Ossipee's Planning Board has denied Freedom's request to reconsider its conditional approval for a developer to double the capacity of Westward Shores Campground & Marina. But as the expansion application moves to Concord for review, flooding remains a key consideration.
Granted abutter status because the expansion has regional impact, Freedom’s leaders say they want to present testimony about the potential negative impact on water quality. On September 20, the Ossipee Planning Board granted conditional approval for the expansion after denying Freedom’s request for more time to study a newly submitted engineering report by Jones & Beach, and revised plans that were presented that night with no opportunity for public review.
On a 5-2 vote, Ossipee's Planning Board says the campground can double in size if it meets state and federal regulations. To address flooding concerns, RVs will be raised on blocks and tied down. Freedom's Planning Board, granted abutter status, asks for more more time to review the Jones & Beach technical report and is turned down.
This has been a good summer, with no big changes to write about.
The Marist Brothers organization is asking the court to agree with their position that they are exempt from property taxation based on their non-profit status and charitable status. The Town of Effingham says the camp's purposes are unduly broad, its programs are not sufficiently different from those offered by for-profit youth camps, and the volume of scholarships provided to families in need is "unremarkable."
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.
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