The Dive Legal Appeal
 

At Laconia City Hall on October 21, 2019, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, at the request of both parties attorneys, tabled the Administrative Appeal application to the November 18, 2019 meeting.

The saga continues................

LOL posted this last night but the thread was closed this morning :eek::laugh:

No doubt its going to court.... I think there are some administrative rules in play here. I think if the Dive pulls their appeal, they cannot reopen it or something like that.

You would think the city would encourage business in the Weirs, not discourage it! Shame on the City!

Woodsy

I recommend the Dive present itself as a floating rehab center. It would be approved immediately! :laugh:

Well.. if Hosmer gets elected and his way, you might be on to something!

Woodsy

Maybe Laconia does not want that kind of business. Do the residents of Laconia want what Meredith and Wolfeboro have? If they do then business like the Dive or East Coast Flightcraft sprucing up the exterior of the pier is not going to get them there. If Laconia wants to be like Meredith and Wolfeboro an entire new model and complete overhaul needs to happen. If not then Weirs stays like it is, nothing will change, it will be the same old Weirs its always been.

I don't think Laconia should even try to compete with Meredith or Wolfeboro. Its pretty much impossible given the R.E. makeup of the Weirs.

The Weirs should be a destination that is different.. just like it has always been. The Pier, The Dive, The Mount, The Tiki Boats, The RR, Tower Hill, Gringo, Compass, Big House, Akwa and all the others all bring something a little different to the table.

It will not be that hard to make the Weirs grow a destination spot... reconfigure the boat docks, better parking options, get the owners of the Arcade to invest some real $$$ in their buildings. You could have a really cool vibe at the Weirs with just a little effort between the city and the business owners.

Woodsy

It’s very hard to compare Laconia to Meredith and wolfboro. They are both very small towns mainly on the lake. Laconia however is a city much larger and not mainly a waterfront town. It has a downtown “inner city” with small city USA issues that Metedith and wolfboro do not have to deal with Laconia is not just Weirs Beach.


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I'm not talking about comparing them. I am using them as an example of what the waterfront could be at the Weirs if the will is there and the right people take interest and there are individuals willing to invest there. The point was made previously about promoting business in the Weirs. This is not the first time this subject has been discussed.

I agree with you about the docking. I refuse to go there for that reason alone. There is also not one food establishment I would go to in the Weirs before others that are in in other towns on the lake.

If You keep it the way you are promoting it will never be a destination beyond June to August

I understand but my point being that although I agree the


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I understand but my point being that although I agree and want the weirs to be more like Meredith I’m just saying there are many more hurdles to overcome. I live very close to the Weirs and want nothing more than for it to become what Meredith is and promoting business is definitely needed.


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Please don't wish that on anyone or any place. The entire summer on here was talking about how BAD the traffic was in Meredith. Now, you want to go from one parking lot to another. Not this Cat !!

From October 2016 to May 2017, Laconia already spent their BIG MONEY with an 8-month, 4.2-million dollar Weirs Beach construction project to improve Lakeside Ave from Daniel Webster Highway to Tower Street and the parking situation at the beach parking lot. It included moving the utility wires underground, new parking spaces and meters, and sidewalk accents.

There's a LaDaSun article on it from May, 2017: 'Laconia moves Weirs Beach utility lines underground (or something).'

Last March the retail store in front of the Weirs Beach post office that used to be a great shoe store, Dexter's Shoes, had a sign for the Cozy Cottage Furniture store that's in Meredith moving to that Weirs' retail space, except the deal fell through, and the retail store space, formerly an arcade or something has been vacant for about a year now? It's got excellent visibility from the road, too?

Over at 918 Weirs Boulevard, just beyond Lilioukalani's ice cream, the city has removed the vintage information cabin, and that 75-yard stretch of Paugus Bay, waterfront property that has two septic pumping sheds, one at each end of the property, is prime for the city to do something with it. It could easily become the world's greatest kayak and stand up paddle board, car roof rack, hand carry, launch and paddle departure/return spot on Lake Winnipesaukee with its visibility from the street and that location on Paugus Bay. It needs parking, a very short kayak/sup walking path or steps, and a get in/get out dock for kayaks and sups.

With the Dive located just beyond the Mount Washington, you could take two hours, paddling one hour each way, to paddle your sup or kayak from 918 Weirs Blvd, paddle along the large swim area, outer rope line, and hit the Dive take-out window for an adult beverage, and head back down the channel, paddling with the flow, to 918 Weirs Blvd.

Where can I get me a hard hat that says Weirs' Beach and has two beer cup 16-oz holders up top for two 16-oz beer cups from the Dive ..... perfect dual purpose sun protection and a double beer Dive cup holder all on one bright yellow helmet!

Building 918 Weirs Blvd into a kayak/sup go-to venue will be the smartest money Laconia has ever spent in the last 50-years ..... since 1969!

So, what will happen with 918 Weirs Blvd?

