Roberta MacCarthy is a long-time lake resident and has been President of the Berry Bay Association since 2010.
The heads of Freedom's Planning Board and Conservation Commission have issued joint letters to Ossipee and DES officials opposing the proposed expansion of the campground as a "significant" risk to the water quality of the lake and bays. This week's Ossipee Planning Board meeting to consider the town-commissioned independent engineering report on the expansion plan has been postponed for two weeks.
Planning Board wants time to absorb the outside engineering report, which contains 46 numbered points of concern, including the fact that the expansion is on the floodplain. Several lake residents express concerns about flooding and evacuation plans. Planning Board member Rick St. Jean accuses them and conservation groups of "fear-mongering."
The lake organization says inconsistent and inaccurate statements by the owner have clouded the flooding issue. It wants town officials to publicly establish the level at which flooding occurs at the campground, marina and peninsula, and require an accounting of how often the business has been evacuated in past years due to high water.
The campground's cavalier treatment of the facts about flooding on Ossipee Lake should have officials on high alert.
On July 5 people from across the region got to weigh in on the application at a planning board hearing that attracted about 65 people. There were comments about the impact the expansion could have on the lake water quality, economic impact, and safety, but the focus was mainly on the expansion onto the peninsula. That expansion includes just 15 of the proposed 246 new sites. The campground, located off Route 16 on Newman Drew Road in West Ossipee currently has 258 sites.
At a public meeting, Ossipee town officials and residents questioned the environmental impact of the proposed expansion of Westward Shores campground. The town has hired an outside engineering firm as "a second pair of professional eyes" to determine the plan's compliance with local regulations. The campground's owner calls concerns about the impact of flooding "way overblown" as residents ask if high water could overwhelm the septic system and prevent campers from safely vacating the property.
The towns of Freedom and Effingham and the Lakes Region Planning Commission have been granted abutter status and will be permitted to comment on the expansion proposal. The Planning Board also mandated a third-party independent review of the expansion application, to be paid for by the campground, to make sure the application meets the town's zoning ordinance.
In two long letters to the Carroll County Independent, the attorney for Westward Shores Campground says alleged misrepresentations to Ossipee officials by his client were actually the result of incomplete meeting minutes and inaccurate reporting. In an editorial response, the newspaper says it stands by its reporting and reiterates its recommendation that extra care be taken to assess the expansion proposal "openly and with care."
Citing the need to protect surface water and the area's aquifer, the Commission says the scope of the campground proposal makes it a regional issue, not just a matter for Ossipee planners. Meanwhile, questions continue about claims made to town officials by the campground's engineering consultants.
In an editorial, the Carroll County Independent notes the inconsistency of Ossipee's Select Board in its approach to business development.
Green Mountain Conservation Group asks the ZBA to revoke its approval due to alleged misrepresentations by the engineering firm representing the campground's owners. ZBA agrees to consider the alleged misrepresentations at the next meeting.
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