[mcdude]

From the Gilford Steamer

ZBA denies Ames Farm Inn site plan

BY ERIK ZYGMONT
EZYGMONT@SALMONPRESS.COM
On Monday, the Zoning Board of Adjustment overturned a previous Planning Board decision, striking that board’s approval of the Ames Farm Inn site plan. The ZBA voted 3-2 to grant an appeal, made by abutters, against the Planning Boards previous decision to allow Ames Farm to continue its business plan. The decision came after opposing arguments from Ames Farm and abutters were heard last month. Attorney Paul Bordeaux, representing the appellants, argued that the Planning Board had “overstepped their realm and stepped into the realm of the ZBA” by approving the Ames Farm Inn site plan. ZBA members Scott Davis, Don Chesebrough, and Andy Howe voted to grant the appeal against the Planning Board’s previous decision. Robert Dion and Charles Boucher voted against the appeal. Chesebrough argued that though the Ames Farm Inn had historically operated as an inn, with the accessory use as a boat launch, the boat launch aspect of the business had expanded into a primary use. He called the inn’s boat launch a “full-blown marina.” “You can’t have a use expanded as far as they have and call it an accessory to an inn,” Chesebrough said. Davis said that though he felt that Ames Farm was in an ideal spot to offer boat launch services, he also did not agree with the Planning Board’s decision. Both Chesebrough and Davis noted a 1988 site plan cited by the Planning Board, they said, as justification for the inn’s current business practices, including the boat launch. “We need to look at the Planning Board’s process and the decision they’ve made,” Davis said. Boucher argued for upholding the Planning Board’s decision. Though the appeal was made by abutters, Boucher said that he received 30 letters in favor of allowing Ames Farm Inn to continue its current operations. Boucher read aloud a letter from resident David Pierce, which called the inn “a piece of the past in our midst.” Pierce’s letter also asserts that noise generated at Ames Farm is minimal, lower than noise levels generated by some private residences, and that the Ames Farm property is aesthetically pleasing and well-kept. “The temptation to sell this property will be too great, and then they will have something more malignant to deal with,” read Boucher. Boucher said that “it’s better to deal with the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.” He added that future development on the site could be detrimental to Gilford, and “here’s a place where we can prevent that from happening.” ZBA Chair Andy Howe said that he agreed with Chesebrough’s argument, that the boat launch had expanded well beyond an accessory use of the inn. “You go down there on weekends and it’s packed,” Howe said. He added that the amount of parking available at Ames Farm indicates a departure from the inn’s primary use. “There’s just tons of parking; it’s amazing,” Howe said. “There’s no way that the primary use of the cottages and inn would warrant that much parking.” The Ameses may request a rehearing with the ZBA if they so choose.