What does this drivel have to do with the dive's legal appeal ?

The last few posts are talking about what will motivate people to want to go to the Weirs, plus now you know that Laconia just did an eight month, 4.2 million dollar upgrade to Lakeside Ave from Oct 2016 to May 2017. It moved all the overhead utility lines underground, and improved the view, and it cost Laconia some big construction bucks to do that.

Getting back to the Dive's legal appeal ...... if it wins and the Dive barge restaurant/bar business is determined by the Belknap County Superior Court to be soley under the jurisdiction of the state, which means the NH Marine Patrol .... it well could be that for the summer of 2019 the MP had decided to defer to the city knowing that the Laconia Planning and Community Board would be asking for a site plan amendment as of July 1, 2019.

For 2020, if the ball lands in the state's jurisdictional court, the MP may not be so lenient as it was in 2019, what with the big barge there, blocking its' Weirs' neighbors view? And, ditto that for the sand bars at Braun Bay and west Alton?

I'm sure 99% of us on this forum can read the newspaper. Nothing was contributed with this post. :(

The Marine Patrol would, and will, have nothing to do with this issue. They enforce criminal law not civil law or zoning violations.

The City has always maintained that anything on the water was a state matter and Laconia's jurisdiction ended at the water line. The issue seems to be classifying the Dive as an attachment to the Pier and applying local zoning regulations to it. To the best of my knowledge there is no zoning requirement for blocking someone's view.

It will be interesting to follow this and will most likely make case law depending upon how it is ultimately resolved.

..... is the Dive homeless?
 

Is it a homeless Dive or what ...... say it ain't so!

Here's a new wrinkle to the Dive saga ...... some new report in the Oct 22 Union Leader about the Dive having landlord problems with East Coast Flightcraft or something ..... and may not get their lease renewed?

With very friendly Lake Winnipesaukee for your home ....... like, who really needs a lease ...... just go spuds down into the clean, soft, sandy sand at the sand bar ...... and simply go back and forth ...... every new day ...... from sand bar to sand bar ..... and everyone will be happy, happy, happy. ... especially with happy hour prices ..... :)

"Locked in Laconia Zoning Dispute, The Dive Fights to Keep Its' Lease" ..... in the business section of today's Union Leader. Say, how's about that long, long 'Inn at Center Harbor' dock that's very visible from Route 25 ...... could be a 'Dive' move to the better Center Harbor business location!

Interesting hiccup, if so. Sounds like East Coast Flightcraft wants to make changes to the property that The Dive might jeopardize, which brings up a good question: would people/lawmakers be ok with ECF extending their docks to the size that The Dive takes up?

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...... is not an issue ..... to get to happy hour, everyone be very happy to walk the plank ...... no problem. .... :laugh::cheers::laugh:

But there is a law that you cannot block a neighbor's view by putting up an awning over your dock. I wonder if this would apply in any way.

Take the Dive out to the Witches, put a light on it and ground it. Two problems solve at once. We now have a light house and the Dive has a new home. :D

Wow tell us how you really feel about the Dive! [emoji33][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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https://www.unionleader.com/news/bus...f79ebacc7.html

If you don't have a subscription, this link here is about as helpful as being totally out of gas, at a gas station, having no cash or a working credit card and all you can get for a credit card attempt is a little message that says "sorry, not approved," but it's worth the effort looking to read it at the library .... and, ditto the library for a free gallon of gasoline, too. ... ;)

No thank you, It would disrupt my view (and it's all about me!)

I don't know where you own waterfront property or if you even do but I'm sure if the Dive was parked 300ft off shore in front of it you would not be happy.
I have no dog in this fight I'm not on Winni but I can surely understand what these people are dealing with and if it were me I would fight like hell too.
I have no problem with the Dive but it has to be receptive to complaints and try to work to correct them.
You have people saying, "it's a commercial area and these home owners should expect these kind of things" but when you purchase your waterfront property you know what's in front of you. Then something totally unexpected is right out front in view every day without you even having a say.
I guess the courts will decide but I think Flight Craft is regretting their decision to park the Dive at their pier.

I'm not sure what your point was. I said I did not want it disrupting my view if they parked it on the Witches.

And, Yes, I own waterfront properties in Gilford and Laconia. The Gilford property faces the Witches and that is the reason for my post that you seemed to object to.

I thought you were being sarcastic, with that last phrase in parentheses. Now I realize you were being truthful, my bad.

....... yo-ho-ho ....... The Dive is back in the news!
 

With articles in both of today's April 14, 2020 LaDaSun and Union Leader, The Dive is back in the news with its proposal to build a dock home for itself within the existing Weirs Beach public boat docks.

With the on-going coronavirus scare it seems safe to say that the State of NH will be taking a more focused look at The Dive's business plan where it goes spuds down into a sand bar and becomes an attractive nuisance with regard to the clean, clear water of Lake Winnipesaukee.