Freedom passed the hat for money to pay for its lawsuit in the Westward Shores matter. Ossipee wants to know who chipped in.
After last week's lengthy court-ordered public hearing, the Ossipee Zoning Board denied Freedom's request to reconsider the planning board's approval of the expansion of Westward Shores campground. But now Effingham is calling for that hearing to be reheld. Meanwhile, Freedom is consulting its lawyer on what to do next.
In advance of Tuesday's Ossipee Planning Board hearing, Dr. Robert Newton says near-by wells for homes and businesses are threatened because of the development's proximity to a recharge area of the Ossipee Aquifer. He says gas stations are major sources of groundwater contamination even when when they employ new "triple containment" tanks. Smith is familiar with the Ossipee Lake area from his work mapping the glacial geology of the Ossipee Ring Dike.
Consider this: If Westward Shores were undeveloped floodplain land and a new owner came to town with a plan to build a major business there, consisting of 519 sites for camping vehicles served by septic systems and ancillary buildings, would anyone think that was a reasonable idea and good for the lake? Even if a way could be found to make it legal? Sometimes a little common sense needs to temper legal issues.
A Superior Court judge has ordered Ossipee's ZBA to hear Freedom's appeal that the town violated its zoning ordinance when it ruled the campground's expansion plan meets all local regulations. The hearing will be on Tuesday, May 9.
A request by Tamworth to be given special abutter status in the Route 16 development gets shut down by Ossipee. The developer's engineering firm sees irony in the neighboring town's concerns because Tamworth has no zoning laws and lacks a groundwater protection ordinance.
State data shows Westward Shores Campground experienced floodwaters on at least 116 days between 2000 and the end of 2016, a much higher number of occurrences than previously reported. The revised number was computed from state data after pictures and videos last week showed extensive flooding while the lake level was approximately a foot lower than what was thought to be the flooding benchmark.
Despite a moderate spring snowmelt, less than an inch of rain, and a lake level well under the 410 mark, Westward Shores has muddy roads, soggy campsites, and a Peninsula covered with water where the business wants to install 15 year-round RV rental units. Photos and videos this week validate long-time lake residents' claims that the campground floods when the water exceeds 409', not 410' as previously thought.
There won't be an "official" ice-out date this year, but Broad Bay's Bob Smart has declared today at 3 p.m. will be the "unofficial" point at which the lake and bays can be said to be ice-free.
Although song sparrows are partly migratory--depending upon the severity of the winter experienced--I welcome them back as early as I can see them. How far this little sparrow migrates may only be a few days’ flying time away.
There won't be an official ice-out date this year, but there will likely be a "Smart Date."
At a crowded and sometimes heated meeting last week, the applicant's representatives answered questions about the environmental impact of the development with assurances that they will meet all state and local requirements. Tamworth has named one of its select board members to represent the town's interests as an abutter. The hearing was continued to April 18 to address fire prevention suppression, lighting, traffic and other concerns.
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