NEW GLOUCESTER — The Board of Appeals on Wednesday denied Dollar General Corp. a variance to the zoning ordinance for its planned retail store at 1119 Lewiston Road in Upper Gloucester village.
The 9,000-square-foot building would sit on a 1.4-acre lot.
The corporation, represented by New Gloucester DG LLC, asked that it be allowed to have 50 percent of the area paved, instead of 30 percent, which the zoning ordinance allows.
Under the ordinance, the appellant must demonstrate that special conditions create an undue hardship in adhering to the ordinance.
The board, based on findings, denied the appeal because it did not meet three of four ordinance requirements for a hardship waiver:
* That the land cannot yield a reasonable return unless a variance is granted.
* That the need for a variance is due to the unique circumstances of the property and not to the general conditions of the neighborhood.
* That the hardship is not a result of action taken by the applicant or a prior owner.
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