Lebanon residents, we need your help! Ballot Measure 2 is a proposed Lebanon zoning amendment that would require any recovery housing in the City to be certified recovery houses.
The City Council has already approved recovery houses by special exception in the zones over which it has authority and supports recovery houses in areas needing voter approval.
Based on a recent analysis, there are only 11 beds in the entire Upper Valley for recovery housing.
Certified recovery programs …
- Provide safe and healthy living environments
- Offer structure, accountability, social support, and resources
- Decrease rates of substance use
- Lower chances of reoccurence
- Reduce incarceration
Uncertified recovery houses …
- Don’t have staffing in place to provide supports
- Are often unsafe living conditions (overcrowding, inadequate facilities, etc.)
- Can become nuisances to the neighborhood with piled up trash
How to Support Ballot Measure 2
- Vote YES to Ballot Measure 2 on Tuesday, March 11! (Have questions about voting in general? Visit the City of Lebanon website on elections and voting for more information).
- Encourage your fellow Lebanon residents to vote YES to Ballot Measure 2!
- Post on social media showing your support for Ballot Measure 2. Find social media images here.
- Put up a sign in your yard showing your support for Ballot Measure 2.
- Join us at our Community Conversation on Tuesday, March 4 from 6-7:30pm at the Kilton Library Community Room in West Lebanon, to show your support for Ballot Measure 2, and encourage your friends and neighbors to come too!
Ballot Full Text
Article #2 – (Recovery Housing):
Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment #2 as follows: To amend the R-1, R-2, and R-3 District Tables of uses to allow “recovery house” by Special Exception. The purpose of this amendment is to prevent the siting of unregulated recovery houses within the City, and to institute reasonable regulations for the establishment of certified Recovery Houses in accordance with RSA 153:10-d, and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of such facilities, and of the citizens of Lebanon.
The Lebanon City Council approves of and endorses the amendment of the Use Tables in the Residential One (R-1), Residential Two (R-2), and Residential Three (R-3) Districts to allow “Recovery Houses” as a use by Special Exception. The purpose of this amendment is to prevent the siting of unregulated recovery houses within the City, and to institute reasonable regulations for the establishment of certified Recovery Houses in accordance with RSA 153:10-d, and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of such facilities, and of the citizens of Lebanon.
The Conservation Commission has determined the proposed Zoning Amendment has no conservation implications.
The Planning Board endorses the amendment. Allowing recovery houses by special exception in the R1, R2, and R3 districts ensures that those in need are housed in certified facilities. This not only aids recovery for the occupants but also safeguards neighborhoods from nuisances arising from improvised and unregulated group housing.