The board said the parameters of the resort firm’s request fell outside existing laws.
LOVELL – The Lovell Board of Appeals denied a change of use appeal last week for the Pleasant Point Inn.
It was a long process for the board, according to Chairman Judy Ryan.
She said nearly seven hours of testimony were presented at a meeting in August and again in October. The board spent three hours of deliberation last Tuesday in reaching its 5-1 decision against the change.
“There were a lot of arguments on each side,” said Ryan.
Conway Lake Resorts Inc., Laconia, N.H., has a contract to buy the historic main lodge and four cottages on six acres of land from Pleasant Point Realty Trust.
Conway had requested a change from one non-conforming use to another.
According to Lovell zoning ordinances, the owners of the inn must have an administrative appeal when they want to change use on a structure that is already non-conforming.
The resort company wanted to reduce the existing restaurant from 100 seats to 40; increase the hotel/motel units from 14 to 27; and increase the parking lot size.
The Kezar Lake Watershed Association and Greater Lovell Land Trust opposed the changes and hired attorneys to make their argument.
In the end, Ryan said that Lovell had rules and regulations of what can and can’t be done.
The parameters of the resort firm’s request fell outside those laws.
“The laws of Lovell were upheld,” Ryan said. “We voted on each performance standard that goes along with non-conforming situations. When we added it all up and we got a decision of 5-1 not to allow change of use.”
She said the town attorney was meeting with board members Monday night to present and review the official language of the rejection.
The decision can be appealed by taking the matter to superior court.
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