LEBANON — A proposed 474-unit housing development at the site of a former brickyard on Hanover Street has inspired opposition from neighbors, who are concerned about traffic, drainage issues and the property owner’s development history in Massachusetts.

Some of the project’s neighbors view the proposal, particularly its scale and location, as a threat to their way of life.

David Kroner, a retired Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center physician, and his wife have lived at a house across Densmore Pond from the project site for 39 years. The 133.5-acre plot, which sits across Hanover Street from two Lebanon schools, primarily consist of woodland with areas previously developed as the former Densmore Brick Company’s mining and manufacturing facility and a series of electric transmission lines.

“For us it’s just been a long, long, long fight,” Kroner said. “All of us moved here to the Upper Valley for the quality of life. I mean we could have made much more money elsewhere but you just have sort of a nice sensation of peace and calm if you drive down the hill there. It’s a beautiful small town with a lovely green and people are friendly and look out for each other. I think we’re going to lose all of that.”

The concerns come as the project’s owner, One Brickyard Trust, and its South-Burlington-based consultant Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., VHB, are seeking the city Planning Board’s approval of the site plan, as well as conditional use permits to allow a 55-foot height for eight of the project’s proposed 11 buildings, and for the Planned Unit Residential Development, which requires the applicant provide for public outdoor spaces on the property. To move forward, the developers also need a discretionary approval of a density bonus to allow for more than 424 units on the site.

The board opened a public hearing for the project in August and it is again on the agenda for Monday’s Planning Board meeting, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Kilton Library, 80 Main St., West Lebanon.

The proposal is for 10 four-story residential apartment buildings over vehicle parking, totaling 473 rental units. The new units would be a mix of studio to three-bedroom units, with a “focus” on three-bedroom units, at “market rate.” There also will be an additional building for a leasing office and maintenance shop, along with a single home for an on-site property manager.

Two old existing industrial buildings and other site features would be demolished to make way for the new development.

In addition to the buildings, there are proposed “amenity spaces” and “open spaces” such as a walking path along the pond, a dog park, a playground, patios and woodland areas, according to the current project description and presentation at the Aug. 12 Planning Board meeting.

Richard M. Marchese and Gil Aleixo, members of One Brickyard Trust which owns the property, did not respond to the Valley News’ requests for comment. Neither did the VHB civil engineer for the project, Dave Fenstermacher.

During the public hearing for the proposal on Aug. 12, Fenstermacher presented the proposal to the Planning Board and attending community members, making a case for the project that emphasized its central location.

“This has the proximity to the hospital and other businesses and the proximity to the pedestrian bridge,” he said. “It’s a really good spot here for multi-modal ways to get around the city.”

According to application materials, the proposal aims to help address the Upper Valley’s “demand for an additional 1,102 housing units by the year 2035,” as determined by the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission’s Housing Needs Assessment. The application also cited census figures reporting the steady increase in Lebanon’s population, an 8.6% increase from 2010 to 2020.

However, some community members said that this development does not appear to be designed with Lebanon and the Upper Valley in mind.

“It’s just simply way too big for that site,” Lebanon resident Bill Lamb said in an interview. “Anyone who really cared about the town wouldn’t have made the proposal that way.”

In addition to the public hearing, many community members attended an August walk-through of the site with the developer where they expressed various concerns.

The Kroners are concerned about the scale of the project and its potential to increase flooding in the area. The Kroners’ property has previously been flooded due to drainage issues from their neighbors, they said. David Kroner also said beavers in Densmore Pond sometimes build dams causing the pond water levels to rise and increase flooding.

“I went on that walk-through and asked them to address the issues and they said of course we’re going to take care of the beavers but they really haven’t,” Kroner said.

Fenstermacher said at the Aug. 12 board meeting that the developers would be “performing a floodplains study as part of our state permitting.” The project requires a minimum impact permit from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

Kroner and community members at the Planning Board meeting also stated concerns about the neighboring high school and elementary school.

“Evans Drive is a two-lane road and trying to get kids to school is a nightmare,” Mary Davis, a Lebanon resident, said in the recording of the Aug. 12 meeting. “It’s already bumper to bumper trying to get kids there. Then you have your safety issues, you have your walkers and you have your bikers.”

In response to these concerns, the applicant has continued traffic studies that will be a part of Monday’s hearing continuation.

Residents’ concerns about the site owner, Marchese, developed after Lamb learned that Marchese may have owned a previous property in Peabody, Mass., where land management practices led to flood damage.

Richard M. Marchese owned a property at Route 1 in Peabody where he broke ground and clear-cut an area but never finished development due to the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Salem News. The remaining exposed dirt contributed to flooding and decreased property values for the neighbors through the mid-2010s, the newspaper reported.

“If this is the same man, I would never trust this man to develop something let alone something that would comprise a major part of the city of Lebanon,” Lamb said. “It’s the wrong developer and you don’t want to be in the situation that the other people (in Peabody, Mass.) were in as a town or city.”

Lebanon Deputy Planning and Development Director Tim Corwin said he was unaware of these concerns about Marchese.

“Very generally, not talking about this project specifically, the applicant’s background is totally irrelevant to an application,” Corwin said, adding that such concerns “cannot at all factor in the board’s determination.”

While the public hearing continues, Corwin said that there will be at least one more opportunity for public comment as part of the hearing.

If the proposal is approved, the application lists a rough timeline for the project’s construction: Once the necessary permits are obtained, site grubbing and earthwork operations will commence. Construction of roadways, utilities and building pads may not begin until 2026.

Some 105 acres on the rear of the property are not proposed to be developed as a part of this project, according to the application materials, but the application hints that more development could be on its way.

It “may be developed as part of a separate future application,” according to the project impact statement.

While Corwin said he was “not aware of any land or projects that are outside of the scope of this project that are related to this project,” the Kroners fear further development of the large parcel.

“My expectation is that they’re going to keep developing and keep developing,” David Kroner said. “Since they own that half of the mountain there that seems to be like that’s going to be their plan.”

Already the Kroners have faced an influx of calls and letters seeking to buy their property.

“This is just since the project across the pond has come up,” Kroner said. “Nobody bothered with us for 39 years.”

Elle Muller can be reached at daniellewingmuller@gmail.com.