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Old 05-25-2021, 12:40 PM   #239
chocophile
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Default 19-Mile Bay

Last Saturday at our home on 19-Mile Bay, I heard a seaplane fly low, land in the bay and taxi toward the town docks. Later, it taxied out and took off. It was fun to watch, and very loud--louder than any boats.

Almost every summer there is an occasional ultra-light or seaplane that lands in the bay. Our friends on Bear Island got a ride in a seaplane from the end of their dock one year. Great!

But something that's fun to watch once or twice a summer is not the same as a business that makes trips several times a day on weekends.

This is similar to a zoning question. Occasional use for pleasure is very different from business use, and towns use zoning rules to accommodate various uses. Should 19-Mile Bay and the docks be zoned as an airport?

It is also a question of whether town property should be used for a commercial business similar to the Millie-B at the Wolfeboro town docks. The operators of the Millie-B probably pay for the right to use that dock. The town decided that it adds to the overall benefit of the town to allow it, drawing visitors and earning some income from the dock. No problem. That's the town's explicit decision, and they probably re-visit it every year or so to be sure it still makes sense for the town.

In my opinion, 19-Mile Bay is not like the Wolfeboro town docks, and the town should have the ability to decide what's in its best interest if someone wants to run a business using town docks.

I'm not against seaplanes or ultra-lights using the bay occasionally for pleasure. I am not against small businesses since I am a small business owner.

But I am against the repeated very loud noise of a seaplane business that changes the character of the area for families who want to experience it as a recreational place.
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