family homes, town homes and small complexes, rather than large apartment blocks, according to City Councilor Tim McNamara.
“I don’t think people want to see more of what’s been built over the last 10 years,” said McNamara, who’s the chair of Lebanon’s Housing Task Force.
Since its formation two years ago, the Housing Task Force has worked to restructure the housing chapter of the city’s 2012 Master Plan with the help of Resilience Planning, a consulting firm that assisted the city through a $100,000 grant.
Now, the Council will review and discuss the draft, with analysis by the Urban Land Institute Boston Chapter — an advisory network that assists with town housing plans — in a consulting partnership.
Lebanon is a desirable place to live because of its amenities, school system and job opportunities, especially in health care, McNamara said. However, viable housing options have decreased amid a population influx coupled with rising prices sparked by COVID-19.
“So much has happened since 2012,” McNamara said of the need to update the chapter.
New construction over the past decade has largely built single-person units. There’s been a lack of two-, three- and four-bedroom apartment development and single-family homes, McNamara said.
The Housing Task Force held its last formal meeting July 1, making final edits to the draft Housing chapter. Now, Urban Land Institute will present its recommendations before final approval by the Planning Board.
The draft outlines several key issues with housing, including changing household composition; limited diversity of housing types; and barriers to housing access and development.
But, even bearing those issues in mind, there’s only so much a local government can achieve toward housing improvement goals, and it’s largely through zoning changes.
“Those have had very limited impact,” McNamara said.
Current strategies include getting rid of the ability to develop large complexes in certain areas while expanding single-family housing opportunities. Still, the increasing costs of land, material and labor prevail.
“It really is going to be up to the private market,” McNamara said. “And all we as a municipality can do is try to facilitate that private market through changes to the ordinance.”
The draft includes several actions that could help facilitate housing improvements, including engagement efforts such as focus groups, pursuing outside funding sources and exploring community-based housing opportunities.
The Urban Land Institute was scheduled for an introductory presentation about the panel and its scope at Monday’s special planning board meeting. Two days later, the Institute will address the Council with its recommendations in council chambers from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“We want as much public participation as possible because this is a particularly critical master plan,” McNamara said.
